'I strained so hard on the toilet my insides fell out of my body'

A carer looks 'heavily pregnant' thanks to a that has left her - leaving her straining so hard her 'insides fell out her body'.

Courtney Ingham had been experiencing extreme bloating and for eight months, only being able to empty her bowels once every three weeks.

The 21-year-old said she was taking laxatives daily and had tried increasing her fibre intake and drinking black coffee but nothing worked.

Shocking images show her stomach so swollen from not going to the bathroom that she looks heavily pregnant.

Courtney, from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, said after she heard the 'pop' she noticed she was bleeding and after going to take a photo of the area, realised her anus and 'insides had fallen out of her body'.

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According to the , a rectal prolapse occurs when there is insufficient support of the rectum, and this results in the rectum dropping outside of the back passage.

She has undergone two operations to try and help her discomfort but neither have given her relief so far, and is awaiting specialist treatment.

She is now bravely sharing her experience to encourage anyone who might be experiencing changes in their bowel movements to go to the doctor swiftly, as she believes leaving her issue so many months exacerbated it.

Courtney said: "I had really severe constipation for about eight months and I didn't really think anything of it. I was just taking over the counter laxatives and pain relief.

"It's been really difficult. Prior to the eight months I was someone who would regularly goes to the toilet, it could have been up to three times a day.

"Then I noticed a little bit of bloating so that was really concerning and then I thought my bowel habits have massively changed.

"I was opening my bowels every three weeks. It was really, really difficult and the stomach cramp I was getting was out of this .

"The pain itself was really hard to manage. I was calling into work sick all the time. One day it could be fine and then the next minute I would be really, really poorly with it.

"Every day I was using the regular sachets of Laxido because that's what we give our patients and they're meant to really help but I stopped taking them for a little while because it didn't feel as if they were working. I was doing natural remedies like drinking black coffee, lemon juice, eating certain fibres.

"I reduced my portion sizes a lot because I thought it was something to do with how much I was eating and even after small portions I was getting really severe nausea and sickness as well.

"I did try to watch YouTube videos and things like putting your legs up, elevating your legs, like rubbing your tummy.

"But when I did strain a little bit it was almost like I felt a muscle pop. When I was pushing there was immense pain and it felt like I'd put something out of place. I described it as I could imagine labour being like.

"I could feel something there. When I wiped and it was blood, I was really concerned because there was no faeces but it felt as if there was.

"It was a little bit of spotting at first and then it was tissue filled. I did know something was wrong because the blood was fresh so it was coming from some type of wound.

"I did have to use a panty liner in my knickers because of the bleeding, it was getting a little bit heavy.

"So then I had to squat and take an unattractive photo and I noticed that it was like, I described it as somebody's organs. It was almost like flesh. My insides had gone out. It really did frighten me. I thought right, I need to go to A&E because this hasn't been right for eight months now."

She went swiftly to A&E at Darlington Memorial Hospital on June 23 where doctors tried to give her a suppository but Courtney said she was in too much pain. The following day doctors examined her under general anaesthetic and were able to correct the prolapse and evacuate her bowels.

They realised her sphincter muscle around the opening of her anus was not retracting properly so injected Botox directly into the muscle to try to relax it, but Courtney said the treatment has not worked and she is still in a great amount of pain. She has shared her story on TikTok in the hopes of raising awareness for what has happened to her.

Courtney said: "I thought the more awareness out there the more people can stop doing what I did and just push it to one side and think it's going to be okay because I think people need to be getting this checked, it's so important.

"If there's any change in anyone's bowel habits or they feel that they can't go to the toilet effectively anymore I think seek the advice of a GP straight away, don't leave it so long. I believe if I went within the first eight months and I spoke to a GP sooner, I could have avoided all this."