Constipation on Call: The GI Struggles of Medical Professionals

The Gut Check: Digestive Issues Doctors Face But Rarely Talk About

They Know Better, But Still Suffer

Doctors know better than anyone else how to eat right, hydrate properly, and listen to their bodies. Yet ironically, many doctors are constipated, bloated, or in gastrointestinal distress more often than they’ll admit—especially during long shifts. It’s not about a lack of knowledge. It’s about lifestyle constraints, mental blocks, and hospital culture.

Every doctor who has worked in a hospital setting knows the unspoken rules: eat when you can, hold your bladder and bowels as long as possible, and definitely avoid hospital bathrooms unless absolutely necessary. Even the most sterile hospital doesn’t feel clean when it’s the middle of a chaotic shift and you're still wearing your scrubs from 12 hours ago. So, digestive issues become part of the hidden cost of working in medicine.

Let’s explore the specific gastrointestinal problems that plague doctors, the underlying reasons behind them, and what can be done about it—if anything.

Constipation: The Unspoken Companion of a 24-Hour Shift

Doctors often go 12 to 36 hours without a proper meal or rest, and their bowels suffer just as much as their brains. Constipation is extremely common among physicians, especially those in surgery, emergency medicine, or critical care. The primary causes?

• Delayed defecation due to lack of access to a private, safe-feeling restroom.
• Inadequate hydration, especially among surgeons and proceduralists who avoid drinking fluids so they don’t have to scrub out.
• Disrupted circadian rhythms, especially for those working night shifts or rotating schedules.
• Stress-induced bowel dysfunction, as cortisol directly affects gut motility.

And the mental part? Even if a doctor has 5 free minutes, many would still rather suffer the discomfort than use a hospital bathroom. The idea of sitting down in a public stall—where infectious diseases are a constant concern—feels more threatening than the discomfort of holding it in.

Bloating and Gas: The Price of Speed-Eating and Forgotten Meals

Doctors’ mealtimes are unpredictable and usually rushed. Many eat in 3 minutes or less, often standing up, while charting or between consults.

This leads to:

• Excessive air swallowing (aerophagia), which results in bloating and gas.
• Poor chewing and fast ingestion, leading to incomplete digestion.
• Heavy reliance on hospital cafeteria food or vending machines, often loaded with sodium, preservatives, and gas-producing ingredients.

Sometimes the bloat is so severe, it mimics abdominal pain or makes it difficult to bend down during patient care tasks. But again, most doctors don’t say anything—they just “deal with it.”

Acid Reflux and GERD: Powered by Coffee and Missed Meals

Acid reflux is almost an occupational hazard in the medical field. Between the overconsumption of coffee, irregular eating patterns, and high stress levels, doctors are primed for gastroesophageal reflux.

What makes it worse?

• Lying down briefly between night shift breaks, right after a snack or energy drink.
• Overuse of caffeine and NSAIDs, common among physicians trying to stay awake and push through migraines or minor aches.
• Delayed diagnosis, as doctors often dismiss their own symptoms.

GERD can severely affect sleep, comfort, and even voice projection—something many doctors rely on when communicating with teams, patients, and families.

IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome): The Catch-All Label for Doctor GI Woes

Stress is a well-documented trigger for IBS, and what’s more stressful than juggling critical patients, lawsuits, shift changes, and life-and-death decisions?

For doctors:

• IBS-D (diarrhea-predominant) can strike unpredictably during high-stress moments.
• IBS-C (constipation-predominant) is worsened by dehydration, skipped meals, and prolonged sitting or standing.
• IBS-M (mixed) is possibly the most common type among rotating shift doctors.

Most will never seek evaluation. They’ll self-medicate with over-the-counter drugs, assume it’s "normal," or write it off as just “part of the job.”

Hospital Bathroom Aversion Syndrome: A Real Psychological Barrier

Yes, hospitals are sterilized. But for doctors, bathrooms in hospitals are paradoxically perceived as biohazard zones. Knowing every pathogen that could be lurking on that doorknob or toilet handle makes it almost impossible to relax enough to do your business.

