Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Beth, First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you all the things you need to know. Take care, Bill Werre ================= Beth Wetzel wrote: >Good Morning, > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > >Thanks for all your help. > >Beth > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Beth, First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you all the things you need to know. Take care, Bill Werre ================= Beth Wetzel wrote: >Good Morning, > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > >Thanks for all your help. > >Beth > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Bill, He is not using " diapers " yet, only urinary incontinence pads that press into his underwear and also bed pads. What typically happens is that he'll be getting up to use the bathroom when his blood pressure drops. He ends up falling out of his wheelchair onto the floor. Before I can get him back up, he has an accident. Then as I'm cleaning him up, more just keeps coming, not loose, but not the cannon balls others have referred to either. So I'm not sure I would classify it as being diarrhea. I did think about a blockage, but haven't checked out that avenue yet. This sure isn't a pleasant subject to be discussing, but I'm just trying to arm myself with info before pursuing a doctor visit. Thanks for your help! Beth ---------- Werre writes: To: shydrager Subject: Re: bowel incontinence Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 11:37:25 -0500 Beth, First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you all the things you need to know. Take care, Bill Werre ================= Beth Wetzel wrote: >Good Morning, > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > >Thanks for all your help. > >Beth > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to shydrager-unsubscribe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Bill, He is not using " diapers " yet, only urinary incontinence pads that press into his underwear and also bed pads. What typically happens is that he'll be getting up to use the bathroom when his blood pressure drops. He ends up falling out of his wheelchair onto the floor. Before I can get him back up, he has an accident. Then as I'm cleaning him up, more just keeps coming, not loose, but not the cannon balls others have referred to either. So I'm not sure I would classify it as being diarrhea. I did think about a blockage, but haven't checked out that avenue yet. This sure isn't a pleasant subject to be discussing, but I'm just trying to arm myself with info before pursuing a doctor visit. Thanks for your help! Beth ---------- Werre writes: To: shydrager Subject: Re: bowel incontinence Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 11:37:25 -0500 Beth, First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you all the things you need to know. Take care, Bill Werre ================= Beth Wetzel wrote: >Good Morning, > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > >Thanks for all your help. > >Beth > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to shydrager-unsubscribe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Beth, It sounds like the blood pressure is the culprit here. Bowel control is at least partially voluntary. When your father passes out (or nearly so) he loses the ability to control his bowels. I'm not sure I have a good solution for this, but here are a few suggestions: Barb said her husband used to move his arms around before trying to get up, to raise the blood pressure some. This might help. You might have your father try moving his legs a bit too, even if it's just pumping the muscles in his legs to try to get the blood circulating more. This might be enough to keep the pressure from dropping too much. You may need to move to a potty chair, which can be positioned near his wheel chair. I have seen some that double as shower chairs and can actually be rolled over the toilet. There are wheelchairs with arms that go down and potty chairs with arms that go down to facilitate a transfer without standing up. You may need a transfer board to help with this. I do think if you resolve the blood pressure drop the whole situation will be better. Certainly falling out of the wheelchair is not a good situation, even without the other problems. Carol & Rob Lexington, MA Re: bowel incontinence > Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 11:37:25 -0500 > > Beth, > > First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they > get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is > uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the > blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a > visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. > > I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is > straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under > the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then > use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second > bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by > rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your > doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you > all the things you need to know. > > Take care, Bill Werre > > ================= > > Beth Wetzel wrote: > > >Good Morning, > > > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > > > >Thanks for all your help. > > > >Beth > > > > > > > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may > unsubscribe by sending a blank email to > > shydrager-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Beth, It sounds like the blood pressure is the culprit here. Bowel control is at least partially voluntary. When your father passes out (or nearly so) he loses the ability to control his bowels. I'm not sure I have a good solution for this, but here are a few suggestions: Barb said her husband used to move his arms around before trying to get up, to raise the blood pressure some. This might help. You might have your father try moving his legs a bit too, even if it's just pumping the muscles in his legs to try to get the blood circulating more. This might be enough to keep the pressure from dropping too much. You may need to move to a potty chair, which can be positioned near his wheel chair. I have seen some that double as shower chairs and can actually be rolled over the toilet. There are wheelchairs with arms that go down and potty chairs with arms that go down to facilitate a transfer without standing up. You may need a transfer board to help with this. I do think if you resolve the blood pressure drop the whole situation will be better. Certainly falling out of the wheelchair is not a good situation, even without the other problems. Carol & Rob Lexington, MA Re: bowel incontinence > Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 11:37:25 -0500 > > Beth, > > First you have to make sure it is not from a blockage. Sometimes they > get so blocked that some oozes around the blockage and is > uncontrollable. If that is the case, they have to deal with the > blockage - ask your doctor if this is the case. The doctor can send a > visiting nurse to check it out if you can not get him into the doctor. > > I hope you are already using the adult briefs (diapers). If it is > straight diarhea - bedpads help with cleanup as you can put one under > the other and use the first one as a cleaning pad to get most off, then > use toilet tissue and/or a washcloth to get the rest off. The second > bedpad saves the sheets and new brief. You can change them in bed, by > rolling hime from side to side - if you do not know how - ask your > doctor to prescribe an occupational therapist to come in and show you > all the things you need to know. > > Take care, Bill Werre > > ================= > > Beth Wetzel wrote: > > >Good Morning, > > > >My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? > > > >Thanks