Ever notice that minutes before a doctor’s appointment, you feel a bowel movement coming, regardless of time of day?
I’ve noticed this. Whether the doctor appointment is in the morning, around noon or later in the afternoon, seems that 20 minutes or less before the appointment time, I have to have a bowel movement.
I then find myself under the stress of hurrying to void everything and get super cleaned up and back in the waiting room before the nurse calls my name.
What is it about a doctor appointment that makes some people prone to having to make a poop so close to the appointment time, whether morning or afternoon?
This is not related to eating habits prior to leaving the house. In fact, for early morning appointments, there won’t even be that much in my stomach.
I also don’t have a bowel movement every day; my normal is to skip a day or even two days. But this skip never happens on a doctor appointment day.
The Explanation in Layman’s Terms
Your body doesn’t know the difference between the fear of coming face to face with a wolly mammoth in the wilderness and the fear while waiting for your gynecological or prostate exam.
The body prepares to fight the perceived threat, or run from it. Either way, your body wants to get rid of any excess baggage so that the fight or escape can be carried out as efficiently as possible.
One way to rid excess baggage is to create enough nausea to force a person to vomit.
This is why some people upchuck when suddenly confronted with a very unsettling or gross situation.
Clearing out the stomach through the mouth lightens things up a bit (although marginally), but remember, in the face of a perceived danger, the body does all it can to optimize the fight or escape.
If your large colon just happens to contain poop during the body’s fight or flee response, it’ll want to dump that excess baggage as well.
Anyone who works out at a gym or runs for exercise knows that carrying around poop can kind of make things feel like a drag.
This is why fitness enthusiasts and athletes hope to “dump a load” prior to a workout or game.
Likewise, a fight or escape from danger is optimized if the bowel movement is expedited via the stress hormones.
The Same Explanation in Doctor’s Terms
“It’s fairly well-known that stress can increase the frequency of bowel movements,” says Dr. David Beatty, MD, a retired general practitioner with 30+ years of experience and an instructor of general medicine for 20 years.
Anxiety or stress won’t create more poop, though. But it’ll alter frequency for your usual amount of poop.
“The vast majority of people would regard going to see the doctor as anxiety provoking,” continues Dr. Beatty. “I absolutely hate being on the receiving end of medical care.
“When we are under stress our body pumps out a cocktail of hormones.
“These are adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol, glucagon and growth hormone.
“The last three don’t have any effect on defecation that I’m aware of.
“Adrenaline and noradrenaline trigger the sympathetic nervous system, which prepares the body to fight or run.
“Heart rate increases and blood is pumped to the skeletal muscles and away from the digestive tract.
“Stimulating one of the sympathetic nerves relaxes the internal anal sphincter.
“This implies higher adrenaline and noradrenaline levels would relax the anal sphincter and thereby increase the urge to go to the toilet.”
Dr. Beatty has worked in primary medicine, surgery, accident and emergency, OBGYN, pediatrics and chronic disease management. He is the Doctor of Medicine for Strong Home Gym.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
.
