Filling back into stomach - can it happen?

I've heard a lot about getting water past the valve into the small intestine, and when I go for the larger volumes, I suspect I'm already getting some that far up. My question is what happens if the small intestine becomes filled as well. Is it possible that the water could also work its way back into the stomach? If that could happen, what would be the effects of this?

You almost answer your own question sers - however I'll pose two or three for you.

Q. What is the route by which you administer your enemas?

A. By way of the anal canal and the rectum/lower digestive tract.

Q. What do we find in the rectum and the lower digestive tract?

A. Faeces!

Q. What would be the effect of getting faeces, or traces of them etc. in the stomach?

A. Do you really think it would be anything that's pleasant?

I cannot conceive anything more nonsensical than these insane desires to destroy oneself in the pursuit of pleasure(?). We get you folks who want to exceed the contents of Lake Michigan in your bowels, put fish tank tubing into the bladder, connect yourself to the mains supply - of water or electricity - or get that famous Russian, Dr Kutchacockoff, to operate on you!

Actually, this wasn't anything I was going to attempt - I was concerned about what the consequences might be (not trying for Lake Michigan any time soon!) I appreciate the warning.

Sers: I don't know if it could happen, but I do know what happens when the contents of the large bowel get into a stomach. Retrostalsis is what causes this. Your normal peristalsis goes in reverse and it is terrible.

First wife had this happen in the last trimester of her first pregnancy. She started belching fecal odor and she got intense nausea. Then vomiting started and would not stop. Of course bowel contents were in the emesis, which made her even more nauseated. I called her OB-GYN to get some help. He called in an Rx for Compazine Suppositories and said she should take the largest tap water enema she could hold. I helped her with it and it forced the retrostalsis to reverse and she expelled normally. But her breath was awful for many hours. She took the Compazine suppos. for an entire day and slept most all of that time.

Actually, this wasn't anything I was going to attempt - I was concerned about what the consequences might be (not trying for Lake Michigan any time soon!) I appreciate the warning.

Apologies for thinking you were going for gold sers - but I did base my comments on

......and when I go for the larger volumes, I suspect I'm already getting some that far up.

I read that as that you had already been unwise!

Well, I do on occasion feel like the small intestine may be beginning to fill, and I was concerned about what might happen if it did in fact become completely full. I'd rather avoid this and keep it all to the lower intestine where it's meant to be.

Enemas really should not back up into the small intestine. You don't want some of the bacteria from the large intestine backing up into the small intestine anyway.

When you want to clear your entire system, remember the stomach can empty into the small intestine every 20 minutes, and the small intestine into the large intestine as often.

The best way to clear the small intestine:

Fast for AT LEAST 8 better 12+ hours to clear the stomach. Then take a slow-acting laxative such as bisacodyl. Some time between the time you take that laxative and the time it kicks in, clear the large intestine with as many soapsuds enemas as it takes to do that. Then, once the slower acting laxative has kicked in,and the enemas have clear returned take a faster acting laxative like Magnesium Citrate. That way the laxatives will clear the small intestine.

First, enemas backing up into the small intestine...

It happens fairly often for me. My large intestine holds about 2.5 - 3 quarts. Over that, I can feel the solution working its way back through the many twists and turns of the small intestine. I occasionally do several 4-5 quart enemas in a week with no ill effects.

Second, an enema backfilling into your stomach...

I believe it can happen, and the results are not at all fun. A cautionary real life tale (not for those with queasy stomachs)...

I once hit a *major* bout of depression, curled up in bed and hid from the world. I just didn't feel like eating, and what little I did eat was whatever I had left over in the fridge, sometimes on the verge of going rancid. One day I woke up feeling a little bloated and gassy. I had successfully treated that feeling before with an enema so I decided to just take a large enema until I felt full to flush out whatever might be bothering me. I took the first bag (2 qts) with no problem at all. The second bag also went in with no discomfort. The third bag made me feel a little heavy, but not uncomfortable. I got about 1/3 of the 4th bag in when I started to feel intense pressure. I stopped at about half way on the 4th bag and stepped on the bathroom scale. ... then it hit. Like Jimmyt44 described... nausea like I've never felt before, belches that smelled and tasted like feces, nearly uncontrollable vomiting of water and fecal matter for several minutes, then cramps and explosive expulsion.

