swimming causes bowel accident

[crypticgimp]

i would add probiotics to your routine. that helps get you back to regular, especially after hospitalization.

exercise usually makes me use the bathroom as well, so i try to go before

[Karen Martin]

Thank you everyone for your advice and input. My bowel program has never been spot on. I've been in the chair now for five years and I've always dealt with accidents. Whenever it starts to go ok, something happens- first I had a baby and screwed it up, then I got this pressure wound and now it's screwed up again. Here are some of my questions- if you don't use the magic bullet or suppository to kick start your routine, how does your body know that it's time to go to the bathroom? And the other day, before I went swimming, I did do a quick check- dig stim to see if I was in the clear, and I thought I was. Then I ended up having the accident. Did I jump start my body into thinking it was time to do bp? This all confuses me so much!

[retto76]

I don't use a suppository. Instead, I just kept doing it at the same time every day until my body "got used to" going at those times. It took a while for that to happen, but it's been nice. And I don't know if that works for everyone and the type of bowel issues that they have, but it works usually for me. That being said, my body has gotten "off routine" this summer, and it is hard to get it back on task.

I don't know if you jump started your body into thinking it was time, but it sounds reasonable. How high up do you go when you check? When I first started doing a bp, I would stick a finger up there, find nothing, then go to bed and shit myself in my sleep. It was incredibly frustrating. Then I started using a two-fingered approach (one on each hand), and I would check further up inside. I find more and pull it out, and (knock on wood) I haven't had an accident in bed (not counting a bad incident of explosive diarrhea) in over 3 years now!

Do you wear a swim diaper? I had to when I did aquatherapy. Luckily, I never had an accident.

[tasty]

Originally Posted by Karen Martin

Thank you everyone for your advice and input. My bowel program has never been spot on. I've been in the chair now for five years and I've always dealt with accidents. Whenever it starts to go ok, something happens- first I had a baby and screwed it up, then I got this pressure wound and now it's screwed up again. Here are some of my questions- if you don't use the magic bullet or suppository to kick start your routine, how does your body know that it's time to go to the bathroom? And the other day, before I went swimming, I did do a quick check- dig stim to see if I was in the clear, and I thought I was. Then I ended up having the accident. Did I jump start my body into thinking it was time to do bp? This all confuses me so much!

You don't provide the level of your injury, so I'm not sure if this is accurate or not. If you have a lower injury and can use your trunk or legs at all while in the water, it is that action that may be triggering the bm's. In the water you can move your legs and abdomen in ways that you can't while out of the water. If you have a high level injury, then I am just as confused as you.

With a lower incomplete injury I never use the pool the same day I've used the toilet. Since I have reasonably good sensation, I have had to make several quick transfers to get out of the pool and in to the bathroom. I made it every time, but I certainly had some close calls. However, the memory of those incidents has kept me from using the pool on many occasions.

[zagam]

Lower Motor Neuron are not water tight. The normal plug required for social continence turns to liquid which they can not contain. Need to wear incontinence swimmers. Been there, done that early during recovery. Since changed.

[ancientgimp]

I am a T-10 para since 1970, for all these years I have done dig stim daily in the AM. In rehab I was having frequent accidents while trying to develop a reliable routine. I decided daily would be the best to minimize chances of an accident and that I would do a morning routine so that it would be less likely I would ever have an accident at work. I worked for 30 years post injury and almost never had an accident at work. My routine normally takes about 30 minutes each AM. I attribute the daily routine for avoiding mega colon type issues as I do not carry bm on board for more than a day. I take no laxatives, no probiotics, etc. I do find drinking beer is a great cleanout tool.

Does the original poster know if she is having accidents maybe only on the day she skips her routine, maybe consider a daily routine for awhile and schedule routine so that she will be less likely to have an accident during the most busy/public parts of her day. As your routine becomes more reliable then consider returning to every other day. Good luck, the further you get away from your hospital stay the more likely these problems will resolve.

[darkeyed_daisy]

Here is a nice article from Craig.

All physical activity stimulates bowel function, whether competitive sports or the activities of daily living
such as transfers. Just getting up and out of bed is an important activity for overall health and well-being.
Participating in sports and fitness is one way of increasing physical activity but even getting up and going
to school, work, or various leisure time activities is helpful. Whatever activity you choose, do it. Activity
helps the mind as well as the body. You will feel better overall and keep those bowels moving by being
active.

http://www.craighospital.org/reposit...ProgramLMN.pdf

I have always been opposite of everything they tried in rehab 20+ years ago. This explains it like Zagam also stated. So I developed my own routine years ago.

[ancientgimp]

Was involved in wheelchair road racing for over 15 years and never had an accident doing that. However, if I do bench presses by laying on my back on a weight bench w one leg on either side of the bench feet on the floor then lift considerable weight that will almost guarantee an accident.

[TheRainman]

Originally Posted by Karen Martin

Thank you for getting back to me on this. I am a T8 complete para. My normal routine was done every other morning. I would eat something, wait about 10 minutes, insert magic bullet, wait 20 mins and then dig stim every 10 minutes for about 4 times. Since I wasn't allowed to get out of bed while I was in the hospital, my surgeon had me do my program every 5 days (I wasn't eating that much anyway). Since I've been home and up and about, nothing has been right. Along with the bowel problems, my bladder hasn't been holding up either. A new doctor told me to try stopping the magic bullets and upping the fiber. She seemed to think that the magic bullets were the cause for accidents just hours after I did my b.p. I tried using regular suppositories (OTC), but didn't see much difference. If you don't use a suppository at all then I don't understand how your body knows to get started. I feel bloated all the time and it seems to me that should have something to do with this also. I am a huge diet coke fan. I have one every day- usually a 32 ounce that you get from the convenient store. I've done this every day for the last 10 years. Could that have something to do with any of this? And what are your thoughts on the swimming? Again, thanks for your help. I can't find much of a doctor for the rural area I live in, so I really feel like I'm going at this all by myself- and that's a lonely place to be!

When you get that diet coke from the convenient store do you get ice from their ice machine. Those machines are suppose to be cleaned dailey and very few places do that which causes to carry bacteria which will screw up your bowels.

[smashms]

Originally Posted by TheRainman

When you get that diet coke from the convenient store do you get ice from their ice machine. Those machines are suppose to be cleaned dailey and very few places do that which causes to carry bacteria which will screw up your bowels.

Not daily but they should be cleaned at least monthly most places though clean them weekly.