Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is she diabetic? Than can cause neurologic problems that can affect the bladder.
Her doctor should review all of her medications and make sure she is not taking anything that can alter bladder function.
A plastic bench to sit on in the tub or shower and a handheld spray might be the solution. That reduces the risk of a fall and solves the problem of getting the hair wet.
For what it is worth, I have never cared for showers. I prefer a hot soak and I only take showers if a tub is not available.
Finally, some EXCELLENT thoughts that actually WORK! Too many people have multiple MDs for whatever ails them, and I am here to tell you ALL, these MDs RARELY speak to one another or send paperwork to each other on ANY patient!! I have been effected by this and because I AM a RN I take charge of my own healthcare and make certain I TAKE/BRING what I need to EACH AND EVERY MD TAKING CARE OF ME. LOTS of meds either make other drugs work MORE THAN they should or some NOT work at all. This is when a good PHARMACIST comes into handy play! If you go at a less than busiest time of day, and make an appt to do so, a PHARMACIST will be happy to sit down and look at ALL the meds a person is on~~script AND OTC~~and see if there are interactions that effect other body systems. You cannot just walk-in at 2pm and expect a good 'consultation' with them then. It doesn't work like that any longer. I actually HAVE a Primary Care MD, my own age, (a MAN) who had me on the smallest dose of Estrogen (for hormone replacement therapy after hysterectomy) because he 1.)either didn't know what the correct dose is or 2.)He buys into the HRT 'hysteria' that we're all gonna die if we stay on HRT a long time!!! I went on to my GYN (a LADY and my age) and she did a pelvic exam, put me on 2.5 times the dose the GP had me on and told me 'you can stay on this as long as YOU choose to IF it makes you feel better". So please don't think medical professionals get treated better by their colleagues...WE still have to be IN CHARGE of our own healthcare and ask questions!
Criagslist is FULL of the mentioned benches that sit in the shower or tub! Don't get all grossed out~~BLEACH and a 'magic eraser' (NOT USED AT THE SAME TIME) clean anything as well as they can possibly be cleaned. If that thought bothers you, spend 10 times the $$ and buy new. Most showers today HAVE some type of hand-held shower head and that will certainly help...IF THEY PERSON USING CAN GET INTO THE SHOWER...OVER THE EDGE. I haven't taken a bath in 52 years (unless a hot tube is counted) and I am getting to where getting into the shower is more difficult because of a 'less than' back surgery that has one leg weak from the hip down now. I can see that the majority of SENIORS will soon be with me needing walk-in showers as we age and get more arthritic.
I am thinking a timer or a smartphone with an app set to EVERY TWO HOURS (or what works for you) would be a good thing to have for someone who is incontinent. I bet, too, 'there's an app for that'.
These meds are 'hit and miss' some work well, but then GET DENIED BY MEDICARE, some just do not work OR have side-effects that are 'bad'. There is a patch that can be purchased OTC for a small amount of money at the big box stores and pharmacies but at a LESSER DOSEAGE.
This IS mostly a part of aging, like menopause and andropause, that the past generations dealt with but NEVER EVER spoke about.
In women, some of it can be from childbirth many years ago that involved tears of the rectum, with poor IF any good repair, OR once we go through menopause and lose the estrogen and testosterone and progesterone the whole pelvic FLOOR~the muscles and EVERYTHING~get SO lax that people cannot 'feel' when they are going (either urine or feces or BOTH) OR if they can, often there is old damage, now laxing that there is a 'pocket' in the anus (the part BEFORE) the rectum, and they person thinks they have 'finished' but some of the stool remains in that 'pocket' and is released later as the momentum of walking happens....and they CANNOT FEEL IT HAPPENING.
MEN do not get a 'free pass' in this either. They get prostate problems and have surgery or radiation or BOTH that leaves them incontinent, too. When they go throught andropause, their pelvic floor gets lax, like the women but they get the prostate enlargment (sporadic urine, 'stop n go' urine, urgency but then cannot go) or have prostate surgery that leaves them in as big a 'dilemma' as us ladies who had traumatic childbirths.
