What solutions are out there for bowel incontinence?

I have been reading tons of stuff online tonight about FI (fecal incontinence) and have a few questions to ask her Dr. in the morning. Mentally mom is not any worse than she was when we put her in Asst. Living last March. Medicine wise there have been a few changes but for the most part things are the same. I read a report from NIH about this subject and it said that bile salts could be causing the night time bowel movement. Then I read about a powder called Cholestyamine that could help and a bell went off!! Our son was on that powder after he had his gall bladder removed 2 years ago. He moved away this past June and took some of the packets with him. When I asked him should I mail him the rest he told me that he didn't need them any more because someone told him about eating probiotic yogurt 3-4 times a week. Since he started that he has not had any problems. My son was having to run to the bathroom whenever he had a high fat meal or spicy food, which he eats all the time now with no problems. While reading more about natural flora in our gut an article mentioned that eating bananas provided natural flora for our gut. Bingo!! My mother insisted on eating a banana every day, day in and day out! That was the one thing that she would call me or my sister to go get her if she ran out of bananas! Since she has been at the assisted living place I know for a fact that she does not get hardly any bananas and I am going to ask the Dr. about bananas and the probiotic yogurts too. I also am going to ask about the correlation of anti-biotics mom was on in Dec. and the increased FI the care giver reported that has been going on since mid Dec. I just don't see the connection between her memory problem and this problem. Her short tem memory is shot for sure but she can still do many things. Mom still reads short stories, does word search puzzles, jig-saw puzzles, crochets scarves, hats, shawls and blankets. She plays cards, bingo, and will do color sheets. I am just at a loss as to where to turn, who to believe, and if we have explored everything possible. Throw in a little denial and I guess you can see my dilemma. Thanks for your in put, I look forward to any suggestions or advice you can offer!

Assisted Living units may deal with a wetness problem, but once it progresses to fecal and making a mess, the patient needs a real nursing home. Once bowel control is lost, there is no fixing it. Add to that the dementia, and you have a real issue with cross-contamination all over the facility. So Sorry, it's not just the poop that's a problem, it's the total decline in functionality.

I have contacted another place that is for dementia patients and I have not heard back from them yet. I am afraid that is what might be the problem. The thing they the most upset about was the fact that if Mom has a bowel movement in the middle of the night she tries to take care of it herself, thus the mess in her room. I have had her here at my house for 3-5 days at a time and we have never had this problem so I am not sure just what is going on. Time will tell.

Bls0901, try asking her MD about suitable placement for her. He may have some suggestions. Also contact your county office for the aging. Go for tours, get prices. I always look around to see how the other residents are doing and I talk to them if I can.

There are many theories out there about natural foods, vitamins, and supplements that help control incontinence of the bowel but in my opinion if they were effective as we are led to believe every elderly person who has this problem would be taking them. By all means try everything but once incontinence of bowel starts there's really no going back. But try those things and let us know if you stumble across something that's really helpful. There are many people here who would love to know the problem was solved with dietary changes.

I believe bananas are one of the home remedies for diarrhea . Unless there's a medical reason she can no longer eat bananas, it might be good to go back to them.

I talked to my mother's Dr. this morning and we discussed the fact that she did not have this problem until after she was on heavy antibiotics in Dec for pneumonia. He wants her to go back on a banana a day and start on probiotic yogurt 2x a day. We will just wait to see if this helps. Mentally and physically nothing else has changed with mom, so at this point I hope that this works!!

Good. I'm glad you were able to talk to her doctor. Good luck.