Need Advice??

[jery101]

I am new to knowing what MS symptoms are, or Not!! I recently going through serious bouts of diahrea, and lack of bowel control. I dismissed it at first for a virus, its been happening all the time. Is this MS related? Do I need to see the doctor? Thank you in advance.

colleen

[blt87]

See a Dr

If this has been going on for longer than 2 days, then I suggest you see a Dr. I know that it is uncomfortable to talk to a Dr about, but, it is worse to not. There are medications and therapies they can try to rule out a virus, and to treat the symptoms. Since everything in the body is controlled by the nerves and the nerve bundle for the bowel and bladder are so closely intertwined, they sometimes get mixed up and there is the risk of incontinence. I would get it checked out.
Good luck!
Tammy Balbinot

[JennacydeL]

Yes it can be MS....

I take a prescription for loperamide. (immodium) it helps for about 5 days then I go normal then about 4 more times which are messy each time I think I'm done I'm back and the last time is usually the one that makes an accident. It's horrifying but it's nice to know I'm not the only one. Usually I am lucky and at home alone, but once was in car. Hang in there, you are not alone!

[msgijo]

After finding and reading this thread I suppose that I will be visiting another doctor next year . I really should have bought stock in Imodium AD years ago - would have re-couped at least part of the money I have spent on it over the last 12 years. It helps, but that's all. I thought I was the only one who had this version of bowel problems! Not glad that anyone else does but I sure am glad to see that you guys can understand my ?envy? of people who suffer from constipation...

When it first started I was taking a lot of meds and many of them listed diarrhea as a side effect (over 20 different meds each day, most for MS symptoms, and some twice a day ). I blamed it on the Metformin (for diabetes). But when I took a 'vacation' from the drugs and didn't see any improvement I started adding them back - one at a time - so that I could NOT take what I felt I didnt need or whatever was causing side effects that I felt outweighed the benefits of the drug. I managed to get it down to 5 every morning (plus an OTC Imodium), 3 in the evenings, and 1 or 2 at night (depending on how bad the pain is that day).

Since I am PWD type 2 I do watch my diet, and don't see any changes that I can make without upsetting that balance.

I am curious as to what type of doctor you guys went to for this problem (did you need a referral?) and what tests they ran. Most important what can be done for this? This is really putting a cramp (no pun intended) in my life.

[Kimba22]

Hi msgijo,

Sorry to hear you are dealing with this.

You should see a Gastroenterologist. A neurogenic bowel caused by MS may be the culprit. But, Diabetes can also cause diarrhea, so you really do need to see a specialist who can both figure out the cause (s) and properly treat you. You might want to ask your PCP who they would recommend (whether or not your insurance requires a referral).

There are several different prescription medications available that could be prescribed for this problem. This may or may not be an option for you, but after a bout with C. diff, I was put on a cholesterol medication called Cholestyramine. Because one of it's side effects is constipation, it's used off-label to treat diarrhea. My mother-in-law has colitis and it's the only medication that has ever helped her.

The workup and treatment of diarrhea is similar in patients with or without diabetes. If the basic medical evaluation of diarrhea is nondiagnostic, which it frequently is, then treatment is tailored toward providing symptomatic care with antidiarrheal agents such as diphenoxylate (Lomotil) or loperamide (Immodium). Fiber supplementation with bran, Citrucel, Metamucil, or high-fiber foods may also thicken the consistency of the bowel movement and decrease watery diarrhea. In addition, antispasmodic medicines such as hyosymine (Levsin), dicyclomine (Bentyl), and chordiazepoxide (Librax)/clindinium (Clindex) may decrease stool frequency.

You can read more here: http://journal.diabetes.org/clinical...2000/pg148.htm

If nothing else works, surgery is another option.

http://www.medtronic.com/patients/bo...about-therapy/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ostomy.html

Living with this everyday sounds awful. I hope you find something that works for you.

Good luck ,

[msgijo]

Thanks Kimba22 - i think. No, really thank you . It's just that the thought of more doctors, more tests, more drugs (or worse) is kinda depressing.

I didn't know that diabetes had that symptom also. The links were very helpful. I already eat a lot of fiber as it helps keep the blood glucose levels more steady.

I have an appointment with neuro in mid January, so maybe he can at least get the ball rolling on this. Now if I can also convince him that we need to discuss treatment options other than Gilenya it will be a good visit.

I always try to NOT blame everything on MS, but the more I learn about this MonSter the scarier it gets. And I am SOOOO tired of hearing "its just MS, there is nothing that can be done". I guess that is why I put up with symptoms for so long.