Does anyone else have problems emptying when they're in a bathroom other than their own?
I can't seem to go, even when I need to. It's happened to me a few times now, and always at friend's houses so it's not like I'm in a gas station or anything and am afraid to sit on the toilet seat. I feel like I just can't quite relax enough. It's really annoying because the pressure kind of builds and the gurgling starts. I think part of it is that I feel anxious as well that I might take too long.
I wish there was a trick like how you can turn on running water to make yourself pee.

That is me exactly.

At home, I empty the best. While in a public toilet or at a friends house I can't seem to relax and empty as well.

I ve just mentioned this in another thread. Yes I am unable to relax either. I do go but I figure i can empty alil bit, so I wont leak and finish the rest at home. Later.
I wonder how i ll feel at work,,,
Its when we feel rushed we cant relax I think. I found that getting my mobile out to text or even delete old texts takes my mind off the task in hand and things start to happen

I am okay at home and in most public places. I have a hard time at people's houses and in port-a-potties. I'll just go enough to be comfortable.

It's been almost five years since I've experienced this. It happened all the time after my takedown when I used a public bathroom. Not so much at someone else's house, though. Most of all, I was embarrassed by all the noise I made when "evacuating". So, I guess I just froze! Finally, I figured out that if I couldn't relax enough to really empty, I had to "force" the issue. I did this by taking a deep breath and coughing really hard. I continued to do this until I was empty. It worked/works for me. Best wishes!

Pix,

I never really had this problem. Work is a easy place for me to go, there is a giant stall in the Men's Room by my office and if I can get that one, it's all good for me.

I usually don't have a problem in public spots. Honestly, I usually do something distracting if I am not home I do stuff on my pocket pc phone like surf the web or read my email.

Pixie,
2 suggestions for you:

1. Reading material.
2. A smart phone/pda phone with games or connectivity to the outside world.

NOW you know why you generally see newspapers, magazines, etc. in mens stalls all over the world! (contrary to popular belief, it's NOT an intellectual thing!)

//Todd

When I had full blown uc my bathroom was literally a library! I'd spend so much time in there that I became a prolific reader. One of the by products of having this surgery is that I now hardly spend any time in the bathroom....anywhere. As a result, the amount of my reading has diminished tremendously.

You Know what pixie..I can totally relate.
first of all I live in New York and just trying to find a mens room that I would walk into never mind attempting to actually use is rare. and if i actually find one in desperation I get nervous, I usually ply up the paper so high on the seat that my feet dangle in mid air. and yet after all that anxiety I can not go. or right as I am ready someone walks in and again I am nervous. and when visiting a friend or families I am always afraid of that occational violent movement that erupts like a volcano and creates a mess. and I always feel like somebody is listening to the unique din of my pouch emptying. I can relate with you. I am trying to overcome this and as in my last post I am learning to hold it more often and much longer.
good luck

I used to not be able to go ANYWHERE. I think I got over this real quick when my mom decided to take a boat to a private island in the cape where there was, honest to god, no habitants or buildings on the entire island. Just shoreline and grasslands. The boat wasn't coming back for another 4 hours, my only options were swim 2 miles to the mainland...or, well, dig a hole and go. I chose the latter. There were other people that came over with us, but they were all on the other side. It was horrible.

Pretty much the only time I get stage fright is in one of those really nice bathrooms at the mall- theres always people in there, yet its always silent. Usually I'll wait until I have atleast a second of privacy to flush the toilet and try to get it out all in one round, or I'll just hold it. However, I was waiting for everyone to leave at Macys a few weeks ago, and this woman just casually walked it and let it rip. I was like, oh my god, you've got to be a j-poucher. I really admired her courage. I almost said something, but I figured that might be a little inappropriate and beyond awkward.

Don't you just hate when you have to go real bad and then you walk into the bathroom to find your boss, co-worker, or classmate, etc in there. And then they start a small talk chat.

My work building has several floors. I just go on another floor so that I never meet my colleages.