We’ve all had weeks where our system is a little slow.
But for one man, the delay in going to the bathroom lasted not weeks, but months: three, in fact.
Doctors said her swelling was so extreme that her abdomen resembled that of a woman pregnant with triplets.
The case was described by doctors on an online forum, who said the patient suffered from constipation so extreme that waste had hardened and become trapped in the colon, a problem known medically as fecal impaction.
Doctors treat it by removing the mass manually or with an enema, when fluid is directed into the colon to loosen stool, which can then pass out of the body as normal.
The above shows the inside of the man’s body from the side. Dr. Justin Shafa of Los Angeles demonstrates how the granulated area of the colon is all excrement. The lighter section around the edge is the side of the body.
A second scan of the patient, from a bird’s eye view, shows the grainy area on the scan, which is a large collection of tools.
Revealing the case on Reddit, the doctor wrote: ‘I had to ask the patient after the scan when was the last time he defecated.
“He said the last ‘real shit’ was three months ago.”
The doctor also revealed the patient’s CT scan, which showed a large, grainy mass in the center of the body, which was all excrement.
Commenting on the post, one user said: ‘That’s some awesome shit,’ while a second added: ‘Oh my god! A poop baby!’
Another added: “Oh god I feel bad missing two days… I can’t imagine three months.”
Fecal impaction can be caused by chronic constipation, dehydration, or a low-fiber diet which can cause hardened masses to form that then block the digestive tract.
Feces initially accumulate in the rectum, but then gradually accumulate within the colon or large intestine.
As stool remains stuck together, the body continues to absorb water and moisture from the masses, causing them to harden and calcify.
Symptoms of the condition include pain in the abdomen, bloating, feeling the need to defecate but not being able to, and stomach pain.
It is primarily seen in older adults, such as those living in nursing homes, where almost half will experience fecal impaction.
Dr. Oreon Gottfried, a North Carolina neurosurgeon, said the x: “If you feel terrible about not being number two every day, imagine the pure agony of not being number two for months.”
And Los Angeles radiologist Dr. Justin Shafa shared the images saying, “This is poop, this is poop… this is impressive… this is probably equivalent to a triplet pregnancy.”
People typically use the bathroom twice between one and three times a day, passing between 14 and 17 ounces of feces per day on average.
But chronic constipation, a condition in which there is difficulty emptying the intestines, can disrupt this normal cycle.
If someone was unable to defecate for three months, this would cause the equivalent of up to 95 pounds of feces to become trapped in the body.
Doctors can remove stool manually, where the doctor reaches into the rectum with gloves and lubrication to remove the blockage.
They may also use an enema, placing liquid into the rectum and colon to loosen the contents and allow them to pass.