for all your help. > > > >Beth > > > > > > > If you do not wish to belong to shydrager, you may > unsubscribe by sending a blank email to > > shydrager-unsubscribe > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Hi Beth, The problem with bowel incontinence may be related to a bowel obstruction or impaction, which is fairly common in MSA patients. It doesnt sound like that would make sense, but if the bowel is obstructed, there will sometimes be leakage around the obstruction in the form of diarrhea. Since it's also happening at night, it cold be a result of your husband being relaxed enough to allow the bowels to start moving again. If he does have an impaction, it should be looked at, as there could be more serious problems if not treated. You could have him wear protective underpants at night so the problem is not so messy or embarrassing. There are also a number of medical and dietary therapies to prevent severe constipation, such as high fiber, extra water, miralax, senokot, etc. You and your doctor should discuss the best options there. Best wishes, M. BETH WROTE: Subject: bowel incontinence Good Morning, My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? Thanks for all your help. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 30, 2002 Report Share Posted October 30, 2002 Hi Beth, The problem with bowel incontinence may be related to a bowel obstruction or impaction, which is fairly common in MSA patients. It doesnt sound like that would make sense, but if the bowel is obstructed, there will sometimes be leakage around the obstruction in the form of diarrhea. Since it's also happening at night, it cold be a result of your husband being relaxed enough to allow the bowels to start moving again. If he does have an impaction, it should be looked at, as there could be more serious problems if not treated. You could have him wear protective underpants at night so the problem is not so messy or embarrassing. There are also a number of medical and dietary therapies to prevent severe constipation, such as high fiber, extra water, miralax, senokot, etc. You and your doctor should discuss the best options there. Best wishes, M. BETH WROTE: Subject: bowel incontinence Good Morning, My husband has just started experiencing bowel incontinence and I'm not sure how to handle this. It has happened in the past, but only about once a year. Suddenly it's happening once a week. He's only having a problem during the night, but it will last for at least an hour. By the time I get him cleaned up and back to bed we've lost at least two hours of sleep. Any suggestions on how to handle this " new " situation? Thanks for all your help. Beth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2002 Report Share Posted October 31, 2002 Dear Beth: Ken had very little bowel incontinence even though he came home from the Nursing Home with a full diaper. He live almost five years after that, and he only had an " accident " once or twice during that time. he did have trouble with constipation so that may have helped, but what we did every bight before bedtime was to sit him on the toilet and just wait until he " went. " If he had trouble " going, " we used a Ducolex suppository to help things along. Our experience was that if we could get things started before he went to bed, we were usually OK until morning. Of course this whole group has heard how helpful a bug bean burrito was with Ken just a few days before his death. I do not recommend this remedy, however. Also, if you put a regular depend on at night under a Depend Brief, it will sometimes be the only one you will have to change in the middle of the night. Other than what I have said, there is really no solution for this problem other than holding your breath and cleaning him up. Good Luck. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2002 Report Share Posted October 31, 2002 Dear Beth: Ken had very little bowel incontinence even though he came home from the Nursing Home with a full diaper. He live almost five years after that, and he only had an " accident " once or twice during that time. he did have trouble with constipation so that may have helped, but what we did every bight before bedtime was to sit him on the toilet and just wait until he " went. " If he had trouble " going, " we used a Ducolex suppository to help things along. Our experience was that if we could get things started before he went to bed, we were usually OK until morning. Of course this whole group has heard how helpful a bug bean burrito was with Ken just a few days before his death. I do not recommend this remedy, however. Also, if you put a regular depend on at night under a Depend Brief, it will sometimes be the only one you will have to change in the middle of the night. Other than what I have said, there is really no solution for this problem other than holding your breath and cleaning him up. Good Luck. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2002 Report Share Posted October 31, 2002 Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice on the incontinence. It certainly does help to know that others are/have been going through the same thing. Thanks again! Beth ---------- kmcrae@... writes: From: kmcrae@... To: shydrager Subject: Re: bowel incontinence Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 11:22:50 EST Dear Beth: Ken had very little bowel incontinence even though he came home from the Nursing Home with a full diaper. He live almost five years after that, and he only had an " accident " once or twice during that time. he did have trouble with constipation so that may have helped, but what we did every bight before bedtime was to sit him on the toilet and just wait until he " went. " If he had trouble " going, " we used a Ducolex suppository to help things along. Our experience was that if we could get things started before he went to bed, we were usually OK until morning. Of course this whole group has heard how helpful a bug bean burrito was with Ken just a few days before his death. I do not recommend this remedy, however. Also, if you put a regular depend on at night under a Depend Brief, it will sometimes be the only one you will have to change in the middle of the night. Other than what I have said, there is really no solution for this problem other than holding your breath and cleaning him up. Good Luck. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 31, 2002 Report Share Posted October 31, 2002 Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice on the incontinence. It certainly does help to know that others are/have been going through the same thing. Thanks again! Beth ---------- kmcrae@... writes: From: kmcrae@... To: shydrager Subject: Re: bowel incontinence Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 11:22:50 EST Dear Beth: Ken had very little bowel incontinence even though he came home from the Nursing Home with a full diaper. He live almost five years after that, and he only had an " accident " once or twice during that time. he did have trouble with constipation so that may have helped, but what we did every bight before bedtime was to sit him on the toilet and just wait until he " went. " If he had trouble " going, " we used a Ducolex suppository to help things along. Our experience was that if we could get things started before he went to bed, we were usually OK until morning. Of course this whole group has heard how helpful a bug bean burrito was with Ken just a few days before his death. I do not recommend this remedy, however. Also, if you put a regular depend on at night under a Depend Brief, it will sometimes be the only one you will have to change in the middle of the night. Other than what I have said, there is really no solution for this problem other than holding your breath and cleaning him up. Good Luck. Barbara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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