Unbeknownst to her and her family, Mina was born with a condition called dolichocolon, which means redundant colon. The redundant colon is an unusually long large bowel folded up on itself, forming extra loops and kinks.

Growing up, Mina suffered constipation and migraines. As a young adult, she developed hemorrhoids, and the symptom's severely affected her quality of life. Doctors recommended a balanced diet, hydration, and exercise, all of which she was already doing! She took laxatives for a while--but felt that she had to continually increase dosages to get results. Doctors prescribed special enemas that were either single use or had to be administered by a professional, both of which are highly inconvenient, especially for a “shy bowel”.

When Mina had her first child, things got worse. Soon after, she had hemorrhoid surgery. She tried soluble fiber. She ate prunes, dried figs, seeds of all kinds... And sooner or later ended up with unbearable hemorrhoid pain or fissures. She is not a candidate for a second surgery (yes, some people are).

It was then that she decided to make it a routine to go with help of warm water. First, she used the cumbersome ones that you have to hang from a robe hook and look like nana’s hot water bottle. She bought one of the ones with a stiff nozzle but was afraid to use it. Then, she had a revelation, what about one of those baby suction syringes on steroids?

She has been using one pretty much every morning for the last 20 years! While her hemorrhoids are not gone, she is able to manage them without paralyzing pain or fissures, and a belly that does not look or feel

like she is forever bloated.