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Bowel or fecal incontinence and how to manage it
I am 73 yr old femal with diagnosed Celiac, Microscopic Colitis and IBS. i don’t have diarrhea, BM’s are either soft formed or constipated small hard stool, but either way I can be incontenant of small amount of stool. I wear a pad in close knit underwear with legs, so nothing can escape. Any advice from people with same problem would be comforting and useful. I would like to know how you handled it on social occasions.
Thank you, Emyliander
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This was for JK also. Thanks.
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1 Reaction@emyliander My PFPT told me to not skip more than two days or it will really set you back. I have to admit I have skipped much more than that because for some of the exercises I have to be on my side and after fracturing my femur I couldn't lie on my side. I do see that I have had a setback but it's not total. I have been resuming the exercises now.
I know, I could have done some of the exercises but I was in so much overall discomfort that I did not.
JK
Sorry to hear about your fracture, I can see that would set you back. One of the exercises was for relaxation, as she said being tense could make things worse. I had long suspected that. Also having a lot of fiber in your food is recommended, it seemed to help me to switch from cold cereal to gluten free oatmeal, with fruit and nuts in it. I’m sure I will continue to learn about other foods that will benefit me. It is important to keep up the exercises, and also easy to let it slide for various reasons, I do it myself.
Thanks for writing. Emy.
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2 ReactionsReply was for JK.
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1 Reaction@emyliander I generally have oatmeal about three or four times a week, with some nuts and some berries, generally blueberries.
Relaxing is definitely helpful too. Soft bowel movements do make it worse but occasionally even when not soft a very small “marble” will leak out.
JK
Yes I loose some marbles occasionally also. ( 😳 ) frustrating.
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2 ReactionsI got so sick of Harvard Newsletter pretending to educate and help people with dis-ease and then after a few sentences asking you for 💲💲💲💲. And the "pitch" is formulaic and treats you like an idiot who will fall for their products. I don't open these emails anymore.
I have an embarrassing problem that has developed over the years due to chronic constipation. My anal sphincter has lost muscle tone. I have been trying to find a balance between constipation and loose stools. I was put on Linzess, which is VERY expensive and gave me diarrhea even on the lowest dose. I was unable to control my bowels and had to wear pads....very messy! I got off the Linzess and began using one capful of Miralax in water at bedtime in addition to Metamucil after lunch. My stools were very soft and I could not tell if I was passing gas or leaking stool. Right now my biggest concern is the loose anal sphincter. I used to be able to prevent myself from passing gas in social situations and now I can't do that plus I leak stool. If I don't take anything for the constipation I go for days without a BM and my stool becomes like rabbit pellets and I have to strain to have a BM. I have IBS and a redundant bowel. Years ago my gastroenterologist had me see his nurse practitioner who gave me exercises, similar to Kegel exercises, but I was hit and miss doing those. Does anyone else have a situation like mine? I am only 69 years old and we love to travel. I can't foresee traveling or going swimming, etc. if I have this problem.
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1 ReactionHi @jeanne51 and welcome back to Connect, though I am sorry it is under these circumstances. I would like to connect you with people who have had similar issues with bowel incontinence so I moved your inquiry to a conversation on that topic.
Have you consulted with a physician regarding your problem?
Hi Amanda, I have consulted my gastro in the past but not since this issue exacerbated. I thought it would be beneficial to get reader's in put before I move forward with my doctor. Basically I have been dealing with SEVERE constipation for two years, but since I was a child. I just recently discovered the issue of bowel incontinence with the Linzess.