I was hoping someone could help me with an IBS-related problem that I ve been having for years. I ve suffered with IBS ever since I was in grade school ( I m 44 now ). My symptoms included pain, diarrhea and the unexpected immediate urgency to run to the bathroom. Years ago my folks took me to a doctor that diagnosed me as having IBS after a battery of tests. When I was in my early 20s.. I was actually symptom free for years. Then around 1990.. some of the symptoms returned and have not gone away. Now, only occasionally do I have the terrible pains I used to have. But I still have the unexpected urges, the cramping and the feeling that I have to have a bowel movement almost constantly. The worst thing now is the feeling that after a bowel movement, I feel that I m not finished. So one of the things I ve been doing for years is inserting my finger to get what s left out. I know this sounds awful.. and totally gross.. but I can t seem to break this habit. No matter how much fiber I take, or water I drink.. my bowel movements never feel complete . And they re not because there always DOES seem to be more left.. sometimes MUCH more. And I can only get it removed by using my finger. And I m _not_ constipated either, my stools are always very soft and even loose sometimes. But it s like the rest won t come out without me trying to remove it. Then there are times when I feel there s something there.. I have the cramping and urgency.. but when I insert my finger, there s nothing there. I ve been wondering that if by using my finger I m not just irritating things even more.. making the feeling of having to go to the bathroom even worse. As I said.. I m trying very hard to break this habit or find ways to alter my diet so that the feeling of having incomplete bowel movements goes away. I just want to be able to go to the bathroom _normally_. Has anyone here ever had this problem? If so.. were you ever able to overcome it? Any replies will be so greatly appreciated! m definitely going to try to follow your advice. I ve been _trying_ to do just that recently but it s just SO difficult because I ve been doing this for years and I guess I m just used to it now. There are times when I feel a really bad urgency to go to the bathroom, but nothing will happen until I use my finger to get things going. It s almost like the muscles inside of my rectum are all tight and won t allow anything to pass. Again, this just may be due to the fact that I m so used to going to the bathroom in this manner that my body may need some time to adjust ( so I m hoping ). Then there are times when I feel an urgency.. lower abdominal cramps and the feeling I need to have a bowel movement.. and there s nothing there ( maybe some mucous and a small amount of stool, but not enough to cause such an urgency ). And just within the last month I noticed what I think may be an internal hemorrhoid . In 30 years of having IBS symptoms I _never_ had a hemorrhoid. I m thinking it might have been caused by trying to make sure I was completely empty all the time. Back when I was symptom-free, I never had this unfinished feeling. I d have a normal bowel movement in the morning, I d feel empty and would be good for the entire day. I so hope I can get back to feeling that way that someday soon! I ve upped my fiber intake.. and am eating yogurt and taking probiotics. I m hoping that may make a difference in time. This is such an embarrassing subject, I remember years back when I went to the doctor for my IBS symptoms it was very difficult telling him the details of my problem. And this is definitely not something I d ever bring up with a friend. So being able to post this message and hearing from someone who know what it s like makes a big difference. Thank you again for your reply Lynn! And if anyone else has any advice or comments about this, I d really like to hear them!