I hope I don’t end up like my grandmother when I’m older

Okay TMI but both my paternal grandmother and I have major chronic constipation. When I was a teenager I took miralax every single day for about a year, I gave up though cause it didn’t help nearly enough. I’ve kinda just been living with it these days, I find that when it’s hard enough that it’s small pebbles instead of one big mass it’s less painful, though I do have to splint every single time. I don’t wait till I have to go, I just try going multiple times a day because a little at a time is easier and less painful than a bunch at once. Occasionally though if I eat too much or something I’ll feel the urge to go, which usually means I’m in for absolute hell. It’s no wonder so many people have heart attacks on the toilet, I feel like I’m dying every major dump. I can’t breathe at all while straining, but if I take a pause in the middle I’ll be in for prolonged agony, so I just have to keep straining to where my hands feel like they’re gonna explode from the blood pressure and I have little black dots flying around in my vision. Yesterday I almost puked while going. If you think I’m being dramatic, consider yourself lucky for never having to deal with this.

My grandmother describes a lot of those same issues, though her situation is sometimes worse. She recently had her 3rd surgery to remove a blockage. I think every time they do it they have to remove part of her intestine, so there’s a limit to how many times they can safely perform the surgery. I just hope that that is not in my future.

This is all very TMI I know but I wanted to share because it significantly affects my life.