2024 LC Thread

I rode the KC Metro bus across town to get to 4th grade, including a bus change downtown. My mom had moved yet again and wanted me to finish the year at that school. But one of the teachers saw me waiting at the bus stop to go home and ratted me out.

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Just read this:

"I would generally recommend trying to limit bowel movements to 10-15 minutes at most to reduce the risk of hemorrhoids,ā€ Schwarzbaum said. ā€œI also counsel them to avoid scrolling on phones or reading for prolonged periods on the toilet. If you need a break from the rest of the world, sit on top of the toilet seat.ā€

Do people really sit on the toilet for that longā€“and not only to perform bowel movements but read and scroll on their phones?

Donā€™t think Iā€™ve ever sat on a toilet longer than the shortest interval necessary to take care of business and be goneā€“usually 3-5 minutes max? Why on earth would I want to?

I used to work at a place where our company computers were monitored and we were not allowed to have cellphones out at our desks, so everyone took more frequent and longer ā€œbathroom breaksā€ in order to check personal email/texts/etc.

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My longest time in the bathroom is probably north of two hours. Not everybody is blessed with the 3 minute max lifestyle you have unfortunately.

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Iā€™m more interested in how you ā€œlimit bowel movementsā€ to X time. Iā€™m also an under 3 min bro under most circumstances. But there are definitely times when it takes longer (e.g. food poisoning, constipation for some reason). Those things are rare (for me) fortunately, but when they happen, itā€™s not like Iā€™m in control of whatā€™s going on. Iā€™m in no position to ā€œlimitā€ anything. Itā€™s entirely up to my bowels.

Eat some kashi bro

Unfortunately not that simple when you have severe bowel inflamation and ulceration

Not at all trying to be smart, but in cases where itā€™s clearly not happening right away, is there any reason to not just abort the current mission and wait until itā€™s clearly time?

I think what sheā€™s referring to in this case is limiting your leisurely reading/scrolling atop the toilet seat time (which is what Iā€™ve just learned is a thing), not the desperately trying to move a bowel but am unable to time, which our friend Coaster is apparently dealing with.

So ummm, valid question but youā€™re thinking on the wrong end of the spectrum. Sometimes things are moving, violently and painfully, for two hours. Crohnā€™s disease is so much more than just a ā€œbathroomā€ disease, but I wonā€™t shy away from the fact that it certainly invloves plenty of unpleasant bathroom visits on both the constipated and very much not constipated ends of the spectrum.

ETA: also, in the cases you mention they are often accompanied by literal debilitating pain, and then at a moments notice everything starts moving. So its best to just stay put at those times.

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This is apparently a thing, and Iā€™ve heard it before. Something to do with the way toilets position your body and the business end of it that can lead to issues.

Thanks for the explanation, and sorry you have to go through that.

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So whatā€™s the theory behind the longer BM/hemorrhoid thing? Like if Iā€™m ever sitting on the toilet for that long, which is rare, itā€™s because Iā€™m waiting for something to percolate and hopefully come out. Does that foster hemorrhoids somehow?

In hindsight it seems like there was a big war between my parents over whether to be helicopter or free range, and/or they changed their minds several times

Like there were summers where Iā€™d just be in the woods all day every day with the other kids until the streetlights came on, and there were years where I couldnā€™t do anything without an adult present

Hereā€™s the article I got the quote from, which has some insight into your question:

ā€œOne common cause is due to sitting on the toilet for a prolonged time. This is because when oneā€™s bottom is in the space of the toilet seat, the blood will pool in the lowest point and cause increased pressure in the blood vessels in the anus, leading to hemorrhoids.ā€

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Then why would they recommend this an alternative

Seems like it would have the same effect (whatever that may be).

It would have the same effect as sitting on a chair. Which according to the expert in the article, isnā€™t the same thing as sitting on a frame with a cut-out circle so your buttocks hang down more than they would on a flat surface.

ā€œOne common cause is due to sitting on the toilet for a prolonged time. This is because when oneā€™s bottom is in the space of the toilet seat, the blood will pool in the lowest point and cause increased pressure in the blood vessels in the anus, leading to hemorrhoids.ā€

***I think the source of confusion here is that she wrote ā€œsit on top of the seatā€ but actually means ā€œsit on top of the closed lid.ā€

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When youā€™re alive, you can do anything, you know? You can sit in a chairā€¦ you can wear a hat, you can eat at a Dennyā€™s.

  • Norm Macdonald
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Can proudly say Iā€™ve done all of those things. I have lived a full life.

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