Constipation by Doug Morgan

My name is Doug Morgan and I am 36 years old. I have irritable bowel syndrome, with constipation as the main problem. I know exactly how this condition happened. I did it to myself. I went through a divorce a few years ago, and the stress and worry seemed to have manifested in a physical problem..  I believe my sympathetic nervous system never shut down, and my digestion was never able to kick in with the parasympathetic system. (I’m no expert, but when I try to figure out what happened, this is my best guess)  Now I’m stuck with chronic constipation that is on my mind from morning to night.  I read another person’s comments about constipation and it is so true--, it’s hard to focus and study any more.  I had become obsessed and was starting to feel that I had no hope.  I had smoked marijuana in high school occasionally, but after going into the Navy at 18, I stopped completely. 

It became a cycle. The more constipated I became, the more stressed and than the more stressed, the more constipated.  Then I took up smoking marijuana again.  It provides me with such relief that sometimes I literally cry when I get high, I feel so much better. My stomach relaxes and I think also my bowel.  I also have a theory that perhaps why we get the ‘munchies’ and why marijuana helps the ‘wasting syndrome’ is that it helps move food through the stomach by relaxing the digestive system.  I did belong to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (I.F.F.G.D). They were sending me literature on the care and maintenance of I.B.S., but when I wrote them and told them about my marijuana experience, I never heard from them again.

I know this forum is different.  I was prompted to write this after reading about other individuals suffering from intestinal/digestive disorders. Hopefully this will help others as it as helped me.  Thanks for the opportunity to express my thoughts.