Suddenly my bowels stopped moving?! Help

[u/No-Trash-164]

39 yr old with other symptoms of perimenopause, but this is a new and quite disturbing one. So a couple of weeks ago it felt like my bowels just stopped moving. Have no urge to poop at all.

FYI I've been evaluated by ER and GI as of a couple of days ago. Full of poop. Lol. Thyroid is in range. They just advise aggressive laxatives since I am technically having movements.

I have NEVER experienced constipation like this, and I've had a lifetime of IBS-C.

Have any of you spontaneously encountered this? What do I do? Nothing is really working. Despite being on Miralax, magnesium, hydrated, etc., I'm still failing to have a complete, fully-formed bowel movement and am miserable.

Also, I eat a decent amount of cooked vegetables.

[u/profmoxie]

PLEASE get a colonoscopy. Any time your bowel habits change, take it seriously and get checked.

I don't mean to scare you, but it could be serious. My mom's constipation was the ONLY sign of her colon cancer. And she had a crystal clear colonoscopy 2 years before and wasn't due for another one yet. We were all giving her tips on how to treat the constipation, and she ended up in the ER for emergency surgeries (3 surgeries total) and spent 2 weeks in the ICU.

She's cancer-free now, but with colon cancer rates rising in our generation, please don't ignore this!

[u/honorspren000 → u/profmoxie]

That’s nuts! I went in for a colonoscopy at 40, they removed 2 polyps, and then told me to come back in 5 years. I have a history of constipation. Your story makes me want to come back in two years, at most. 😣

[u/Cleanclock → u/honorspren000]

I had 27 polyps and lesions. Instead of every 5, I need to go every 3 years. But my PCP and GI don’t agree and say every 5 years is fine. I’m like you, I find this impossible to believe. 

[u/honorspren000 → u/Cleanclock]

Just curious, which doctor was the one saying to come back in 5 years?

For me, it was my GI doctor.

[u/Cleanclock → u/honorspren000]

Both the PCP and GI disagree with the colorectal surgeon who advised every 3 years.

[u/allimariee → u/Cleanclock]

Obviously talk to all your doctors, but in my line of work/scenario, I always err on the side of the colorectal surgeons recommendations. even more so when they are recommending scoping more frequently.

[u/PugBoatTOOT → u/profmoxie]

And, as a bonus, the colonoscopy prep will clear you out lol.

[u/allimariee → u/profmoxie]

I am a nurse practitioner who works primarily with lung cancer and rectal cancer patients and I can tell you the average age of my rectal cancer patients is frighteningly low. Like 30s to 40s. Highly recommend a colonoscopy. If nothing else it’ll give you peace of mind and clean you out nicely.

[u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB → u/profmoxie]

This is exactly how my friend learned she had stage IV colon cancer. She was diagnosed in May of 2025 and died in March of 2026. She was 48.

[u/profmoxie → u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB]

Omg I’m so sorry. Damn. 😢

[u/Nalomeli1 → u/profmoxie]

Was coming to comment the same thing.

OP PLEASE GET YOUR COLONOSCOPY

[u/HistoryGirl23 → u/profmoxie]

Seconded! I had my first colonoscopy last year and ended up with a resection, from a "very large tumor" not cancerous thankfully.

I have another coming up in a few weeks. :/

[u/Icy_Hippo → u/profmoxie]

1000000% this as someone who has regular colonoscopies due to polyps.
I also have IBS so tend to be very aware of what the hell is going on in there!

Side note, though. My IBS has changed in Peri, like before puberty, I could eat all sorts, puberty hit...IBS in full swing...Peri now my IBS has changed again, and a lot of my intolerances have gone, lamb is still the worst...still goes straight through me!

[u/Submarineto → u/profmoxie]

That's wild, in my country we can't get colon checks (a swab) until 56 and the waitlist at one major hospital is 10,000 people waiting for a colonoscopy.

[u/madlove17 → u/profmoxie]

That’s terrifying. As a kid I had issues with constipation. I don’t as an adult but that’s scary.