The GOOD NEWS: There are some new surgeries, new mechanisms that can be put in place, and new meds, over the counter and perscription, that work LIKE A MIRACLE. The internet is a wonderful thing and Google can be your best friend if you know how to use it. An appointment to the Colo-Rectal Specialist, NOT a GP, is in BEST order to see what might help. For the MD who said, "You cannot have both kinds of incontinence and not know it".....PPFFFFFFFFFFFTTT HE or SHE is clueless and can 'talk to the hand'! Most OB-GYN surgeons don't do these surgeries WELL....or they don't like to DO these surgeries because they are involved and require lots of care til they are repaired, so they say they don't do them or do them 'half-way' and hope for the best.
A life of diapers is NOT something anyone still in their 'right mind' looks forward to or wants! It's what the Depends and other companies WANT YOU TO BELIEVE...so they can benefit from the $$$ cha-ching they get in you wearing their products.
To the OP, your friend's mom will eventually get critically ILL...probably 'septic' from sitting in feces and urine all the time. That type of infection will get into her bloodstream and NO amount of antibiotics will help her then and she will die...probably not quickly. She will be in ICU for a long time first...I have taken care of SO MANY of these patients I could write a book about it. She sounds like she LIKED being at Rehab, and from what you posted about how she was taken care of by her family, I bet she DID like it better. I will stop there or I'll be getting my wrists slapped by a moderator.
NOBODY dealing with incontinence ASKED FOR IT to happen. People don't talk about it, so they think nothing can be done about it. For a few, DENIAL works..but those people do denial well in their lives about lots of things.
There is another current thread about incontinence on C/D. Sad thing is, a few people have made crude and thoughtless comments on it so nobody posts much there, but me....but I can tell you from the ++++reps I get from that thread, more than any other, many people are reading it and I bet have the same issues. The current numbers from the CDC are that 50.9% of all seniors have incontinence of some kind, at least occasionally....bluntly that means more than half of us.
For a woman, a Urogynecologist would be the best bet rather than a Colorectal Surgeon. The most important part of treating urinary incontinence is making a proper diagnosis. Not all incontinence will respond to surgery, and some kinds, like that due to overactive bladder muscle, may get worse. UroGYNs are trained to deal with rectal problems, too. The difficulties related to pelvic floor damage are usually treated as a whole if surgery is indicated. Anorectal dysfunction in that situation more often causes constipation rather than fecal incontinence. If a rectal injury is going to cause incontinence, it will more often happen sooner rather than later. Many of those can be repaired by a general Gynecologist, because the surgery is very similar to repairing a large episiotomy or vaginal tear.
Flushable wipes will clog up pipes, just like tampons will, even though the manufacturers of both say that they're flushable.
No kidding! I used to be on septic and flushed nothing, but once on sewer thought nothing of flushing those evil things. Then I read about the damage they do, how they are a plumber$ best friend, and what a burden they are at treatment facilities. Truly nasty stuff.
I no longer flush those wipes, and manufacturers should be forced to take 'flushable' off the packaging!
For a woman, a Urogynecologist would be the best bet rather than a Colorectal Surgeon. The most important part of treating urinary incontinence is making a proper diagnosis. Not all incontinence will respond to surgery, and some kinds, like that due to overactive bladder muscle, may get worse. UroGYNs are trained to deal with rectal problems, too. The difficulties related to pelvic floor damage are usually treated as a whole if surgery is indicated. Anorectal dysfunction in that situation more often causes constipation rather than fecal incontinence. If a rectal injury is going to cause incontinence, it will more often happen sooner rather than later. Many of those can be repaired by a general Gynecologist, because the surgery is very similar to repairing a large episiotomy or vaginal tear.
You are right. good luck on gettin an appt with one in your city. It was too many 'hoops to jump thru' in mine and then I only would get to see a PA or NP first. I have a high co=pay and didn't want to waste my time doing that.
Last edited by mooksmom; 05-09-2015 at 05:39 PM..
