A carer has been mistaken for being ‘heavily pregnant’ due to a rare condition that stopped her from using the bathroom, which resulted in such intense straining that her ‘insides fell out of her body’. Courtney Ingham, 21, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, endured extreme bloating and constipation for eight months, with bowel movements only occurring every three weeks despite taking daily laxatives, increasing fibre, and drinking black coffee.
Disturbing photos reveal her abdomen so distended she appears pregnant. The horror unfolded when Courtney heard a ‘pop’, found herself bleeding, and discovered upon photographing the area that her lower insides had prolapsed.
The NHS explains that rectal prolapse happens when the rectum’s support is compromised, causing it to protrude externally. Having had two surgeries without relief, Courtney awaits further specialist intervention and is now speaking out about her ordeal to urge others not to delay seeking medical advice for bowel changes, as she regrets not doing so sooner.
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She candidly shared: “I had really severe constipation for about eight months and I didn’t really think anything of it. I was just taking over the counter laxatives and pain relief.”
(Image: Kennedy News and Media)
“It’s been really difficult. Prior to the eight months I was someone who would regularly goes to the toilet, it could have been up to three times a day.”, reports the Mirror.
“Then I noticed a little bit of bloating so that was really concerning and then I thought my bowel habits have massively changed.”
“I was opening my bowels every three weeks. It was really, really difficult and the stomach cramp I was getting was out of this world.”
“The pain itself was really hard to manage. I was calling into work sick all the time. One day it could be fine and then the next minute I would be really, really poorly with it.”
“Every day I was using the regular sachets of Laxido because that’s what we give our patients and they’re meant to really help but I stopped taking them for a little while because it didn’t feel as if they were working. I was doing natural remedies like drinking black coffee, lemon juice, eating certain fibres.”
“I reduced my portion sizes a lot because I thought it was something to do with how much I was eating and even after small portions I was getting really severe nausea and sickness as well.”
“I did try to watch YouTube videos and things like putting your legs up, elevating your legs, like rubbing your tummy.”
“But when I did strain a little bit it was almost like I felt a muscle pop. When I was pushing there was immense pain and it felt like I’d put something out of place. I described it as I could imagine labour being like.”
“I could feel something there. When I wiped and it was blood, I was really concerned because there was no faeces but it felt as if there was.”
“It was a little bit of spotting at first and then it was tissue filled. I did know something was wrong because the blood was fresh so it was coming from some type of wound.”
“I did have to use a panty liner in my knickers because of the bleeding, it was getting a little bit heavy.”
“So then I had to squat and take an unattractive photo and I noticed that it was like, I described it as somebody’s organs. It was almost like flesh. My insides had gone out. It really did frighten me. I thought right, I need to go to AandE because this hasn’t been right for eight months now.”
She rushed to A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital on June 23 where doctors attempted to give her a suppository, but Courtney said she was in too much pain. The next day, under general anaesthetic, doctors managed to correct the prolapse and evacuate her bowels.
They discovered her sphincter muscle around the opening of her anus was not retracting properly, so they injected Botox directly into the muscle to try to relax it. However, Courtney said the treatment has not worked and she is still in a great deal of pain.
She has shared her ordeal on TikTok in hopes of raising awareness about her condition.
Courtney stated: “I thought the more awareness out there the more people can stop doing what I did and just push it to one side and think it’s going to be okay because I think people need to be getting this checked, it’s so important.”
She added, “If there’s any change in anyone’s bowel habits or they feel that they can’t go to the toilet effectively anymore I think seek the advice of a GP straight away, don’t leave it so long. I believe if I went within the first eight months and I spoke to a GP sooner, I could have avoided all this.”
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