I empty my bowel every night using the magic bullet and 3 digital stimulation’s. The meds I take are 2 Colace and 4 senna daily. I used to use enemeez and they work great but started using magic bullet for more independence.
I have no trouble going. my problem is I go constantly, I need advise on how no to go poop so much, drowning in mess. Yuck
This has been my issue, too. Not diarrhea, just emptying constantly, with resulting contamination and UTIs. A flaccid bowel/sphincter makes for this problem, so we may just have to learn to live with it because of the nature of our injury. What Lαrα wrote about smaller meals has improved my "control" of what happens. My PCP suggested adding dextrin, a powdered fiber supplement, and this has helped firm up stools. It still seems that more comes out than goes in!
Or going further and having a colostomy done. I'm very close to having the surgery. Every accident takes a little piece of dignity and there isn't a whole lot of it to go around. Everyone I've talked to about this has said it has freed them and wished they had done it a long time ago. Especially those with use of their fingers to deal with the stoma dressings and pouch.
I do it 2 times a day, at noon and evening. I don't use meds,just use digital, golves and mineral oil. I got one hemorrhoid before paralyzed, and I have two after several months. I think too much digital will make hemorrhoids worse, but I the bowl program only takes me several mins a day without any accidance like leakage. I asked my rehab doctor in UW about whether using digital like this is ok. She said if I use mineral oil every time the rectum would not be hurt then it is ok to do it.
I learned something new recently. I hadn’t known that people with SCI below the T-12 level have a relaxed anal sphincter muscle. My injury is T-9 incomplete and my anus is usually tightly closed. I have to insert a gloved, lubricated finger and gently pull it open to have a bowel movement.
“With a spinal cord injury, damage can occur to the nerves that allow a person to control bowel movements. If the spinal cord injury is above the T-12 level, the ability to feel when the rectum is full may be lost. The anal sphincter muscle remains tight, however, and bowel movements will occur on a reflex basis. This means that when the rectum is full, the defecation reflex will occur, emptying the bowel. This type of bowel problem is called an upper motor neuron or reflex bowel. It can be managed by causing the defecation reflex to occur at a socially appropriate time and place.
A spinal cord injury below the T-12 level may damage the defecation reflex and relax the anal sphincter muscle. This is known as a lower motor neuron or flaccid bowel. Management of this type of bowel problem may require more frequent attempts to empty the bowel and bearing down or manual removal of stool.” www.sci-info-pages.com/bowel.html
I solved my bowel problems at a stroke. Fed up with constant manual evacuations, autonomic dysreflexia with every bowel evacuation, I spoke to my consultant at Stoke Mandeville hospital and asked him if he would refer me to the bowel clinic. Knowing the problems I had with AD he arranged an appointment. Three months later I was speaking to a doctor who was an expert in laparoscopic colostomy operations. We ran through all the problems that I might encounter if I had a colostomy. The benefits seem to outweigh the pitfalls. I opted to have the operation. That’s was 10 years ago and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I learned something new recently. I hadn’t known that people with SCI below the T-12 level have a relaxed anal sphincter muscle. My injury is T-9 incomplete and my anus is usually tightly closed. I have to insert a gloved, lubricated finger and gently pull it open to have a bowel movement.
“With a spinal cord injury, damage can occur to the nerves that allow a person to control bowel movements. If the spinal cord injury is above the T-12 level, the ability to feel when the rectum is full may be lost. The anal sphincter muscle remains tight, however, and bowel movements will occur on a reflex basis. This means that when the rectum is full, the defecation reflex will occur, emptying the bowel. This type of bowel problem is called an upper motor neuron or reflex bowel. It can be managed by causing the defecation reflex to occur at a socially appropriate time and place.
A spinal cord injury below the T-12 level may damage the defecation reflex and relax the anal sphincter muscle. This is known as a lower motor neuron or flaccid bowel. Management of this type of bowel problem may require more frequent attempts to empty the bowel and bearing down or manual removal of stool.” www.sci-info-pages.com/bowel.html
May I ask your injury level, Ava?
Hi Vintage, my injury level is T 10. Before I using digital , I will massage it to make it easier to do it.
Totally off-topic. Please forgive me. This was a tiny kitten that I rescued from my back patio and bottle fed for a month, then found her a loving home. Also, a photo of her later sent to me by her new mama. (Your avatar, Ava, elicited these unsolicited photos.)
Totally off-topic. Please forgive me. This was a tiny kitten that I rescued from my back patio and bottle fed for a month, then found her a loving home. Also, a photo of her later sent to me by her new mama. (Your avatar, Ava, elicited these unsolicited photos.)
Here's another question for the group. How many of you do your bowel routine in the morning and how many do it at night? I'm every other night at about 11:30pm.
"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." --J.P. Sartre
Hi Stephend. I”m T9 incomplete. In my case, I “get a feeling” that I have to “go”.. I just make sure not to take a laxative before an outing. Stephend, would you mind adding the info giving your injury level to your profile? I’m always looking at that when comparing things like bowel routine.
Haven't found a proper med to help move things along. Any suggestions?
Have you tried Senekot or Milk Of Magnesia tbone57 ?
I started to take Magnesium Hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) three months ago and it works better than all the other laxatives I had before. Glauber's Salt worked great, too. But it was not easy to take on a regular basis because if its flavour.
I agree with good ol’ milk of magnesia, RObart. But some research I did a couple of years ago turned up an unexpected result. The Phillips brand puts some bad extra chemicals in their product. Many other brands don’t put those bad chemicals.. “However, many milk of magnesia products have the magnesium hydroxide in solutions of sodium hypochlorite (effectively diluted bleach) and can include artificial colors, xanthan gum, sorbitol, and more. I think it's useful to avoid these additives, particularly the sodium hypochlorite when using the product for dental care as it may discolor your teeth. Fortunately, most generic store-brands are actually superior to name-brand Phillips milk of magnesia.” www.toxinless.com/milk-of-magnesia
For example, these are good:
Good Sense Milk of Magnesia Magnesium hydroxide, purified water.
Kroger Milk of Magnesia (Original Flavor) Magnesium hydroxide, purified water.
TopCare Milk of Magnesia (Original Flavor) Magnesium hydroxide, purified water.