r/AskDocs•
EphemeralAxiom

I'm scared. 2 days of Dulcolax did absolutely nothing, and I've been backed up for longer.

Something's going on with me and I don't understand what, it's really scary. Here is the full timeline of events.

Day 1, stools seemed mostly normal. I recall having a normal, decent sized bowel movement. Day 2, Had fried chicken and rice at a restaraunt. Day 3, woke up next morning with what felt like an inexplicably sore tailbone. Can't poop. Day 4, still nothing. Pain down there is now worse, when I shift my weight around by lifting a leg up or moving my hips a certain way, or bend over a certain way, or when I press my fingers to a spot at just the very top of my left buttock, I feel a sharp, stabbing pain. When I flex my muscles down there to attempt to poop, I feel that sharp pain near my tailbone.

Day 5. The sharp pain I mentioned is starting to fade. I took a Dulcolax Overnight at around 9 PM. I ended up having the tiniest bowel movement ever, maybe a 3 inch long poop. Day 6, the sharp pain is pretty much gone by now. I have another miniscule bowel movement of about the same size. But I've been eating normally and I'm getting worried that I'm getting very backed up based on my ratio of eating to going to the bathroom, and I've tried to deliberately increase my fiber. It's now Day 7, I decided that I might need to get myself ready to take a suppository. So I go to feel around the area, and...I discover to my horror that my butthole is swollen shut. Like when I flex the muscles to open it, I cannot even fit a pinky finger in there. I decided to take my 2nd dose of Dulcolax, and nothing has happened, again. No movement. Oddly enough, I'm not feeling nausea or abdominal pain except as a side effect from Dulcolax when I take it. None of that normally yet. But I'm terrified of what is happening to me and I'm scared of what they'll have to do to me if I go to the doctor, I've heard horror stories. Is it a fecal impaction? Hemmoroid? Is it something worse? Am I doomed, because I feel dreadful about not being able to go so long and discovering that it feels like its sealed shut down there. I'm only 28, and my folks say I'm too young to have something like hemmoroids or colon cancer or whatever this is, and they want me to hold off on going to the doctor for at least a couple more days.

I just want to understand what could be happening to me. I'm more scared than I've ever been in my entire life. Please help. Thank you.

Posted Feb 28, 2026, 1:10 PM UTC

02
Loading comments…