gastroparesis and fecal incontinence

[maxpower]

Patrick,

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I also suffer from bowel incontinence and bad days, like today, I have to change too many times. It makes it difficult to have any kind of routine. Between showers and changes half my day is spent in managing my condition. It is frustrating and tiring. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. But I manage because things could always be worse. Hang in there.

Max

[Patrick]

Thanks all for your support. I have discovered that stool softeners and laxatives can be threatening, especially when they begin to work, say, when I'm driving in dense, 70mph traffic on the Turnpike, 30 miles from the nearest rest stop. Suppositories are more predictable, because they usually work in 3-5 hours. However, I have come to rely on enemas, because they work exactly as needed, immediately, leaving me a solid 24 hours during which I can feel confident that I will not have an accident. Granted, they do still leak; however, so far, the leakage has not compromised my protection.

And yes, my gastroenterologist insisted that I maintain a liquid diet, and manage it with enemas and diapers.

[Don]

Patrick,
I know this is an old thread. I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis yesterday. It’s just another thing for me to deal with. My neuro and primary are sending me back to Mayo Clinic. I hope my insurance will let me go back. I’m exhausted from all this. And sleep can’t fix it. My therapist suggested I have PTSD. I just know my body is about done.

[Patrick]

Don,

If gastroparesis has started for you, you have my empathy. Quite aside from the other entries in your medical history, GP can be truly disabling. Dealing with it is frustrating, complex, and sometimes painful. How it interacts with your other medical issues can become a staggering calculus problem. Read up on the literature; quiz your gastroenterologist at every opportunity (I write my questions down during the ten days before each visit), and watch your diet with as much care as you can muster. A long list of the effects and side effects of the different medications used to manage GP, the risks of the disease and the outcomes of various treatments would be useful to keep on hand, along with prescribed and proscribed foods. Again, welcome to one really dismal club.


I hope I can be of service to you; however, understand that I am a medical layman, a patient, not a medical professional.