bowel movement urge ONLY when I drive

In 2012 I was diagnosed with Crohns, before that in 2005 I was diagnosed w/ UC.

6 months after I was diagnosed with Crohns I started a job that involved 2-3 hours of driving in the morning. Never had an issue until one day I almost crapped my pants (literally) while driving. I was able to find a restroom, but just barely. Ever since, whenever I drive in the morning I have the urge to poop. On the weekends, I sit around my house all day, and BUBKUS. It seems to only happen when I'm driving. I feel like its psychosomatic.

The only remedy I've found is to increase my fiber along with citrucel.

Has anyone else thought their constant urge to poop could be all in the head? I say that because there are times when I'm at work, and I feel the urge to go and something comes up and I forget all about it, and I dont have to go the rest of the day.

Thanks for reading,

It was the exact opposite for me; I was always good while driving. Maybe it's 'cos while I was learning to drive, I was always so stressed out, my gut didn't dare do anything <_<.

I was also never much of a morning crapper, unlike a lot of people with this disease. I would go a couple of times after getting up, then be okay until the evening, where I had the majority of my BMs.

In your case, it could be partly psychomatic, but you could also have rectal inflammation creating the urgency. Probably worth getting checked out. In the meantime, although it's not very pleasant, you could consider wearing adult diapers in the car.

Edit: Yeah, try Ides' suggestion first.

Hi, I know how you feel.  I always have to go in the morning, especially when I take the TTC and I am waiting for the bus. I have a 45 minute ride to work.  When I drive the car I am pretty good.

Haha some great suggestions. I already carry a change of clothes and wipes and a towel (just in case)... Still not sure how I would be able to change in my car w/o messing up the upholstery (smh at the thought of how gross that could be)

Also a few times I ran some errands before work, and had to cut it short because I had such an urge to go, I race home and sat on the toilet and unleashed a holy war on my Kohler. Not to get off topic but I feel like when I have diarrhea attack, its actually better than pencil thin bm's. Cleanup is alot better and I'm able to stay dry the rest of the day. Plus I feel like I have nothing left to give to the all mighty toilet.

My urgency is worse in the morning, and I know where the best places are to stop on the way to work. I also get nervous about it during meetings at work.

Something that has helped me is to try to use the restroom, even if I don't have to, about 30 minutes before I need to leave. Nothing comes out, but it seems to get my bowels thinking and moving. Usually 15 minutes later I get the urge to go and can go at home.

Another thing that drives my morning urgency is eating. I usually have to go within an hour after eating breakfast. So, I either eat a very early breakfast or I wait and eat my breakfast in the office.

I think the angles Etc of my wife's car seats position my body so I have to go. And there's always the stress of the long drives. My daily commute is 45- 1 hour each way. I always try to go first. I get up at 4:30 in the am every day to give myself the chance to poop. And yes I know all the brs on the way. Some buildings have freaking locks on the r doors! I have the codes in my phone.

hey clone, funny how you say you know the best places to go. I also have a list of public bathrooms that are the best (clean/unused), my favorites are the big name hotels on the highway. Nobody ever uses them, and they're very clean and very soft toilet paper, much better than say a Target/McDonalds.

Btw this reminds me of a Seinfeld episode where George has a mental list of the best public toilets to use in the city

I have this new and exciting issue too. Along with the planning of BM on the long drive has been the new urgency to pee too. I think maybe the pressure down there might be adding to it but between the two driving has become a nightmare.

I have an 8 hour drive coming up this Sunday and I'm fighting the mental battle already for that trip.

As soon as I'm home, no issues.... :/

I thought I was the only one and my Doc thought I was nuts.

When ever I am out of remission and drive more than 15 mins it starts. First sign is upset stomach, then severe stomach cramps an then I REALLY have to go. I currently will not drive for more than 25 mins because that is the max I can hold it.

The pain is really bad.

It happens any time of the day.

My anxiety/D problems tend to be more front-loaded, so that I often spend an hour+ before a drive (especially a big one, but often just for work) going to the bathroom, but I have had many occasions while out driving or on public transportation when I've had to go. I learned early on that I need to check my pride at the door (which has been very hard) and just accept that this is part of the disease and figure out the best ways to deal with it. A lot of that for me is learning bathroom stops along the way and acting sooner rather than later when you feel the urge to go. Most of us have probably made the mistake of feeling the urge and thinking we can make it home or work or wherever... and that was an unwise decision. Find a bathroom ASAP, whether a gas station, rest stop, McDonalds, or anywhere. I also have been known to take Immodium before trips or when I *need* to leave.

I like Ides' suggestion of trying a short drive to see if that gets things moving, or you could try a walk in the morning. I think in the car it's the vibration that may cause things to get going, but exercise can help too.

