Constipation saga (not mine)

 The New York Times published an article that begins, “To maintain continence, the puborectalis muscle chokes the anal canal. The sling of tissue is supposed to release during defecation. Mine has not been doing that.” Her constipation has been going on for over a year. Here are some of her efforts at finding a cure:

• At least nine over-the counter medicines, such as Miralax, Benefiber, Squatty Potty, and Dulcolax.
•  At least twenty-four foods and supplements, such as psyllium, flax seeds, prunes, ginger, dandelion, sea moss, and slippery elm.
•  Colonic massage, fleet enemas, acupuncture, and perianal splinting (involves the fingers).
• A gastroenterologist, who tells her to avoid cruciferous vegetables and prescribes various medications, none of which work.
• An x-ray of her intestinal tract that reveals “considerable stool material in the descending colon as well as the rectosigmoid region.”
• A YouTube video by a masseuse who explains how to heal constipation with love, and who holds up a piece of paper that says, “I allow life to flow freely through me.” Put one hand on your heart, she says, and ask yourself: “How true does this affirmation feel?”
• A colorectal specialist whose test shows “a reversed rectal anal gradient — I squeeze when I should push. I leave with instructions for an exercise called ‘anal winks.’”
• The Gastrointestinal Motility Disorder Center where she receives pelvic floor biofeedback therapy and is told to “synchronize Kegel contractions with the rise and fall of an animated dolphin as it undulates across a monitor that is connected to the wire in my anus.”
•  A proctologist who administers anal Botox.

The author doesn’t say if she’s been cured.

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