Am I Constipated Quiz
Questions: 15 · 10 minutes
1. What have you noticed about bloating and passing gas?
No unusual bloating, and I can pass gas normally.
Mild bloating while still passing gas normally.
Marked or persistent bloating with more difficulty passing gas.
A visibly swollen abdomen with inability to pass gas.
2. Have you seen blood or an unusual dark color in or around the stool?
I have not seen blood, and the stool has not been black or tar-like.
I saw a tiny bright-red streak once after passing a hard stool.
I have seen bright-red blood more than once.
There is substantial bleeding, clots, or black and tar-like stool.
3. Have nausea or vomiting accompanied the bowel change?
Neither nausea nor vomiting has occurred.
I have had brief, mild nausea without vomiting.
I have had recurring nausea or a substantial loss of appetite.
I have vomited repeatedly or cannot keep fluids down.
4. Recently, how often have you felt a clear need to have a bowel movement but then had none?
This has not happened.
It happened once.
It has happened several times.
It happens most days or repeatedly within the same day.
5. What has been your longest recent interval without a bowel movement?
Less than 48 hours, which is typical for me.
About two days, which is a little longer than usual for me.
Around three full days.
Four full days or longer.
6. During the past two weeks, how has the number of bowel movements compared with your usual pattern?
There has been no meaningful reduction from my usual pattern.
I have occasionally had about one fewer movement than usual.
I have consistently had one or two fewer movements per week than usual.
I now usually have fewer than three movements per week, or there has been a major drop from my normal pattern.
7. Have you needed anything beyond ordinary wiping to help stool come out?
No physical assistance has been needed.
I have occasionally changed position or supported my abdomen for extra leverage.
I have repeatedly pressed around the pelvic or rectal area to help passage.
I have needed to remove stool manually, or stool has become painfully impacted.
8. How long has a reduced bowel-movement pattern been present?
I have not had an ongoing reduction.
For one to three days.
For four days to two weeks.
For longer than two weeks, or it has been getting progressively less frequent.
9. After passing stool, how often have you felt that more remained but would not come out?
I have generally felt finished.
I noticed that feeling once.
I have noticed it after several movements.
I feel persistently incomplete after most attempts.
10. Which best describes any abdominal pain occurring with the bowel change?
I have had no new abdominal pain.
I have had mild, brief discomfort that improves after passing stool or gas.
I have had recurring or moderate pain that interferes with normal activities.
I have severe or constant pain, marked tenderness, or a rigid-feeling abdomen.
11. While trying to pass stool, what kind of blockage sensation have you experienced?
No blockage sensation.
Brief resistance that resolved without much difficulty.
A recurring sensation that stool was stuck or obstructed.
A persistent blockage sensation with little or no stool passing despite repeated attempts.
12. Which description best matches your recent stools?
Soft and formed, without unusual dryness.
Somewhat firmer or drier than is normal for me.
Often hard, lumpy, or pellet-like.
Almost always very hard or pellet-like and difficult or painful to pass.
13. When having a bowel movement recently, how much have you needed to strain?
No more than is usual for me.
A little extra effort on one or two occasions.
Strong or prolonged effort during several movements.
Intense or repeated straining during nearly every attempt, especially with pain or light-headedness.
14. Which additional change best matches your situation?
None of these additional changes applies.
The bowel change followed travel or a change in meals, fluids, activity, or routine.
It began after a new medicine or dose change, or during another illness.
It is rapidly worsening or accompanied by fever, fainting, unexplained weight loss, or pronounced weakness.
15. Looking across the past week, how much stool have you passed overall compared with what is normal for you?
About my usual overall amount.
Slightly less than usual.
Substantially less than usual.
Very little or none despite repeated urges or attempts.