I've always had a problem when driving meaning I would always have to pull over to have a bowel movement and I knew it was me panicking and that it was really all in my head. I worked for a gastroenterologist for 5 years so he helped me evaluate myself. He suggest cognitive behavioral therapy for me but I disregarded and instead had a colonoscopy to avoid any future issues. It came out clean. My primary doc than suggested I try a gluten free diet so I would be less bloated and would feel better which i do but it has not helped my driving issue. 2 years later (current situation) I am still gluten free and still having driving issues. I decided on my own to see a psychologist for CBT and I'm in my 7th week of therapy. What has helped me so far is understanding my distorted thought and helping myself balance it. Basically training your brain! I am still frustrated and it's been hard but with regularly breathing and meditating and writing down my thoughts and balancing them I have already changed tremendously. I now stop maybe once or twice a week. What also helps is not being ashamed of having to stop and to remember you are not the only one. Pay attention to your body and if you have to stop than stop! Don't let yourself get to the point where you go in a bucket or a bush (I've done both) because that will make you feel like you are back at square one. Focus on yourself and listen to your bodies urges they are normal!

I had a similar experience many years ago as a college student. I was about 90 minutes from home and as my symptoms worsened and doctors continued to tell me that nothing was wrong (though they eventually said I had IBS), my anxiety about having constant urgency started to become a problem. One year, I was unable to drive home for Easter weekend and my parents were ticked (they thought I just wanted to say at college with my boyfriend...they didn't yet understand what I was really dealing with medically.) I was already to the point where it was hard for me to go anywhere off-campus because where was the nearest restroom? would I be lucky enough to find a private stall or would I have to "download" in front of an audience? I knew a 90 minute drive would be a huge problem (lots of nothing between college town and hometown. Corn fields are not the best places to find public restrooms!

It got to the point where I was having panic attacks and didn't want to go to the mall because the nearest bathroom might be 6 stores away. My logical mind knew I had to get over the anxiety, but my emotional mind was screaming "something is wrong and i'm going to keep making you miserable until you figure out how to make me better!"

So here's what needed to happen before I could get back on track, stop the panic attacks, and lead a relatively normal life:

1) I needed a plan, and I needed to feel like there were some days where my symptoms were under control. My anxiety actually motivated me to keep going to doctors and pushing until they came up with a diagnosis and gave me some pointers on how to live more comfortably. That doesn't mean things were always great, but it meant that I felt I had some sort of control / influence over my own health situation.

2) To get over the emotional part of it, I had to play the "what if" game....all the way out. I was afraid of going to Target because the bathrooms were in the corner of the store, and sometimes that was a long walk? Ok, what would happen if I pooped my pants? Maybe it wouldn't be super noticeable and I could make for the door asap, come home and change. Maybe it WOULD be super noticeable, run down my leg and onto the floor. Well, then what? Would people scream at me, try to embarrass me, or just look at me like I'm a disgusting monster? I would guess that the vast majority of people would be very empathetic in a situation like that, and would do whatever they could to help me. So the two worst outcomes I could think of were that I'd either run quickly out the door and go home, or feel a little embarrassed and probably have some wonderful stranger try their best to get me whatever help I needed. When I took the "what ifs" all the way through, it ended the game of panic, because I just couldn't think of any scenarios where the "worst possible thing" would be all that terrible.

To put myself in your shoes....what's the worst that could happen on that morning commute? You feel urgency and have to stop multiple times....so you're late to work. (not terrible) You feel urgency in a place that is not near an accessible restroom and you poop in the car. (not so fun, but also not the end of the world.) Pack extra bottoms in a plastic bag with diaper wipes so, worst case scenario, you can pull over somewhere out of the way, change out of your crappy pants, clean up and put on new ones. Then either go on to work or go home, clean up, and let your boss know that you tried to come into work, but you're feeling so terrible you had to go back home.

One other thought - do you drink coffee or tea in the morning? Caffiene is a stimulant that can make the poop happen. If you normally start your day with caffeine, maybe try some juice or water for a week and see if you notice any difference.

You can do this - you had a scary experience and now you're a little spooked. It'll take some time for you to trust your body again. Just remember that the very worst case scenarios here do not have anything to do with public mockery, your life being ruined, or your world coming to an end. When you keep it in that perspective, you'll be amazed at how quickly the anxiety can go away.

I wish you the best!

it's so great knowing you're not alone. For some reason Libraries and supermarkets are the places where I suddenly need to go urgently. I have several trollies of abandoned shopping when I just couldn't wait any longer. I have sometimes found driving a problem and for me it helps if i can loosen my waistband because when there is something tight round my stomach it seems to make the urgency worse.