Pull up for poop accident in Car ride to doctor?

[Sunshine]

These meds can cause sudden very urgent need to Poop. It’s one reason I stay home. But I have a couple of very important doc appointments coming up, one this Friday I cannot miss, consequences might delay care weeks (its a new urologist) and make me look non compliant.

My sister asked if I have considered wearing a diaper for the car ride.

What do you know about this other than Google. I am guessing some with MS have dealt with this problem?

[Howie]

I haven't, but I think your sister has a good idea until you can see a doctor that can address this. Good luck!

[Virginia]

No experience here, but wondering about getting a pull up like Jeanie uses and for extra measure put a diaper in it.

[funnylegs4]

I knew someone with issues going number 2. She brought a plastic container in the car rides with her along with toilet paper. She would "go" into the plastic container by putting it under her bum in the car, clean herself and dispose of the container. Very effective. Use a diaper as a backup.

[Lazarus]

Every Saturday morning I get up at 3am and take one Imodium pill. Then I get up at 4 to get ready to go to work. At that time I take a second Imodium and oxybutinin and Ampyra. The Imodium has totally eliminated bowel problems for me while I am out for the next 10 hours.

[Sunshine]

THese problems are medication caused. The muscle relaxant causes severe constipation. So I take meds that cause the bowel to empty, but unexpectedly. I can stop the med, but sometimes the action is caused outside the window of the prior one. And, if you stop the med, then it can take a week for it to work and cause explosive diahrrea until your body adapts once again. Its like a rubics cube problem.

The more I thought of the diaper, the more concerned I got about it causing a UTI if you get it on the urethra for even a minute or less.
So, I am thinking that Funnylegs’idea could work.

[Parsi]

This brings back bad memories.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Sunshine))))))) ~

Try searching on line for a portable travel toilet. There are a variety of types and sizes. Whatever kind of container you use, I recommend putting a plastic trash bag inside of it to collect the waste. I'd also suggest using wipes (such as baby wipes) rather than toilet paper.

Love & Light,



Rose

[agate]

One problem with wipes (baby wipes, for instance) is that they're not really flushable. Some of the package labels claim that they're flushable but with today's "low flow" toilets, they're not really.

I don't care how much toilet paper it takes or how many times I have to flush, but I use toilet paper--though in this situation I dampen it with warm water because it's much less irritating and seems to do the job faster.

Recently I discovered Balneol. It used to come in little single-use packets but more recently I've been able to find only bottles of it. It's a lotion you put on the toilet paper to help clean your behind without irritating your skin. It's very soothing. The packets would be handy to carry with you when you are away from home--and so I'm hoping that they are still available. I have quite a supply of them here but eventually I'll run out.

[Earth Mother 2 Angels]

((((((Hugs to All)))))) ~

agate ~

Good point that wipes are not flushable. I was suggesting them for use with a portable travel toilet, where the waste and wipes would be collected in a plastic bag. They would be more convenient, smaller to handle, easy to open and close (they usually come with some kind of closure) than a roll of toilet paper.

Sunshine ~

I've also been thinking about how easy or difficult it would be for you to transfer from a car seat to whatever kind of container you decide to use. I'm trying to picture the scenario, where you urgently need to go to the bathroom, while on the road. Pull over to the side of the road? Get out of the car or stay in the car? Is everything you need together in one place, so no searching for stuff involved?

Just from a caregiver's viewpoint, I'm thinking about what will be easiest and least stressful for you.

Adult diapers are now called "briefs." They fit like underpants. Based upon Jim's experience, they hold a lot of urine. How well they would do in holding feces is another question. The only thing I can think of to protect your urethra, while wearing a brief, is to slide a shield into the brief before you put it on.

You'll need lose clothing to accommodate some of that bulk and to make you more comfortable.

I hope you find a workable solution that is perfect for you. I suggest trial runs, before you actually need to use whatever you choose.

Love & Light,



Rose

[nuthatch]

Bladder incontinence is tough enough to deal with, but bowel incontinence is, by far, harder to deal with, especially if you are wheelchair dependent and cannot stand or transfer on your own. It causes a lot of anxiety about going out in public, leading to self isolation. I wish that I had answers for you. The fact that it is a medication induced issue compounds the problem.

The thing that has helped me the most is to have a very regular routine daily. The body eventually becomes trained to "perform" at the same time every day. I even eat the same breakfast every day because the slightest change in diet tends to mess up the schedule! As long as the schedule and "performance" is maintained, the anxiety is greatly reduced. I schedule all doctor appointments etc. for the afternoons so as not to rush the "schedule".
I once had to bee-line it out of a doctor's waiting room because of an unexpected "event". Humiliating!!!

There are suppositories that make things move. Many people with spinal cord injuries use them daily.

Wish this wasn't a reality for you. Hugs.

[agate]

Rose, sorry I misunderstood about the portable toilet. I've had no experience with portable toilets except for the commode I have.

Yes, bee-lining out of situations is very much something I'm used to. I had a major problem when seeing a new neuro once, years ago. When I finally got to the washroom (in the midst of the appointment, having to apologize) and discovered what had happened, I was very embarrassed and cleaned up as well as I could. In a hurry, it wasn't easy and I probably did a terrible job. But later I figured that a neurologist surely must realize that these things happen with neurological patients....and if he doesn't realize, then too bad.

I wear pads constantly. They don't hold all of a BM but will contain some of it. Carrying extra clothes and pads and a plastic bag for putting the rinsed-out clothes in and transporting them gets to be a routine but the "bowel-management program" nuthatch mentions is also my way of trying to make sure that these problems don't happen very often.

A strict routine--I get up and eat meals at pretty much the same time every day, go to sleep or take a nap at the same time every day, and eat more or less the same type of food every day, with considerable attention to the amount of fiber I'm getting.

One nice thing about a vegetarian diet is that you often avoid constipation even though you have more frequent and bulkier stools.

[Lazarus]

Rose, sorry I misunderstood about the portable toilet. I've had no experience with portable toilets except for the commode I have.

Yes, bee-lining out of situations is very much something I'm used to. I had a major problem when seeing a new neuro once, years ago. When I finally got to the washroom (in the midst of the appointment, having to apologize) and discovered what had happened, I was very embarrassed and cleaned up as well as I could. In a hurry, it wasn't easy and I probably did a terrible job. But later I figured that a neurologist surely must realize that these things happen with neurological patients....and if he doesn't realize, then too bad.

I wear pads constantly. They don't hold all of a BM but will contain some of it. Carrying extra clothes and pads and a plastic bag for putting the rinsed-out clothes in and transporting them gets to be a routine but the "bowel-management program" nuthatch mentions is also my way of trying to make sure that these problems don't happen very often.

A strict routine--I get up and eat meals at pretty much the same time every day, go to sleep or take a nap at the same time every day, and eat more or less the same type of food every day, with considerable attention to the amount of fiber I'm getting.

One nice thing about a vegetarian diet is that you often avoid constipation even though you have more frequent and bulkier stools.

Excellent explanation of a workable routine.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Sunshine I wear the Depends diapers every day now. At night I get the night ones which hold more liquid. The pee is absorbed quickly and you stay dry. I have also put a long pad in the diaper when I go out.

Bladder retraining after 4 months with a catheter is slow but I am having less accidents now and soon may be able to ditch the diapers. Jeanie :)

[snack]

No diapers here

I stop whereever and poop or pee. I have had a neurogenic bladder and bowels for 25 years. Diapers and poop=bladder infection. Wet diaper = BV. I just wave at people driving by, but “modesty” to me is not worth the infections.