Anal Sex/GI Problems
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| Mon, 08-29-2005 - 11:34pm |
Have any of you had anal sex and then experienced gastrointestinal problems afterwards? I know, there's a joke in Bad Santa about that, lol, but I tried it for the first time about 6 months ago and have tried it maybe 3 times since, and it's fun, etc. The only problem is that I've been having some symptoms that correlate with the first time, that I thought would go away, such as bloating, diarrhea, off-and-on anal itching, and occasionally a little blood on tissue. Do I have something else going on, or can anal intercourse give women gastrointestinal problems? My boyfriend and I have both been tested for everything under the sun, and I use Depo-Provera for birth control, and I don't take any other medications. We've been together monogomously for 3 years, so we do not use condoms. Could his ejaculation be giving me these problems or just the motion of the anal sex itself? I do not feel the symptoms immediately afterwards or during; maybe a few hours later or the day after. Have any of you experienced such problems after anal sex?
See my other post "Sexual Requests."
Thank you. :)

Dh and I have been having anal sex for 20 yrs or so and I've never had a problem.
Hi Pammy,
The symptoms that you are describing sound like colitis or possibly IB (Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome). These are both automimmune problems (to the best of our knowledge). The odds are that the anal sex is probably not related to the problem that you are having and that the relationship is most likely coincidental. However, it is always best to tell your doctor that you are engaging in occasional anal sex and to obstane until you can get a handle on the problem.
Essentially what happens is the lower part of the colon becomes inflamed as if reacting to a dangerous bacterium. However, in most cases no bacteria other than the normal bacteria in the rectum is found. It is similiar to some peoples sinous allergic reactions to normally benign materials in the air like pollen. Your body reacts by inflaming the bowel and creating a mucus discharge in order to protect the tissues from the bacteria. This usually inlcudes, runny, bloody stool (sorry to be so graphic)and a frequent urge to have a BM (with a normally small result). Your body is doing this to get "rid" of the bacteria, however in most cases the bacteria is just the normal bacteria in the colon.
See your doctor. He/she will most likely recommend that you see a GI specialist. Usually they like to do a barium test (where you essentially swallow a bunch of fluid and then they insert a short scope in your rectum); this test is usually negative and then they recommend a colonoscopy which is more complete. My recommendation is to request the colonoscopy and bypass the first test as it's a better test and MUCH easier to do.
Depending upon what they find, there is some medications that can control this and it is not unusual to have remissions of this problem for years with occasionaly flare ups from time to time.
Alternative, holistic medicine seems to do a better job of dealing with this problem (much to the disagreement of Western medicine).
Anyway, nothing to worry about, but really worth getting checked out.
Peace.
Scott.