Reason: i give up
For a woman, a Urogynecologist would be the best bet rather than a Colorectal Surgeon. The most important part of treating urinary incontinence is making a proper diagnosis. Not all incontinence will respond to surgery, and some kinds, like that due to overactive bladder muscle, may get worse. UroGYNs are trained to deal with rectal problems, too. The difficulties related to pelvic floor damage are usually treated as a whole if surgery is indicated. Anorectal dysfunction in that situation more often causes constipation rather than fecal incontinence. If a rectal injury is going to cause incontinence, it will more often happen sooner rather than later. Many of those can be repaired by a general Gynecologist, because the surgery is very similar to repairing a large episiotomy or vaginal tear.
Here is the latest 'factor' that will add to the incontinence debacle~~all the people who have had gastric bypass surgery! When 6+ feet of the intestine is removed it effects the whole bowel movement system and a lot of it is depending on what is eaten like fat or sugar. It doesn't take a lot of either one to change the consistency of bowel movements into diarrhea...and with age...sudden and liquid diarrhea! I don't have the numbers in front of me, but with both the Roux-en-Y and the Bilio-duodenal switch surgeries one of the immediate side-effects is diarrhea. Now add 40 yrs and I can see a 'train wreck' of huge proportions coming down the road that lots of 'gastric bypass survivors' will be dealing with in old age.
Here is the latest 'factor' that will add to the incontinence debacle~~all the people who have had gastric bypass surgery! When 6+ feet of the intestine is removed it effects the whole bowel movement system and a lot of it is depending on what is eaten like fat or sugar. It doesn't take a lot of either one to change the consistency of bowel movements into diarrhea...and with age...sudden and liquid diarrhea! I don't have the numbers in front of me, but with both the Roux-en-Y and the Bilio-duodenal switch surgeries one of the immediate side-effects is diarrhea. Now add 40 yrs and I can see a 'train wreck' of huge proportions coming down the road that lots of 'gastric bypass survivors' will be dealing with in old age.
Obesity has its own adverse effects on bladder and bowel function, though. Surgery certainly has health benefits for many that need to be taken into consideration.
The bariatricians are aware of the Gi problems from weight loss surgery:
Obesity has its own adverse effects on bladder and bowel function, though. Surgery certainly has health benefits for many that need to be taken into consideration.
The bariatricians are aware of the Gi problems from weight loss surgery:
Well, they may be aware of the problem if incontinence, but they don't continue to follow patients for very long and I have been a participant in two large Gastric Bypass Support Groups in two different states and neither one had a 'team' that followed Bariatric patients post-op, long or short terms, as the paper above suggested. No GI referral and no Bariatrician has ever asked about FI prior to weightloss surgery (for morbidly obese patients) to anyone that I know and I highly doubt they do afterwards, UNLESS that patient comes to them asking for help with fecal incontinence. It is still one of the things not talked about much, even between people who had the surgeries.
Loperamide is a good option to try but not a 'be all' cure. I know I got this thread sort of 'side barred' mentioning the Bariatric angle, but with the above article saying 55% of people who have such surgeries (140K/year having the surgeries) dealing with either type of incontinence and 67% of people who have a BMI of 35 or more having the incontinence without any surgery, I am glad I did. I am still a part of two Weightloss Surgery Survivor websites and will ask more about this on them, but after 25 yrs I feel I know the answers.
Here is the latest 'factor' that will add to the incontinence debacle~~all the people who have had gastric bypass surgery! When 6+ feet of the intestine is removed it effects the whole bowel movement system and a lot of it is depending on what is eaten like fat or sugar. It doesn't take a lot of either one to change the consistency of bowel movements into diarrhea...and with age...sudden and liquid diarrhea! I don't have the numbers in front of me, but with both the Roux-en-Y and the Bilio-duodenal switch surgeries one of the immediate side-effects is diarrhea. Now add 40 yrs and I can see a 'train wreck' of huge proportions coming down the road that lots of 'gastric bypass survivors' will be dealing with in old age.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mooksmom
Well, they may be aware of the problem if incontinence, but they don't continue to follow patients for very long and I have been a participant in two large Gastric Bypass Support Groups in two different states and neither one had a 'team' that followed Bariatric patients post-op, long or short terms, as the paper above suggested. No GI referral and no Bariatrician has ever asked about FI prior to weightloss surgery (for morbidly obese patients) to anyone that I know and I highly doubt they do afterwards, UNLESS that patient comes to them asking for help with fecal incontinence. It is still one of the things not talked about much, even between people who had the surgeries.