Reasons include:

• Fear of nosocomial pathogens, especially C. diff or norovirus.
• The lack of truly private, clean facilities, especially in older hospitals.
• Feeling "on display", as many hospital restrooms are high-traffic or shared by multiple departments.
• Mental inhibition, where even when the gut signals urgency, the brain hits the brakes due to the environment.

This leads to a cycle: delay ➝ retention ➝ discomfort ➝ avoidance ➝ constipation.

Hemorrhoids and Rectal Issues: The Hidden Burden

Constipation, prolonged sitting or standing, and irregular bowel habits all contribute to another taboo topic—hemorrhoids. Doctors often experience:

• Internal hemorrhoids, resulting in painless rectal bleeding.
• External hemorrhoids, with pain, swelling, and discomfort.
• Anal fissures, from straining during delayed bowel movements.

Yet again, they rarely seek medical advice for it. They might casually ask a colleague or grab a prescription cream but rarely undergo a full assessment. There's a stigma—how can a healer admit to something so common and yet so "embarrassing"?

Snacking Culture and Malnutrition

Even when food is available, it's rarely optimal. In many hospitals, physicians rely on:

• Sugar-packed energy bars.
• Leftover cake from nurses’ birthdays.
• Frozen or processed foods, reheated in microwaves older than the hospital itself.

This creates an environment of chronic poor nutrition, leading to:

• Sluggish digestion.
• Unpredictable bowel habits.
• Nutrient deficiencies, particularly fiber and magnesium, which are essential for GI health.

Some junior doctors even normalize this by joking, “I haven’t eaten a real meal since med school,” but this gallows humor hides a long-term health issue.

The “Starve-and-Binge” Pattern

Another common pattern? Doctors starve during the shift, then binge at night when they finally get home. This is especially true for:

• ER physicians.
• Surgeons.
• Residents and interns.

This late-night eating habit wreaks havoc on the gastrointestinal system. The stomach, after being idle for hours, is suddenly flooded with high-fat, high-carb meals, often eaten right before sleep.

Consequences include:

• Gastric distension.
• Insulin spikes.
• Nighttime reflux.
• Interrupted sleep, which worsens gut-brain axis regulation.

Mental Stress and the Gut-Brain Axis

Modern research is increasingly pointing to the gut-brain axis as a bidirectional relationship. Doctors, operating under chronic cortisol elevation, disrupted sleep-wake cycles, and continuous mental strain, are inadvertently sending chaos signals to their gut.

Effects include:

• Delayed gastric emptying.
• Increased gut permeability (aka "leaky gut").
• Microbiome imbalance, especially under long-term stress and antibiotic exposure.

Despite understanding these mechanisms scientifically, physicians often disregard them in themselves.

Why Doctors Don’t Talk About Their Digestive Health

1. Shame and stigma: GI issues are still treated as “embarrassing” or “minor.”
2. Self-diagnosis bias: “I know what’s wrong; I don’t need help.”
3. Fear of looking weak: Especially in competitive hospital cultures.
4. Time constraints: No one has time to book a consult, let alone follow through with a full workup.

This silence perpetuates suffering—and the cycle continues.

What Can Actually Help? Realistic Strategies for Real Schedules

• Designated staff-only restrooms that are cleaner, private, and well-stocked.
• Scheduled “bio breaks” during long procedures or rounds.
• On-call nutrition kits with fiber, hydration solutions, and probiotic options.
• Culture shifts that encourage talking about “taboo” issues without shame.
• Leadership modeling: Senior physicians should lead by example in healthy eating, hydration, and bathroom breaks.

Final Thoughts

Digestive issues among doctors are not trivial. They’re not just about comfort—they reflect systemic flaws in hospital design, culture, and expectations. Every bloated abdomen, every delayed bowel movement, every ulcer is a reminder that even healers need care. It’s time to stop accepting GI distress as the price of being a doctor.