As I sat there emptying my body from both ends, I realized I had not eaten for 4 days so my bowels were almost completely empty before the enema and suspected I had flushed fecal matter back into my stomach. When I finished expelling the enema, I stepped on the scale again... 12.5 lbs lighter! That's 6.5 quarts of water! I later found a medical book that said the average adult human intestine has a maximum capacity of 7 quarts, supporting my hypothesis.

What happened after that? My body had absorbed too much water from the enema, making me hypernatremic. My whole body swelled, I dripped with sweat over my whole body, I had a screaming headache, felt nauseated, and my breath smelled and tasted like feces. I drank some apple and orange juice, knowing my kidneys would work extra hard to flush out the added sugar and remove some of the water from my system. An hour or 2 later I started grazing on a light meal (real food!) chased with Gatorade for electrolytes.

It was almost 4 days before I felt anywhere near normal and almost 2 weeks before my bowels worked normally. Some time later I told a friend who's an ER nurse what had happened and she said I was lucky that I lived. That much water absorbed so quickly definitely threw off my electrolytes, risking cardiac arrest, and the backwash of fecal matter had upset my intestinal flora, affecting my body's absorption of nutrients.

Is it possible to get water into the stomach from an enema? I'd say yes. Should you try it? I would say not only NO, but @#$%^& NO!!!

I have actually done much the same as you. I took about 3 bags of salt water. I got to feeling nauseated and threw my guts out... It appeared brown like what leaves me through the anus when I give myself an enema. I used to get terrible headaches especially on the lower back of my head. That was before I started using salt in my enema water. I remember back when I was younger and in New Orleans for the week-end. My future brother in law had fixed ribs and I think he food poisoned me. Because during the night, I felt really nauseated and threw my guts up over and over. That time, too, the throw up looked like and smelled like enema water exiting my anus. Be careful...

Wow; what an interesting thread, I guess I will be more careful in the future with large volume enemas.

Yes, i believe the stomach can 'backfill' from too large a enema. i believe this has happened to me on three iccaisions. the result? you puke! in the 'library' section on this site, there is even an article explaining how to cause the receiver to vomit.

I have had enemas that backed up from my intestines to my stomach before. I did not enjoy them at all. Yes, some of the fecal mater from my lower intestine did back up first into the upper intestine then into my stomach. When this happened I could not hold it back and started throwing up from it all. The taste in my mouth was terrible and I begged for something to get the taste out. Usually it would be given to me. NO, I DO NOT LIKE IT AND DO NOT WANT IT AGAIN!!!!!

Albert

I'm no doctor, but I think it would take one helluva lot of water to fill 5 feet of large intestine and 20 feet of small bowel, not to mention forcing a lot of that water through the ileocecal valve, the wrong way. On the other hand, if you had a GI fistula (An un natural connection between two parts of the GI tract) in the right place, then I guess it could happen. Maybe Suzy will chyme :

Fluid from an enema can reflux into the distal ilium after the colon is distended under high pressure. The fluid cannot reach the stomach however. The nausea is mediated through the vagus nerve which is stimulated when the colon is stretched. Feculent vomiting occurs with bowel obstruction. It doesn't happen with enemas.

Not likely it will back up into the stomach as such

The stomach empties part of it's contents into the small intestine about every 20 minutes. The small intestine also empties part of it's contents into the large intestine at similar intervals but almost never in sync. If it happens twice at the same time it's pure chance.

As a result, when the small intestine is emptying into the large intestine or trying to, there can be some backup into the small intestine, but usually not a lot, As the small intestine tries harder to dump to the large intestine, it can upset the whole system.

