When I was about 13 or so, my sister had her appendix out. Shortly afterwards, I was having trouble moving my bowels and had stomach pain. Not knowing what was up, and fearing that I, too, may have a "ripe' appendix, We called the doctor who directed us to the Emergency room. This was unusual because it is the only time I remember dad and Mom both being in the room with me. (Dad didn't usually take us to the doctor)
It started out like a normal exam. Down to skivvies, sit on the table, (I was given a sheet, first time ever, because ERs tend to be cold)nurse took my vitals, (oral temp) The nurse took the chart and told me the doctor would be in shortly.
In comes the doctor, he asked a bunch of questions about diet, bowel habits, basic medical history, etc. He has me take the sheet off and starts the exam. The HEENT etc was cursory. He was more interested in my gut. He had me lie back and started palpation and auscultation of the abdomen, (only pulling my shorts to the top of my pubic hair, which by now had grown in fairly well. He felt around where my legs joined the torso (which I would later learn was the inguinal ring) Then he conferred a bit with my parents. He asked then to step outside of the curtain... Then he turns to me and says that he wanted me to pull down my underwear and roll over on my left side, pulling my right leg toward my chest. While I was doing this, he went to the counter, put on some gloves, and came back with a card, a small bottle and something that looked like a toothpaste tube. I was hurting, and didn't ask about what was happening. (Besides, i was brought up to always obey the doctor's instructions without complaint.)
So, I'm laying in this odd position, and he says behind me "This will be a little cold," and spreads my butt cheeks and smears it with cold gel. Then he says "OK tell me if this hurts" and jams his finger up my ass! (Welcome to my first DRE) He feels around, moving his finger back and forth, going rather deep (or so it seems) asking me as he moved his finger "Does this hurt?" " how about this?" "where does it hurt when I do this?" etc. After what seemed like an eternity, he withdrew his finger, has me wipe my butt, and tells me I can pull up my underwear and I can sit up while he smears some feces onto a card. He put some liquid on the back of the card and looks at it for a few minutes
He has my parent come in and tells them that I have a bad case of constipation, and prescribed some glycerin suppositories, and if it got worse, to bring me back.
When we got home, Dad came into the bathroom with me. (Surprising, since he didn't usually deal with medical issues. That was mom's job.) and asks me if he wants me to have him put the suppository in. I was a bit flustered, and said I would do it, so he watched me to make sure that I did it right. After about a half hour or so, I had a big bowel movement and felt better.