How Bowel Health Can Affect Your Substance Use

Bowel health is one of the most stigmatized health problems. Though everyone has bowel problems from time to time (by some measures, more than three bowel movements a day is considered diarrhea, less than three bowel movements a week is considered constipation), discussing bowel health can cause significant embarrassment.

Even people who use substances, who are constantly living with the stigma of drug use, can sometimes be more embarrassed about their bowel problems than their drug use. They might even be more reluctant to discuss these issues with the person who is most likely to be able to help them—their doctor or healthcare provider.

If you have an addiction, there are specific ways that bowel issues may be affecting your chances of recovery. In addition, co-occurring conditions, including those you may not even be aware of, are also important for you to know about. Your substance use might even be worsened by attempts to self-medicate bowel issues which could potentially be addressed by simple dietary or behavioral changes.

So, how do bowel issues affect your addiction? Here are some possibilities:

Using a Substance to Get You 'Going'

People may rely on the use of drugs to get a bowel movement started. Whether it is your ongoing addiction to caffeine, which starts with morning coffee or tea to wake up your bowels, a cigarette, or even a stiff drink or a joint, so many people with addictions feel this is the "only" way to go. However, they may not have tried the many simple behavioral changes that can improve bowel health.

Constipation is a common problem, particularly among people who suffer from stress. And the physiological and psychological effects of certain drugs can help relax the bowels. But there are much healthier, and overall more effective ways of regulating your bowel movements. For example, ensuring that you are getting enough exercise and that your diet contains adequate fiber.

If following this advice isn't enough and after trying everything you are still having problems with constipation, don't despair. Your doctor can help with exploring the cause of the problem and can give you healthier options for improving your bowel health.

Your doctor will also be able to guide you on the use of laxatives if they are even appropriate in your situation. Again, this is something best done in collaboration with your physician, as over time, the use of laxatives can potentially be damaging to the digestive tract. The body can form a dependence on laxatives in order to function. And some people with eating disorders use laxatives as a way of purging.

Smoking to Cope With Gas

Passing gas is normal. In fact, most perfectly healthy adults pass gas up to 20 times a day. However, some people are extremely embarrassed about flatulence, to the point where they will smoke, simply to cover up the odor of gas. Given the high cost of smoking, both financially and in terms of the negative impact on health, this is a self-defeating strategy, to say the least.

And they may even feel too embarrassed to discuss it with their doctor.

Yet, as with constipation, there are other, much less deadly ways of dealing with gas and bloating. There are also many relaxation and breathing techniques that can help you to safely relax your bowels, as well as your whole body. If none of these approaches are enough, see your doctor for more advice on your specific situation.

Letting Diarrhea or Fecal Incontinence Put You Off Detox

One of the most serious effects of the embarrassment that some people feel about bowel problems is their avoidance of life-saving detoxification treatment for substance use disorders. Some drug users have the opposite problem of constipation described above. Surprising though it may seem, some people are so anxious about diarrhea, and possible incontinence, if they quit drugs, that it puts them off getting proper medication management for detox.

People who have been using heroin might feel so disgusted with the process of withdrawal, particularly diarrhea that typically occurs, that they want to avoid other people while they are going through withdrawal, both medical staff, and other patients. This is a serious safety issue, as severe withdrawal symptoms, including those associated with dehydration, which can occur after severe diarrhea, can be life-threatening. It is also a flawed way of thinking about the problem—if anyone can help to alleviate your withdrawal symptoms, it is the addiction specialists who work in detox facilities.

But as with other bowel symptoms, there are other, much more healthy and effective ways of controlling diarrhea. 

Many of us experienced shameful experiences of "toilet accidents" during childhood, and the idea of having one as an adult could be the ultimate in social shaming. The fear of fecal incontinence can be enough to cause people to delay quitting opioids for years.

Consider whether the potential embarrassment of a few days of diarrhea among people who are either going through the same thing themselves or who are professionals who are well aware of the symptoms and deal with them every day, is really as bad as staying addicted to drugs. Detox is by far the best place to be if you are withdrawing from alcohol or opiates.

Warning: Bowel Symptoms May Be Caused by Another Condition

Perhaps the best reason to face up to your bowel symptoms, rather than try to cover them up with substance use or avoid getting appropriate treatment, is that they may actually be caused by an underlying health condition. These other conditions could be potentially serious and very harmful if left untreated.

For example, there are a number of different causes of diarrhea, as well as flatulence and constipation. If the cause is addressed directly, whether, through diet, behavior such as exercise or eating patterns, or treatment for an underlying condition, it can eradicate the distress that can keep you in a harmful pattern of substance use that is based on social stigma and embarrassment.

A Word From Verywell

If you or someone you care about is experiencing distressing gastrointestinal symptoms, an assessment and diagnosis is your best bet for getting the right kind of help. It makes sense to talk to your doctor about it.