So it's not likely that enema contents will ever reach the stomach, even diluted by the contents of the small intestine, but as your system tries to do that with the large intestine full of soapy water with Epsom Salt some nausea is possible.

The times I have actually vomited are:

Taking an enema too soon after a meal, essentially on a full stomach

Retaining a 4-qt enema beyond about 10 minutes

The next full meal after overdosing on Epsom Salt.4

I have not actually thrown up between expulsions on an Epsom Salt and soapsuds enema. Probably because I did a good prep, and my stomach was empty.

LisaK, what the heck are you doing?

You are the only person here that comes to mind, who on a semi-regular basis mentions vomiting during an enema series, having a bite rag so you can suffer through your enema sensations and a big bowl to vomit into.

It's kind of hard to take advice from someone who self inflicts these ailments and complaints.

It sounds like YOU are over-doing it and working towards your own DARWIN AWARD.

I know someone who vomits from every enema they are given. In their case they are getting punishment enemas and that adds to the punishment as they hate vomiting. Most folks to my knowledge will not "back up" but for some it is possible if certain sphincters are not working correctly.

The enema itself does NOT back up into the stomach.

The increased abdominal pressure can elicit vomiting, but the vomit comes from what is already in the stomach, NOT the enema.

Susan, doesn't this have to do with the vagus nerve? (nausea & vomiting)

^^^^ yes

Any attempt to take an enema large enough to back up into the stomach is doomed to failure because of the anatomy of the digestive tract. It's designed pretty well to be a one-way street. The likely result of such a venture is a visit to the ER, or maybe your friendly mortician, due to a ruptured colon! Do not try this at home! Do not try this away from home!

Let me tell you all something. While I have never taken an enema so large that it backed up into my stomach, I was due to colitis backed up enough for bowel contents to back up into my stomach on it's own. It's been probably 4 months now since that happened, but it wasn't pretty, trust me on that. It made me so so very sick. As a matter of fact, I was so sick I was almost septic. Had I refused to go to the hospital any more, or waited longer I would have been in full blown sepsis and could have very easily died. Thank god Doc and wife drug me down the steps and made me go that day. If I think about it, and I don't have to think that hard, I can still taste it. You do NOT want this to happen to you, I can't stress that enough!

Mashie

Mashie you suffered from Potty Mouth from your colitis I know how nasty that can be, when you are actually throwing up fecal matter. 😢

@Kid, I love it, you called my mom a potty mouth. That is funny as all heck, lol. I might just have to slip that in a conversation with her someday, see what she says, hahaha.

Tankers if you ever call me a potty mouth I will slap the crap out of you, no matter where we are, lol. Remember child, I brought you into this world and I can take you out. Now be the good child I raised and carry on.

Mashie, AKA-your mother, lol.

Cat fight! 😁

LOL, there is nothing sexier or more entertaining than two girls fighting. If they are girly girls that is. I have only fought inside of a Karate ring. I have managed to talk my way out of many potential fights however. If I were to ever be in a fight outside of a Karate ring there would be no hair pulling, no scratching, and no slapping. I know very well how to make a fist and use it, lol.

But this situation is different, she's my kid, I will always own her, lol.

Mashie

Tankers I didn't mean it in the context of bad words or language, I meant it in medical terms for vomiting up fecal matter. Mahie knows the term and the nasty taste that comes with it. 😃

Mashie you know that I didn't mean what I said in that context right that I was talking medical knowledge right? I do not want to get in trouble from you remember I'm your baby sitter and friend right? Kid down on her knees groveling. Please I didn't mean anything bad by it, its not what your daughter said it was. 😃

. . . . Remember child, I brought you into this world and I can take you out. Now be the good child I raised and carry on.

Mashie, AKA-your mother, lol.

@Mashie, And you are quoting Bill Cosby to your daughter?????