Frequent Bowel Movements

Why have my bowel movements increased?

Many things can affect the speed at which food waste travels through your bowels. Contributing factors include your bowel health, activity levels, eating habits, stress, medications, over-the-counter (OTC) supplements, recent antibiotic use and underlying health conditions, just to name a few. Temporary conditions may cause temporary changes. But if they continue, you might want to consult your provider.

What are the possible causes of more frequent bowel movements?

Some of the more benign possible causes might be:

• You’re eating more fiber. Dietary fiber, found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, helps clear out your bowels. You don’t digest fiber — instead, it passes through your bowels relatively intact, sweeping waste out along the way. If you’ve recently started eating more fiber, you might even be clearing out older poop that was stuck in there. This is usually a positive change.
• You’ve picked up a coffee habit. Coffee is well-known for making people poop more frequently — for several reasons. Caffeine is one of them, which is why you might notice a laxative effect from caffeinated coffee or tea. But decaffeinated coffee can also do it. Scientists believe that certain chemicals in coffee may increase hormone levels that stimulate bowel movements.
• You ate something that didn’t quite agree with you. You might have a brief round of more frequent bowel movements and gas if your bowels are a little more eager to get rid of a recent meal. This might be because it was too spicy or too fatty or contained something that you have trouble digesting. Many people have mild food intolerances that they’re not entirely aware of.
• Side effects of medications or supplements. Certain medications and supplements in certain quantities may cause more frequent bowel movements or even diarrhea. If you’ve recently started a new medication or supplement, ask your provider whether it might be the cause. Possible culprits include vitamin C, magnesium, some antidepressants, NSAIDs and antibiotics.
• Female hormone changes. If you have a female reproductive system, normal hormone fluctuations may affect the frequency of your bowel movements. For example, prostaglandins, which are active in pregnancy and around your menstruation, have a relaxing effect on the smooth muscles in your abdomen and pelvis. This is why you poop more on your period.
• Stress and anxiety. Your bowels and your brain are intimately connected and, believe it or not, anxiety and stress can cause nervous poops. Stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can induce bowel contractions. When the stressful moment has passed, other mechanisms trigger your body to return to neutral, causing your muscles — including your bowels — to relax.

If your frequent bowel movements come with other symptoms, like abdominal pain or anal pain, they might be related to an underlying medical condition. Some of these possible causes include:

• Mild intestinal infections. A passing episode of food poisoning or stomach flu, if it’s on the mild side, might cause more frequent bowel movements without causing noticeable diarrhea. Our guts actively clear out germs on a regular basis, often without our noticing. Most of the time, even if we do notice, these infections are brief. But pay attention if your symptoms continue.
• Chronic infections and their after-effects. Some types of intestinal infections might need treatment to go away, including certain parasites. Others, like giardia, can damage your colon and continue to cause symptoms even after the infection has passed. Infections that might cause diarrhea for some people might only cause more frequent bowel movements for others.
• Side effects of surgery on your bowels. If you’ve recently had a bowel resection or hemorrhoidectomy, your colon might still be inflamed and swollen, and the nerves that trigger bowel movements might be hypersensitive. This might cause more frequent bowel movements. Sensitive nerves might also cause tenesmus, a frequent urge to poop even when you can’t go.
• Excess fat in your poop. Fatty poops tend to be softer and more frequent. You might recognize a fatty poop (steatorrhea) if it floats or leaves an oil residue in the toilet. If this happens regularly, you might have a fat malabsorption disorder. This means your intestines can’t properly absorb fats from your food. Certain chronic diseases can cause malabsorption.
• Overactive thyroid gland. Hyperthyroidism is a condition in which your thyroid gland makes and releases high levels of thyroid hormone. This can make your metabolism, and your digestive system in general, speed up. You might begin to notice more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, along with other symptoms, like an increased heart rate and body temperature.
• Autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases can cause chronic inflammation in your bowels, which may cause chronic changes in your bowel habits. Symptoms are often mild and even unnoticeable much of the time, but they can flare up at other times, becoming more noticeable. Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn’s disease are some examples.
• Cancer/tumors. Colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal (GI) tumors can cause changes in your bowel habits. Make sure all of your age-appropriate health maintenance checkups and colonoscopy screenings are up to date. If you’ve noticed symptoms or changes in your bowel habits that you can’t explain and that haven’t resolved over time, seek medical advice.

How can I reduce my frequent bowel movements?

If you feel you’re pooping more often than you’d like, or your bowel movements are too sudden and urgent for your comfort, consider what might have changed in your routine to cause it. Maybe you’ve been hitting the coffee, artificial sweeteners or dairy products a little harder lately. Maybe you’ve been under extra stress, or maybe you’ve been taking magnesium supplements at night to help you sleep.

If you find that your frequent bowel movements are related to recent lifestyle changes, you can usually make the necessary adjustments to reduce them. This might mean reducing certain foods, drinks or dietary supplements, or consulting your healthcare provider about your current medications. If you’re not sure what’s causing your condition, though, you might need to ask your provider for advice.

What is the medical treatment for hyperdefecation or pseudodiarrhea?

Frequent bowel movements alone aren’t generally considered a health problem. In some cases, they might be an improvement to your health. But if you have other complaints along with more frequent bowel movements, you might have an underlying medical condition. Your healthcare provider will ask you about your symptoms, lifestyle, medications and health history to look for possible causes.

They might investigate further with medical tests, including:

• Blood tests.
• Stool tests.
• Breath tests.
• Imaging tests.

They’ll treat your symptoms by treating the underlying cause.

When should I be concerned about frequent bowel movements?

Consult your healthcare provider if you think you might have chronic diarrhea, if your bowel movements cause you discomfort or if they’re accompanied by other symptoms of possible illness, such as:

• Fever.
• Pain.
• Bleeding.
• Nausea.
• Weight loss.
• Weakness.
• Fecal incontinence.