Some people suffer from severe constipation because their colon holds on to feces too long.
They generally do not complain of difficulty emptying their rectum. Instead, they feel as if their intestinal contents never get to their rectum. If there is nothing else found to be the cause of their symptoms, these people may suffer from colonic inertia, a colon that pumps too slowly. We describe this test later. We must also rule out any other cause of slow colon transit such as low thyroid hormone levels.