When you gotta go, you gotta go…except, of course, when you quite literally can’t. That was the case for influencer Courtney Ingham, 21, who had a harrowing case of constipation that landed her in the hospital.
Courtney is sharing her story in hopes of raising awareness
The 21 year-old is coming forward about her medical emergency in the hope that others will exercise more caution than she did, advising anyone who sees changes in their bowel habits to see their doctor ASAP.
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See, Courtney hadn’t gone the ‘ol number 2 for a while
Since she had always been regular, she figured it was just a regular bout of constipation and turned to some tried and true pharmacy remedies to help get things moving.
”[…] I didn’t really think anything of it,” she said. “I was just taking over the counter laxatives and pain relief.”
However, things did not get better
As the months — yes, months — passed, Courtney’s condition continued to worsen. She had severe stomach cramps that would force her to call out of work, and the laxatives weren’t doing the job. She tried some at-home solutions, too.
“I did try to watch YouTube videos and things like putting your legs up, elevating your legs, like rubbing your tummy,” she said. Unfortunately, nothing helped.
Until one day, something went very wrong
After eight months of continuous constipation, things came to a head.
“When I was pushing there was immense pain and it felt like I’d put something out of place. It was what I imagine labour being like.”
Something had gone very wrong
“When I wiped and it was blood, I was really concerned because there was no faeces but it felt as if there was. It was a little bit of spotting at first and then it was tissue filled. I did know something was wrong because the blood was fresh so it was coming from some type of wound.” She said she had to wear panty liners to catch the spotting.
She decided to check out what was going on
Courtney was horrified when she discovered what was happening down below.
“So then I had to squat and take an unattractive photo and I noticed that it was like, I described it as somebody’s organs. It was almost like flesh. My insides had gone out.”
She immediately went to the emergency room
There, doctors discovered she had a prolapsed rectum. A prolapse happens when the muscles weaken and the rectum inverts, protruding outside the of the body. Courtney was swiftly taken in for surgery, which ultimately proved unsuccessful.
She was in immense pain post-surgery
Two weeks after the operation, she returned to the emergency room after once again being unable to poop.
“Obviously with me being so constipated I couldn’t push anything through my bowels so everything was just coming up. I couldn’t keep any food down. And then there was dizziness and the bleeding and pain and the wound itself.”
The second surgery didn’t help much
She is now being told she may need to consider a colostomy bag, aka a bag worn outside the body that your digestive system feeds directly into.
“That really really got to me. I remember just sitting and crying because I thought I am 21 years old, what are people going to think? […] I look about six months pregnant. My belly bloats massively, it’s huge. It does knock your confidence.”
She hopes others will learn from her mistakes
“If there’s any change in anyone’s bowel habits or they feel that they can’t go to the toilet effectively anymore I think seek the advice of a GP straight away, don’t leave it as long as I did. I believe if I went within the first eight months and I spoke to a GP sooner, I could have avoided all this.”
Bowel health isn’t a pretty subject, but it’s crucial to stay on top of it! Make sure your system is running smoothing, and always consult a doctor if you feel any odd kind of motion in the ocean.
