www.incontinentsupport.org

I am seeking advice on my diet as it relates to incontinence. I am wondering what kinds of foods in my diet or what changes in my diet I can make to help solidify my stool. I have been dealing with soft to runny stool for some time now and that contributes to the incontinence. I have begun a daily enima treatment in the morning to help clean out so I can get through my day but I still find I am having issues later in the day still. I am wondering if what I am eating may be contributing to the problem.

So, what kinds of foods should I be eating and which ones should I be staying away from? Are foods higher in fiber better for helping in this situation or would that make thing worse? Do greasy foods make thing worse too? Does eating a lot of fruits and vegetables change things for the good or worse? I'm just trying to figure out what I should do. So any advice is welcome.

msshendo, I believe that cheese and green bananas solidify stools and can cause constipation. Also, eating a lot of red meat. Additional fiber of course will bulk up the stools. I eat a LOT of fruits and fresh vegetables, particularly salads for the fiber. In my case I found that I had to significantly increase my fiber intake.

I also use daily morning enemas to control my incontinence, but have the opposite problem of my stools being too solid. They can cause a blockage where things back up, resulting in overflow diarrhea. I have to use generous doses of Miralax to soften things up, but not too soft. It took me a while to experiment and fine tune the dosage until I got things right.

From your daily enemas, how many hours of protection are you getting before an accident?

Good luck!

--John