Loperamide is a good option to try but not a 'be all' cure. I know I got this thread sort of 'side barred' mentioning the Bariatric angle, but with the above article saying 55% of people who have such surgeries (140K/year having the surgeries) dealing with either type of incontinence and 67% of people who have a BMI of 35 or more having the incontinence without any surgery, I am glad I did. I am still a part of two Weightloss Surgery Survivor websites and will ask more about this on them, but after 25 yrs I feel I know the answers.
Hmm, interesting ideas.
I know someone who had gastric bypass surgery about 25 years ago and has had bowel problems for many, many years. Even on good days he has five or six bowel movements with very, very loose stools each day. And on bad days he will not get to the toilet in time before he has bowel accidents due to diarrhea. To my knowledge, doctors have never even considered his gastric bypass surgery as a possible contributing factor.
I know someone who had gastric bypass surgery about 25 years ago and has had bowel problems for many, many years. Even on good days he has five or six bowel movements with very, very loose stools each day. And on bad days he will not get to the toilet in time before he has bowel accidents due to diarrhea. To my knowledge, doctors have never even considered his gastric bypass surgery as a possible contributing factor.
Since diarrhea after weight loss surgery is well known, I find it difficult to believe that the surgery has not been considered as a cause. It is also treatable.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Finally, some EXCELLENT thoughts that actually WORK! Too many people have multiple MDs for whatever ails them, and I am here to tell you ALL, these MDs RARELY speak to one another or send paperwork to each other on ANY patient!! I have been effected by this and because I AM a RN I take charge of my own healthcare and make certain I TAKE/BRING what I need to EACH AND EVERY MD TAKING CARE OF ME. LOTS of meds either make other drugs work MORE THAN they should or some NOT work at all. This is when a good PHARMACIST comes into handy play! If you go at a less than busiest time of day, and make an appt to do so, a PHARMACIST will be happy to sit down and look at ALL the meds a person is on~~script AND OTC~~and see if there are interactions that effect other body systems. You cannot just walk-in at 2pm and expect a good 'consultation' with them then. It doesn't work like that any longer. I actually HAVE a Primary Care MD, my own age, (a MAN) who had me on the smallest dose of Estrogen (for hormone replacement therapy after hysterectomy) because he 1.)either didn't know what the correct dose is or 2.)He buys into the HRT 'hysteria' that we're all gonna die if we stay on HRT a long time!!! I went on to my GYN (a LADY and my age) and she did a pelvic exam, put me on 2.5 times the dose the GP had me on and told me 'you can stay on this as long as YOU choose to IF it makes you feel better". So please don't think medical professionals get treated better by their colleagues...WE still have to be IN CHARGE of our own healthcare and ask questions!
HE or SHE is clueless and can 'talk to the hand'! Most OB-GYN surgeons don't do these surgeries WELL....or they don't like to DO these surgeries because they are involved and require lots of care til they are repaired, so they say they don't do them or do them 'half-way' and hope for the best. 
Well, they may be aware of the problem if incontinence, but they don't continue to follow patients for very long and I have been a participant in two large Gastric Bypass Support Groups in two different states and neither one had a 'team' that followed Bariatric patients post-op, long or short terms, as the paper above suggested. No GI referral and no Bariatrician has ever asked about FI prior to weightloss surgery (for morbidly obese patients) to anyone that I know and I highly doubt they do afterwards, UNLESS that patient comes to them asking for help with fecal incontinence. It is still one of the things not talked about much, even between people who had the surgeries.
