Bowel incontinence - anyone with experience?

[LittleGreyFluffyCat]

My DM age 75 is suffering what she nicknames 'poo problems.' She sadly had a stroke in her late 40s and has been quite immobile ever since, she struggles to walk and can only manage a short distance with a stick, very slowly.

Over the last year she has had issues with sudden leaks, she describes it as being like a tap has been switched on. This has caused problems with clean up, with rugs and carpets being difficult to clean afterwards. She's said she doesn't want to wear nappy type pants but I haven't got to the bottom of why this is (I'll ask her again this weekend). The GP has given advice on diet and has tried some tablets with her, but it's obviously not working.

She doesn't go out often, but would be taken out by her carer partner to a cafe every now and then, but she feels she can't go out now in case the problem happens.

I'm wondering if I can get her seen by a private clinic to see if there are any more treatment options. I'm also wondering if there are things I can suggest to make this more manageable for her and her partner in daily life and to make it possible for her to leave the house again.

She's becoming very depressed and I'm her only support network, but live 5 hours drive away so don't see her often.

Any tips (or even just sharing experiences to make me feel less alone with the problem) would be gratefully received.

FIL has this occasionally but it's a known side effect from his dementia medication. It sometimes happens when he's on antibiotics too. I'd say go back to the GP before going private - does the GP know that what he's suggested has not worked. (What is her diet like?)

Does DM know how discreet incontinence pads are nowadays? On a 'just in case' basis while she's waiting for more investigations/treatment?

My mum had this and it was a side effect of constipation.

It’s very common for older people to have diverticular disease. An ‘old-fashioned’ diet, lack of hydration and low mobility all make it worse.

TMI warning: for mum, the leakage was a result of seepage around blockages caused by constipation.

Mum refused to eat a better diet or drink more (stubborn!) and wouldn’t take the GP prescribed laxatives because she couldn’t get to the toilet quickly enough when they started to work. So it was just getting worse and worse.

It remained a problem until she started having carers who now make sure she eats better and drinks more, and also give her Dulcoease (softens the poo to reduce constipation gently, rather than the more dramatic effects of laxatives). There was a massive improvement within about a month.

If you look on the Age Concern shop website, they have a wide variety of incontinence pants which your mum may be persuaded to try.

Good luck!

this. Bowel incontinence can often be due to over flow from constipation. It’s usually the first thing continence nurses check for. Have some sweetcorn and see how long the ‘transit’ is….should be no more than 48hrs.
Does she do a normal poo? If not she might want to try some movicol/laxido to get things going. This website is for kids but it’s applicable to adults
www.eric.org.uk/advice-for-children-with-constipation

My granny had this exact problem and uses these as they are more pant like www.incontinencechoice.co.uk/tena-silhouette-plus-high-waist-creme-large-1010ml-8-pack.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=RM_Smart_Shopping_SH2-Disposable_Pull_Up_Pants&gclid=CjwKCAjwp7eUBhBeEiwAZbHwkRXLwNPELt_P5-_bEySnuejBz5fZihAwoY8ITFNe2NOaowxFvjinFhoChW8QAvD_BwE

Thanks for the responses, I'll look at the various links and consider all your advice, thanks again. It's not a nice problem to have!