how many times is too much?

[anxiousandie]

well this morning i went to the toilet 3 times (a number 2 by the way) and other mornings i can go to the toilet (a number 2 again) twice?
how many times is too many? or maybe im eating to much? i have no idea hope your all well x x x

[ocdengineer]

I am usually more anxious in the morning, so I tend to drop a couple in the morning due to the increased levels of anxiety.  I don't think there is a "too much".  As long as you are eating healthy and you aren't seeing any large amounts of blood then you are fine.

Take care,
OE

[Folkwire]

Also, when you sit on the toilet, try to relax. It may be that since you're so tense, you're closing up prematurely and you have to return in a few minutes.

[skires]

Andie

Reading your posts recently your anxiety levels are obviously quite high at the moment.

I don't know how much you really understand about anxiety ... let's call it by it's real name ... FEAR.

It may do you some good to understand how the body reacts to fear ... and learn about the fight/flight response etc.

We are basically primitive creatures. We are designed to reach maturity ... have sex and reproduce. To stay alive whilst we do this we need to eat and drink and sleep. Naturally we also make waste produce and hence need to go for ... as you put it ... number 1's and 2's.

Under 'normal' relaxed circumstances our breathing is steady, our muscles relaxed and the body concentrates on 'background' activities like digesting food and repairing any damaged cells etc. When we become stressed/anxious our body goes into fight or flight. This is designed to help us cope with threats like sabre toothed tigers etc. Adrenaline and other chemicals are pumped into the bloodstream. Blood pours to muscles so that we can run away or fight. Sensations become aroused. Breathing and heart rate increases to get more oxygen into those muscles. Here's the bit that may interest you ... upper digestion ( stomach function ) is slowed right down ( after all we don't need to worry about digesting that last meal for the moment if we are about to have our head bitten off ). Also ... lower bowel activity is increased and lots of other things go on.

You must have heard of the sayings .... " scared the sh*t out of me "... or " I was scared sh*tless " or " I was so scared I sh*t myself " ... getting the picture ? ( sorry for the crudeness everyone ).

We are designed to stay at this level of flight / flight ( acute anxiety/fear ) for just a very short period of time .. we run away from the sabre tooth tiger and we calm down again and all the body's functions return to normal. The trouble with us over anxious types is that we are constantly worrying ( frightening ourselves ) over things .. in us hypochondria types our fears are related to symptoms and our fears that they represent serious life threatening illnesses. It becomes a self fuelling nightmare ... our anxiety then provides the very symptoms that we are afraid of ... and so on. We become anxious ... our digestion suffers ... so we get indigestion ... bowel cramps. We can get obsessed with our digestion and our bowel movements ...

" Oh my goodness ... my bowel movements are loose .. I must have some serious illness "

Because digestion is impaired we can develop constipation ... then we strain and can cause piles or anal fissues ( like little splits around the anus ). As we strain further during passing stools we see blood in our stools ... fuelling further fear that we definitely have some serious disease.

Many many anxious people will continually present themselves at GP's surgeries prompting docs to send them for investigations. After the tests come back clear these people are then diagnosed as having Irritable bowel syndrome ( IBS ). Typical symptoms of IBS ... anxious bowel if you like ... are bouts of loose movements and/or bouts of constipation and abdominal cramps and pain. Also we can go to the loo ( number 2 ) and then need to go again shortly after.

To comment on your question ... I basically agree with OE ...

In the evenings I tend to start calming  down a bit and eventually I fall asleep. In the mornings I wake and for a moment I feel quite calm .. then the adrenaline starts to flow and the anxiety hits me. Most people are more anxious in the mornings. Along with this rush of adrenaline and the early morning anxiety our bowels are prompted to move. As explained above with IBS we can go to the toilet several times in succession. I'm not saying you have IBS .. and don't worry if you do .. it's basically just a label given to a lot of people with a digestive system under stress.

I asked the " how many times should we go to the toilet " to a senior gastroeneterolgist some years ago. He said everything is normal as long as it's normal for 'you'. It can be 5 times a day ... it can be once every few days.

You are clearly stressed at the moment so you can expect some changes to your normal habits.

Good luck

Skires

[countrygirl]

thanks skires you have explained all that very well - I can go to toilet (2's) anything from twice a day to 6 times a day and its normal for me but I have worried about it all my life!

[lou_]

Wow! I'm lucky if i can go twice a week.... o_O

Everyone is different i suppose :)

[Beth]

On a serious note, I think Skires explained everything quite well. He has that calming voice of reason, which is very nice.

And, on the bright side, think of it this way: Better to go more often than not often enough (that can lead to bloating, feeling constipated and all-around unpleasant). I do think everyone is different -- and, for some people, every day is different!