You are absolutely right John. When I went through rehab they trained me to have my bowel program performed Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As I approached the eighth year of paralysis I got increased sensation. This is a good thing in some ways, but bad in others. I am now doing bowel care every other day and just recently had to see the G.I. clinic about all of the bowel problems I have been having. Even the bowl of oatmeal I eat once a day doesn't seem to be correcting my problems.
The G.I. physician assistant found it difficult to believe that I only do my bowel regimen every other day. I took the time to explain why we do it every other day, because he is going to have to deal with a lot of quadriplegics as the hospital I go to has a large population. Anyway, he seems to be of the opinion that my problem is related to extreme lactose intolerance and hemorrhoids. Well, it is getting a little better, but I am still suffering through burning sensations in my bowels and occasional bouts with minor (really minor) AD. Sorry I digressed. If you do not get the bowels evacuated on a regular basis you do run the risk of having a problem with AD. If you're able to go when you feel like it, maybe the mini enemas which John mentioned might be best. They didn't really work well for me, but the majority of people seem to be able to use them without difficulty. Quadius PS sorry for the rambling. On Thu, Feb 5, 2009 at 5:23 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks John.... great advice! > Best Wishes > > In a message dated 2/5/2009 4:01:18 P.M. Central Standard Time, > [email protected] writes: > > Dear Todd, > What tends to happen is your bowel expands from loss of muscle and > irregular peristalsis. This is referred to as mass bowel syndrome. The next > problem is an impacted bowel. You need to begin a bowel regiment. Every > three days can be acceptable, but I've heard of quads that do it everyday > and others doing it once a week. Whew! I have a friend that does it on > mondays and thursdays. the problem with not doing it regularly is that it > can cause Autonomic Dysreflexia and lead to life threatening problems. Some > type of fast acting laxitive is what most of us use. Magic Bullets and > Dulcolax are probably the most common. Enemeez mini enemas are used by a lot > of folks. Find a coinveinent time to do the bowel regiment so you can make > your neurogenic bowel perform when you want it to. > I wish you the best. All of us are different. I hadn't heard of anyone > doing what you have done for twenty years, but it is interesting. > I'm sure others in the group will have advice for you, also. > > Good luck, > john > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Todd Daugherty <[email protected]> > *To:* quad list <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Thursday, February 5, 2009 1:52:46 PM > *Subject:* Re: [QUAD-L] Co-op > > Are there any quads out there that don't have a "bowel program?" I am an > incomplete c-6 and stopped doing programs after a few years because of the > discomfort. I have been injured since '89 and basically just wait until I > get the sensation to go, and then get to a bathroom. The problems is that I > am not going on a regular basis and sometimes a week will go by between > movements. I am afraid of taking any kind of stool softeners for fear of > diarrhea. This is another subject but I went last year for a colon cleanse > and it felt really good to know that all that excees waste is out of my > body. > > Todd D > > > ------------------------------ > Great Deals on Dell Laptops. Starting at > $499.<http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1217883258x1201191827/aol?redir=http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;211531132;33070124;e> > -- Quadius C2-3 incomplete 13 years post injury
