The Perils of Poo in Public

My flare isn't getting any better. Nothing that I eat stays with me for much longer than an hour max. This means that there will be times that I will have a problem when I'm in the office, and it's pretty brutal.

Gene Weingarten has talked about Poo Shame a number of times in his chat on the Washington Post, and I fall firmly in the camp that is in denial. When I was in college, I would hold it for hours until I was able to get to my designated toilet. Now, that's not an option. I use the "courtesy flush" early and often, and yesterday I found myself lurking in the stall until I was sure that everyone that was in the bathroom had left. I am terrified of having all kinds of horrendous sounds and smells that are not fully masked by the flushes and running into someone at the sink.

You would think that I would make it a point not to eat things that would set it off, but that's no fun. You would also think that I would remember to bring the wet wipes from my desk with me, but that's no fun either. I should just offer the suffering up to God. I'm sure he'd be very sympathetic, especially after I ate fries with my lunch.

I used to work with a woman that used to GRUNT when she was in her stall. She wouldn't wash her hands, either. We were all a little relieved (no pun intended) when she was fired.

H is a fearless pooper, but most men are. He knows that if he has to go, he has to go. But, he did tell me recently that he will sometimes go to a different floor in his office to go if he thinks that it will be particularly bad. Perhaps he has a little Poo Shame after all.