Thanks for reply fats...I don’t have any external poles not sure whether there are any internal though. Yes the pain is like a dull kind of ache but more of a pulsating/throbbing kind of pain rather than sharp. Pain is intermittent and infrequent and only lasts for a few seconds with intervals. It’s not a constant pain but comes and goes. The pain is not so concerning for me more I’m more worried about the pressure sensation which is there all the time. I am going to be investigated but as I had initially seen the colorectal surgeon privately and now having the tests done on NHS it’s going to be a bit of a delay getting the ball rolling. I do hope it is a polyp!

Hi, 

Did you ever get any answers as your symptoms are almost exactly like mine!

Stef

Hi Stef I am still awaiting investigations, colonoscopy and MRI as an likely to be in May. Do you mind me asking what your exact symptoms are?

Not in the slightest - happy to share!

So, after a 48 stomach flu with explosive diarrhea, my bowels were, for about two or three weeks, mostly mushy although my diet was shocking as I was so stressed. I think I had one formed stool in three weeks and was over the moon!

I had a DRE and that was fine, but I don't take 100% comfort from that as I don't think a finger can reach the upper part of the rectum?

Anyway, I started adding more fibre into my diet and my stools gradually become more solid, with one explosive moment in between. At the moment, I obsess over every movement and examine it afterwards which isn't good for your mental health! So, sometimes I will have what I consider a thin stool (the width of my thumb) and I'll panic, then the next day I'll have a normal, solid, number 4 Holy Grail on the Bristol Scale chart and think 'well if it's a tumour, stools wouldn't get bigger only more narrow' and tumours don't move up and down in size so if the stool size is varied then it must not be a tumour, but that comforting thought lasts about ten minutes! So right now my stools could be anything, thinner, fatter, sometimes loose, then sometimes I'll pass a rock hard stool the size of a mini Swiss Roll. All over the place basically!

I've never had any bleeding either in the stool or on the paper. 

In terms of the pressure in the rectum, it's hard to describe. It comes goes. I just feel like something is there if that makes sense? Sometimes it feels relieved when I pass gas. Other times it's non existent. Other times it feels like I want to have a movement, but not urgently so that I rush to the toilet and nothing happens. It's just a dull, pressure sensation.

I also get mild scrotum and lower back pain (I had a back MRI and it was largely fine, no sign of anything nasty) it can be slightly painful to ejaculate (sorry to be graphic!) and I urinate a tremendous amount. Blood and stool tests both normal. 

No weight loss, loss of appetite or fatigue in any way, although my stress levels are absurdly high and spending six hours a day, all day, on Google, is my norm. 

In the course of any given day I can write myself as terminal rectal cancer to having IBS to having IBS with prostatitis to anything!

I will add that if my stress is focused on something ie my back, my stool, rectal pressure etc the symptoms seem worse. Psychological maybe? As soon as I had the MRI on my back, I stopped thinking about it and the pain greatly diminished. 

I've paid privately to get a colonoscopy tomorrow (I had one just shy of five years ago and not even a polyp was found so if it's cancer it must be aggressive, in my rationale anyway) so I will, of course, let you know! 

Not in the slightest - happy to share!

So, after a 48 stomach flu with explosive diarrhea, my bowels were, for about two or three weeks, mostly mushy although my diet was shocking as I was so stressed. I think I had one formed stool in three weeks and was over the moon!

I had a DRE and that was fine, but I don't take 100% comfort from that as I don't think a finger can reach the upper part of the rectum?

Anyway, I started adding more fibre into my diet and my stools gradually become more solid, with one explosive moment in between. At the moment, I obsess over every movement and examine it afterwards which isn't good for your mental health! So, sometimes I will have what I consider a thin stool (the width of my thumb) and I'll panic, then the next day I'll have a normal, solid, number 4 Holy Grail on the Bristol Scale chart and think 'well if it's a tumour, stools wouldn't get bigger only more narrow' and tumours don't move up and down in size so if the stool size is varied then it must not be a tumour, but that comforting thought lasts about ten minutes! So right now my stools could be anything, thinner, fatter, sometimes loose, then sometimes I'll pass a rock hard stool the size of a mini Swiss Roll. All over the place basically!

I've never had any bleeding either in the stool or on the paper. 

In terms of the pressure in the rectum, it's hard to describe. It comes goes. I just feel like something is there if that makes sense? Sometimes it feels relieved when I pass gas. Other times it's non existent. Other times it feels like I want to have a movement, but not urgently so that I rush to the toilet and nothing happens. It's just a dull, pressure sensation.

I also get mild scrotum and lower back pain (I had a back MRI and it was largely fine, no sign of anything nasty) it can be slightly painful to ejaculate (sorry to be graphic!) and I urinate a tremendous amount. Blood and stool tests both normal. 

No weight loss, loss of appetite or fatigue in any way, although my stress levels are absurdly high and spending six hours a day, all day, on Google, is my norm. 

In the course of any given day I can write myself as terminal rectal cancer to having IBS to having IBS with prostatitis to anything!

