I have been having constipation for years, starting around the time my oldest son was born (1993). The last year or so I have been having consipation with mushy soft stools . I can go as long at 5-6 days without a bm, (and sometimes just as long between passing gas). I am often bloated with a distended lower abdomen, that will make me look like i am 3-4 months pregnant . I also often have a smelly mucus present in my bm, and sometimes when I feel like I need to have a bm all I pass is mucus. I have had instances where I have been walking, had to sensation I need to pass gas, and when I do suddenly pass gas, I pass mucus into my under garments . Often times when I am tryign ot have a bm, I will get stomach cramps which feel like my stomach is twisting, on the lower left hand side of my abdomen, just below my rib cage. I have also been sleeping and been woken up with these same cramps. after a bowel movement I often feel nauseated, and often times when I had been hungry before going to the bathroom , have lost my appetite. I also have problems sitting for long periods after a bm, because afterwards my anus is so sore and swollen it s painful to sit, so I end up lying on my side on the couch. I also have had problems where I have been hungry and eaten a small meal, but I am so constipated, and bloated, that I become sick to my stomach and vomit , almost feeling like I have no more room for additional food no matter how hungry I feel. Most days I don t even feel a sensation that I need to have a bowel movement. I will if I am feeling especially bloated, or my stomahc is distended and I am just miserable , go ot the bathroom, sit and hope. Sometimes I have had to take a piece of toilet tissues over a finger and insert it into my rectum , and sometiems doing so will open my rectum up causing me to pass gas, and then a bm will ensue, but the bm is very slow , and happens in phases (gas, part of a bm, more gas, more bm, etc.) it can take up to an hour for a full session and most of the time I have not been able to fully evacuate my bowels. Other times often have to push on my lower abdomen and massage it, which will st times cause me to pass gas, and sometimes start to have a bm. I take one fiber supplement daily, which helps a small amount so instead of having a bm every 6 days or so, I will at least have partial ones every few days. I eat lots of fiber, and drink lots of water. I also just started ot take a gas x after every meal and before bed (4 x s a day), otherwise I get lots of gas and cramping and even more extremely painful gas and bloating. I have tried using saline enemas, as well as small amounts (as directed on package) of epsom salts in warm water. Both seemed to make my problem worse, and just made me feel more bloated, and while a small amount would come out, it almost felt as though the rest were trapped. When I do have a bowel movement (no matter how small) it usually comes out in long thin ribbons. and sometiems toward the end of the bm it will come out (even if it started hard or soft and mushy) watery, and loose. I am at the end of my rope, and getting ready to ask my dr. to test me for IBS, and Twisted Colon. What do you think of my myriad of symptoms?