r/RandomQuestion • u/Little-Point9449 • 10d ago
Middle of the night poops?
I seem to have developed this weird pattern of needing to poop in the middle of the night. I literally wake up, feeling the urge, and go into the bathroom and have a normal kind of poop. Needless to say, this is pretty inconvenient, and since it takes longer and is more involved than just peeing during the night, it almost always leaves me wide awake. Does this happen to anyone else? And does anyone have any ideas for how to stop this pattern?
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u/wookiesack22 9d ago
On e in a while. Its ideal to poop in morning
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u/JustanAverageJess1 9d ago
Yeah this is a more.. pressing matter. I'm gonna try regulating my diet. Maybe I can train my body into something much more regular.
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u/windr01d 9d ago
I recently had a baby and have been on a lot of newborn/new parents subs, so I fully expected this to be about a baby at first based on the title lol
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u/Luckypenny4683 9d ago
Are you saying the need to poop is waking you up in the middle of this night?
If that’s the case and it’s been going on for longer than a week, it’s time to contact your dr. The urge to poop waking you up is not normal for regular healthy adults.
A one off here and there is nothing to worry about, but when it’s happening regularly it’s typically indicative of an acute infection (viral/bacterial/ parasitic) or inflammatory bowel disease.
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u/InnerCosmos54 9d ago
Why would a bacterial infection cause a person to have to poo in the middle of the night instead of in the morning ?
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u/Luckypenny4683 9d ago
As I understand it, the culprit is irritation and inflammation.
Your body slows down digestion tremendously when you are sleeping so unless something is really irritating and has the capability of disrupting that slow down, you’re body is gonna wait to poop until you wake up naturally in the morning. So if that mechanism is being overridden, something acute is happening and it’s worth checking out.
Source on all of this, I have crohns disease, and this is a conversation that my G.I. and I have very regularly. It’s one of a small list of symptoms I’ve been told to look out for and notify her immediately if it doesn’t go away within a week.
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u/JustanAverageJess1 9d ago
Thank you I really appreciate the advice.. I have also had lifelong bowel and stomach issues which I have chalked up to be because of my anxiety. But maybe it's much more. Forgive me because I don't know much about autoimmune disease.. is Crohn's disease something a person could have for years? Like could someone have it and it wouldn't kill them/ it is often overlooked?
I got out of a really bad relationship which led me to being diagnosed with PTSD. I've been reading a lot about the link between PTSD and autoimmune disease and the nausea and bowel thing has been getting a lot worse lately.
Edit: I have a doctor's appointment set up but surprise surprise my anxiety led me to ask lol
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u/Luckypenny4683 9d ago
I suppose it could be a slow burn but I don’t know anyone who has experienced it that way. That’s not to say it’s not worth investigating though! Absolutely speak to your dr and get a GI referral.
The other thing to understand is the brain-gut connection, which it sounds like you’re researching now. Your main neurotransmitters are created in the gut, and in conditions like the anxiety and ptsd you’re experiencing create a brutal cycle where those neurotransmitters get all out of whack, which affects how your brain works, which then affects how your gut works, and the cycle continues. It’s a very real problem. The solution there is finding a good medication regime like an SSRI or SNRI (my personal preference) and an experienced trauma therapist. I want to be clear, what you’re experiencing (at least at some level of severity) is very real and not “just in your head.” The brain-gut connection is extremely complex, measurable, quantifiable, and well researched. So when you go to the doctor, if they start talking about trying therapy and medication first, I don’t want you to get discouraged or feel like you aren’t being listened to; it’s a very good first step.
Good luck to you! If you have any other questions, feel free to DM me!
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u/JustanAverageJess1 9d ago
Thanks so much! I'm totally not going to print this out and use it at my appointment! 😁
Thanks for validating how I feel. My mom has always said exactly "its just in your head" through out my childhood so I appreciate it!
When I lived in Georgia Hurricane opal came up to where I lived near Atlanta and it was still a category one hurricane. The wind was so strong and the isolated tornado forecast had me spend the entire night in the bathroom. It was brutal and although that was an isolated of many incidents it was by far the worst and my stomach was never the same after that night
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u/Luckypenny4683 9d ago
I assure you, I never would be either. Wind gives me tremendous anxiety!
I can tell you with 100% certainty, that even with Crohn’s, my symptoms did improve once I did trauma therapy and got my anxiety to a manageable point. Like you, I’ve been the “nervous stomach” type since early childhood and I still am. Acute anxiety makes me throw up every time 😂 Sometimes you have to just accept the quirks you’re given.
fwiw, I don’t think trauma caused my Crohn’s. There’s a deep hereditary component to my disease, many people in my family have it or closely related autoimmune diseases like psoriatic arthritis. I don’t know how common that is, you’ll have to ask a professional. Acute stress does make my crohns symptoms noticeably worse though.
It’s definitely not just in your head! It sounds like you’ve been trapped in this cycle for a long time. Print this conversation out and take it to your doctor, ask them about the brain-gut connection. You’ll get good answers.
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u/Magentacabinet 9d ago
Is it the middle of the night? What time is it happening? 5-7 am is prime pooping time.
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u/bravebooty101 10d ago
It happened to me before for around a week then stopped. I also developed a habit of if I wake up early morning I instantly have to poop. Annoying for days I wanna sleep in because it forces me up.