www.incontinentsupport.org

I get urges to poop fairly regularly. If I'm wearing a diaper, I have not made it to a place where I can take the diaper off and sit down quick enough. If I'm not near a rest room, then forget it, it just happens. I've had that happen when I wasn't wearing a diaper and that is most embarrassing. If there is one consolation, all the drugs I take tend to make me constipated so it isn't too loose, but still it is embarrassing.

I have found that Drs. don't understand the nerves involved in the elimination system. I've been dealing with incontinence for 30 years and I have never gotten a solid reason for my incontinence. I discovered I had diabetes 15 years ago and after that, Drs. say of course and go no further. Before my diabetes was accidentally discovered when applying for life insurance after my daughter was born, I had all the urology tests. They stuck tubes up my "tube" and "boy" did that hurt. They took movies and stills. I am glad they didn't have YouTube back then. The Drs. never could find a cause. I'm not sure which is the case for an idiopathic diagnosis, is the Dr the idiot or me? Now they just say it is Diabetic Neuropathy and leave it at that. My neurologist has tested me and knows I have pretty bad neuropathy so it seems there isn't much to say. But he can't understand why I can be continent for relatively long periods of time, sometimes a month or more, and then suddenly I have no control. I've been living with that now for over 30 years but it isn't getting easier. If I didn't make it for many weeks without diapers, I think I'd just use them and forget about being "normal". But being diapered for urinary incontinence is a lot easier to accept than fecal incontinence.

I have had a few more instances of loss of bowel control in recent months, due to several bouts of stomach upsets (partly due to medication and partly to other health issues) and also due to mobility problems that make it worse if I can't get to the toilet promptly when I need to.
So I can feel for those of us for whom this happens more often. And I can see it must be hard to deal with when it is very variable or only happens occasionally, and when the cause is not sufficiently clear. I can sympathise that it's frustrating if you have another health condition and doctors appear to put incontinence problems down to that without much further investigation or support - that happened to me for several years too.
I agree it's harder to accept and feels more embarrassing to have a bowel accident than a bladder accident - I guess you can only try to remember that it is not your fault, does not mean something bad about you, and you are doing all you can to deal with it by wearing protection and seeking the help you need.

Hi Bernadette

Thanks for the kind advice. There are days that seem to get a bit overwhelming. Most of the time I deal with the hand I've been dealt and some days it just seems to be too much. After finding this forum and reading about everyone, it tells me that I'm in a nice crowd and I hope to learn a great deal. Thanks everyone

Dan

LOL! that gave me a MUCH needed laugh!

ROb

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