I will add that if my stress is focused on something ie my back, my stool, rectal pressure etc the symptoms seem worse. Psychological maybe? As soon as I had the MRI on my back, I stopped thinking about it and the pain greatly diminished. 

I've paid privately to get a colonoscopy tomorrow (I had one just shy of five years ago and not even a polyp was found so if it's cancer it must be aggressive, in my rationale anyway) so I will, of course, let you know! 

Hi stefjarm!

I have incredibly similar symptoms to you.  Have you had any improvement since your scope and it was just thought to be mild inflammation?    The pressure in the rectum is the strangest thing.   I too went to the doctors, was told it was nothing and just to use sudacrem - the feeling went away for a couple of weeks until I just worried about it a little and it came back.  Could it be psychological?   Any more details of your story would be greatly appreciated.  B

Hi, sorry to hear you're going through this. Trying to get to a diagnosis is so frustrating and it's just human nature to worry and find answers either via Google or through these forums. I've been there and it was, and still is, debilitating! So I no longer have the feeling of pressure or pain, I don't know if that's psychological because I know after a colonoscopy and a MRI of my entire small and large bowel there's nothing untoward there that shouldn't be! That said my bowel movements are so unpredictable, literally anything from water, to rabbit pellets, to worms-shaped stools to absolutely perfect stools could come out and sometimes a mixture of them all on the same day!! I still get pain both before and after bowel movements and often have a feeling of incomplete evacuation. Sometimes it's helped by diet, other times not. I've just come to accept it as IBS and manage it and not stress too much. That said, my anxiety only diminished until after I've had all sorts of tests and scans etc to rule out in my mind anything sinister. It's not particularly pleasant but a colonoscopy and even a digital rectal examination are really useful. I wish you luck! 

I have the exact same thing as you guys. I have had it on and off for ten years. Its muscle tension in the rectum or pelvis. I can have many months without it and then if I get stressed or even start to think about it again it comes back. My feeling is as if I have trapped gas in my ***. It's a sort of ache towards the tailbone side if my anal canal. I can say 100 percent this is a stress issue. If I have a few beers or eep it goes away. It comes during stressful times in my life. When my daughter was being born I had it and for weeks after. But then it went away until last month when I was sent away for work and I could feel it again. Now I have it again. But I find if I take fybogel and have lots of bowel movements it helps a lot. I once saw a pelvic therapist who does internal massage and she pressed on a muscle inside me and I nearly cried. That was the muscle that was painful. If I think about it I have it. If I eventually ignore it it goes away. I'm a huge anxiety magnet and I'm sure you all are too. 

Also if I pass gas or have a bowel movement it eases off slightly for a while

So glad I found these posts as I have a similar problem for the past 2 weeks and am so worried , mine started after exercising for a few days and I then had a sensation of a dull ache in my rectum area so I gave exercise a rest for 4 days and then did a 30 minute workout on the Sunday and since then it seems to have got worse as I have a constant feeling of pressure in my rectum which is made worse when I am sitting so being at work sat at a desk all day isn't helping , but I also have pain in both of my buttocks right into the bone area which when I massage the area eases it at the time . For the last 2 mornings when I wake and am lying in bed I feel like I need to go for a poo which is so odd so I then go within 5 mins of getting up but for the past few days I have been going twice a day which is not normal for me as I have always suffered with years of constipation and being bloated , I had very loose stools this morning when I had to go for the 2nd time, there is no blood thankfully but just this feeling of pressure and pain is getting me down and I am starting to worry in case it's something serious, I haven't been able to get an appointment to see my gp either yet as the surgery never has any appointments available so am going to try next week when I am not working and can be more flexible with days/times.  After looking online people suggest having  sitz baths with Epsom salts so I am going to try this for the next few days whilst waiting to see a dr and see if it helps . I have never had anything that feels so uncomfortable and it's just there all day long there is no break from if but sitting down definitely makes it feel worse.

Does it go away when you are asleep? Does it feel the same every day? It sounds muscular to me. Does it ease off for a moment when you poo or fart? 

Once I get to sleep I am ok but when I woke for the past 2 mornings I have felt the pressure of needing to go for a poo which is very weird. Yes it feels the same every day but for the last 2 days I have had a. cramp  like pain in the bottom of my stomach almost like a period cramp it's all so odd.  I do have lots of wind and when I fart it feels better, it feels a little better after doing a poo .  But today the pain in the buttocks is worse as I was sat down at work on Wednesday for 5 hours and for 9hrs yesterday and today another 9 hours, as I am sat here I can feel an ache in the bottom of my stomach just like a cramp that comes and goes .  A friend said could be piriformis syndrome but I have no pain in hip or leg area and I can't see how this would cause rectum discomfort , but it is odd this  has only happened following a bout of exercise , I used to exercise weekly with no issues but then hadn't done any prior for 5-6 weeks until the last time and then this happened . Now I don't know if I can continue to exercise as last time I did was 5 days ago

Well it always comes on with me when I think about it. It's like a psychological tension thing. Are you an anxious person? 

Google levator ani syndrome 

Also if you press lightly on your *** does it feel easier?