I just had an intense pooping experience that I can share only with you. No funny metaphors. No descriptions. Just the straight facts.
You know that I am the proud owner of a case of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Usually this means that I have no set schedule for pooping and that I get an urgent case of the runs from time to time. I don't pay much attention to my pooping habits -- it just kind of comes when it comes. But one of the consequences of being married to a physician is that I have become marginally more aware of my pooping schedule. So...
...so a few days ago, I thought, "Hmm... I haven't pooped in a few days. I think I'll have a handful of raisins. That usually cleans things out in a hurry." I'd been eating a few scoops every few hours over the past few days, but no action. I realized that in spite of drinking lots and lots of hot caffeinated beverages (but no coffee or chocolate for me before getting on the Metro --too risky!), there was still no action. I wasn't concerned, exactly, but I did think I was a bit past due.
This afternoon I started getting some mild stomach cramps. Thinking that the time had arrived (I did have two huge mugs of hot chocolate this morning), I headed over to the throne. Nothing immediate, except this sensation that something was stuck between my colon and poop chute. Not hanging out, you understand, but sort of deliberating about whether to enter the final passage. This meant I was stuck: it wouldn't come out (it felt like a cone with the tip pointing out), and I couldn't get up and move around.
I strained and strained, but I just couldn't get things moving. The sensation was quite odd. It felt like my chute was being pushed inside out -- from the inside. It was very uncomfortable, not so much physically (though that wasn't great) as it was mentally. I just wanted this thing out of my body! What if I had to go the E.R.? What if it tore something coming out?
I finally stood up, thinking that a change of position might improve things. It did a bit, so I dashed off and grabbed a book and the phone and ran back to the pot. I called my wife and asked her to bring a stool softener when she came home from her lunch. She was already close, so she told me that she would just make me a cup of tea and that that would help.
To summarize the next few hours: I read Ben Franklin's autobiography on the throne and I soaked in a very hot bath, thinking that that might get things moving, changing from one to the other from time to time. Finally my wife, answering my call for help, handed me an enema bottle and said, "Try this." I was getting desperate enough to do as she suggested.
As I stared at the long tip of the enema, something shifted in my innards, and I thought I would take another chance. I got out of the tub, sat on the throne, and strained hard for about five minutes. Finally something immovable shifted, and with a few more mighty efforts I birthed what looked like a life-size reproduction of Carl Lewis' quad muscle. It was a single log, pointy on both ends, and with BOTH ends sticking out of the water. We just sat there, staring at each other.
There was more backlogged in behind that, but nothing like that first one. After a few minutes of felicitous evacuation I collapsed into the tub, trying to recover my strength before getting dressed and emerging to enjoy my triumph. All in all, it was an incredible experience. I have heard of constipation, but I had no idea that it could be like this.
You know those ads that say, "Our laxative is different from those harsh chemical laxatives?" For Heaven's sake, tell me the name of the harsh chemical one --that's the one I need!
It's only about six, but I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted.
-- Long and Pointy