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Bowel incontinence
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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@emyliander I understand completely about not talking to your friends about these problems, they can be embarrassing. I don't talk to many people about it either, and even my son and daughter do not know I have fecal incontinence, they do know about my urinary incontinence. They had to so they would understand when we are out why I have to stop so frequently.
Ahhh, so you are basically right next door, in Maine! We have a small, rustic lakeside cabin on Lake Thompson. We used to be there every summer weekend and for vacation but it's getting to be a lot to do for my husband and myself so we are trying to disposition it to our kids right now but that's not an easy thing to do. Lots of complications.
JK
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1 ReactionI have had that same dream, usually I woke up soon enough to make it to the bathroom. Good luck.
mlmcg
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2 Reactions@mlmcg, thank you, I never knew so many people had the same problems, my best wishes are with you all. Emy
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1 Reaction@contentandwell , hello, we are lucky we don’t live in the 1800’s when they didn’t have disposable pants and pads, sometimes, no indoor plumbing. Always something to be thankful for. Good luck with the cabin. Emy.
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1 ReactionEvery home had a chamber pot in each bedroom so no one went outside at night. However, someone had to empty them in the morning.
Our Grandmother said that she wanted to live, once they retired, as they stared out married life on the farm. It gave the grandchildren, and those who visited, the chance to know how an outhouse worked, how to use the pump at the sink and cook on a wood burning stove. They did not have an icebox, no one had big blocks of ice anymore, so they did have electricity and a refrigerator, no phone for the first few years. (The disposable pads were called "rags", and they were rags, which were rinsed out, washed, and dried to use again.)
mlmcg
I have been reluctant to ask my family doctor for a consult with a Urogynecologist, I eventually called. Her nurse called back and said the doctor had never heard of Pelvic Floor PT. The nurse however had looked it up and showed it to the doc. She told the nurse to call my Gastroenterologist to ask if it was something he would recommend for me. So now I have to wait to hear the result. Meanwhile I am wondering how I’m going to make out traveling to Spain in August. On a 7 hr flight and traveling and going to beaches.
Emy.
@emyliander She’s a urogynecologist and she never heard of pelvic floor PT? Good thing she has a smart nurse. I can’t imagine that she would have a gastroenterologist prescribe it, that should be her call.
Doctors here, in NH and Maine, are often not as up on things as doctors in more densely populated areas, but the urogynecologist in Manchester is supposed to be good if you don’t mind waiting forever for an appointment. As I have mentioned though, I have basically all of my care at Mass General now except for my PCP. I really love that hospital. All of the doctors and nurses there are phenomenal.
JK
I didn’t make myself clear. It was my GP that hadn’t heard of Pelvic Floor PT. I still would have expected her to know about it though. I guess if she doesn’t know about it, it would be hard to make the decision as to whether it is nessasary. They could make a decision that it’s not, but not nessasarily be right. I’ll have to wait and see.
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1 ReactionI have over production of bile. I also have problems unaware i soiled my self. I am now taking collestipol 1gm in am and if I go out I take another. My problem started 10 years ago. I had my gallbladder out 40 years ago. I hate jt. But the medicine helps. I also know what foods set me off. I had to do my own research and come up with the diagnosis. Very frustrating when doctors do not help. I am retired nurse had never heard of this condition. I wear pads when I go places. Always carry xtra stuff. But I am thankful for the meds. Maybe try and see if it would work for you . It can. Constipate though but I find that better then standing in the middle of a store with poop running down my legs. Also sorbitol, malitol etc causes diahrea. I hate this condition.
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2 ReactionsHello @tjitske, I admire how proactive you have been. You said, " I had to do my own research and come up with the diagnosis." For many of us, this has been the way we have learned about a difficult and/or hard to diagnose problem. In addition, you have worked to find out what foods and products will set off the loose stools. Undoubtedly, being a retired nurse has given you some insight and investigative skills.
You mentioned that you had your gallbladder out 40 years ago. Did this problem start at that time?
Could you have IBS? Your sensitivity to sorbitol etc is one of the symptoms of that condition—along with Intolerances of many other foods and their contents.
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1 ReactionI am sure it is the over production of bile. But yes all sweetness ending in tol give me a belly ache and diahrea. Many people have that reaction. It is also used in preps for colonoscopy.
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