Much to my embarrassment I had an accident of the worst kind on Saturday (wasn’t able to prevent myself from going before I reached the toilet and made a big mess). I’ve had problems with constipation for some time but this is the first time I haven’t been able to stop myself going…
Is this a common thing (from what I can see it’s fairly uncommon)? How do people cope, I’m now paranoid about it happening at work and have brought in a spare change of pants and trousers in case it does. I really don’t know what I’d do if it happening around anyone other than my wife.
Sorry to hear this happened to you. Unfortunately it is fairly common amongst us MSer’s. If it were me I’d be inclined just to give my MS nurse a call and have a chat about it. It could be a relapse or maybe they can offer some help/advice.
It’s not all that common, but it does happen to quite a lot of MSers. There seems to be a few different causes. One of the most common is constipation - there is a build up behind the blockage which then leaks out (sometimes explosively). Other causes are spinal lesions affecting the necessary muscles and digestive problems.
If your problem is constipation & leakage, then getting that under control should help. A lot of MSers (and people with other conditions) take movicol or equivalent for this.
Digestive problems tend to cause uncontrollable diarrhoea. I had this problem, but it is now under control with loperamide.
The effects of spinal lesions I don’t know a whole lot about, but you should be able to get lots of advice from a continence advisor I would think?
Don’t let this problem take over your life. l always say it is the worst of our ms symptoms. Coloplast do a Peristeen system that is used mainly by disabled folk - especially para -athletes. lf you contact Coloplast they will send you a dvd to show you how it works. The Peristeen Anal lrrigation system enables you to empty your bowels when YOU want. And not when they decide to let you down causing embarrassment. lf l was you l would try this - you will soon get the hang of it - and put a stop to all the worrying.
There’s a couple of things that might help. Firstly, doing pelvic floor exercises will help strengthen the muscles that control everything down there, so can help you hold on a bit longer (at both ends!). The other thing is that it’s worth knowing that our bowels are most active within 20 minutes or so of eating. I remember reading that a while ago and have found that it tends to be true, so after I’ve had a meal I’m more on guard.
Other than that, using pads will help to keep your clothes protected. Tena make some pant-style ones (‘Tena Plus Pants’). My local pharmacy can order them in for me and cost about £8 for ten.
Someone mentioned Peristeen above-I am meeting a rep on Thu to be shown how this works/how to do it.
I previously tried anal plugs-pushed them out believe it or not! I seem to get what is a spasm in my tummy then bowel just opens-I cant feel it opening. So after the plug I used a huge pad then just had to get myself to the nearest loo and clean myself up.
I was reading on here recently re using cards to indicate that u need to use a loo-and quickly. These are a brill idea but to date I have never found a loo to use in under 15 seconds!
Soooooooo, Peristeen seems to be the way to go. Will be able to tell u more after Thu!
