For me, incontinence requires continual adjustment. What worked yesterday, what has worked for the past year, may get me in trouble tomorrow, and with little or no warning. For more than a year, I have taken stool softener with every meal. And, this worked. No accidents, no surprises, nothing that was threatening. Then this past August arrived. Despite the stool softener, my GI system began alternating between constipation and diarrhea, sometimes gassy, with little or no warning. Then, on 24/08/18, I had a full day of diarrhea, going five or six times, depending on how you count the hours. It was exhausting, and I had several leakage accidents. Clearly, the stool softener was no longer working, and I did not know what to do. A diet that my stomach will endure gives me colon spasms and blockages that can be painful; a diet that prevents these colon difficulties gives me stomach pain and regurgitation (vomiting, sometimes in my sleep). I resumed eating oatmeal for breakfast. Oatmeal is high-fiber, and therefore forbidden by every dietary advice for gastroparesis that I have read, including the brochures from my gastroenterologist. It gives me quite a lot of stomach pain and regurgitation, which I expected, but I am upright after breakfast, so I do not need to worry about asphyxiating myself. I still take stool softener, but I have cut way back. And no, I did not call my gastroenterologist, because, along with thousands of other patients, I am caught in the middle of a squabble between local provider networks and insurers. I guess I'll continue with this, until it doesn't work anymore.
Thanks for letting me vent. Discussions such as this are really inappropriate for family and friends.
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