Bowel incontinence question

Having recently (in the last year) become seriously incontinent of urine I fear my bowels might now be going the same way. I hope the hell not. Unlike wetting I really dont get off on that at all. Its just that over the last few months I have had 5 or 6 instances of having to get to the toilet within a few seconds or soiling myself (not yer usual chronic stomach upset) and in fact failed on 3 occasions now. I also feel like my back passage is not able to squeeze as powerfully as it used to or for as long as it should and I feel obliged to go at the earliest indication of a need. Could this be connected with my developing urinary incontinence anybody know, if so, through what mechanism?

Do you have a spinal or neurologic problem??

It sounds like a consultation with a doctor is indicated. A family physician would be able to steer you in the right direction. There are a number of possibilities as to a cause.

Hi susie I have diabetes type 2 diagnosed 2 years ago but may have had it a while without knowing. Back disc problem used to cause me a lot of discomfort but not at all for the last few years. Urologist told me last month I have chronic urinary retention >500 ml and this is being investigated; he seems to think it is the prostate, but I never thought to mention my bowels as it has only just begun to dawn that this is happening just too often to be attributed to bad luck or a temporary consequence of anal play. Also having frequent numbness in my left outer thigh and pain like sunburn over arch of left foot.

Fred agree with your advice but I am worried about going to doc as I may well need to get a new job soon and i think my health issues if asked for a medical reference from my doc are already going to make it problematic Cant imagine any employer going near with this one!

What you are describing for pain is called sciatica its related to your back either a disk is bulging or has herniated probably l4-5 or l5-s1 depending on the location on the hip and legs for the pain it starts out as a dull ache then progressing to spike in hip bone for me till I could not walk I have had 3 back surgeries on l4-5 the first one I have Quida-Equine Syndrome which caused all my incontinence issues plus I have IBS plus off and on retention issues caused from scar tissue.

Thanks Stevie. The numbness is in left outer thigh, but sounds like sciatica is in the back of thigh, but I guess it may still relate to the back.

Thats the l4-5 how it started

Ok thanks Stevie, guessl I better mention it to the doc

Yes mine started out as a dull ache in the left hip bone and then radiated out down my left leg in spotty areas the it justt got worse till one day I could not get out of bed

Stevie can I query a few more things with you, since you seem to have a lot of knowledge in this area?

At a urodynamic investigation today my bladder emptied normally whereas two previous ultrasound scans found first 170 ml pvr then two months later >500ml pvr. Can back related problems cause intermittent retention? I think my urologist was assuming the retention was prostate related, in which case I assume it would always be there.

Having said that, my urine incontinence is also somewhat variable from day to day though the trend is gradually to worsen. Could this also be variable?

Had a completely dry ejaculation the other day which is something I never experienced before and maybe just a 'one off', though I have noticed a significant general reduction in semen and opacity in recent years. Also finding it harder to reach that orgasm and feel less sensation (maybe its just my age - 51 or diabetes).Could this be related to the back?

10 months ago I had a period of about two months where what I assume was my 'tail bone' gave me a lot of discomfort especially when getting up from sitting down, now gone.Not sure what set this off.

A couple of years ago there was a period of many months where I would notice that my legs just didnt seem to be raising me from a chair with quite the power I had come to expect, though not actually a problem to get up. Remember being puzzled by this and wondering if it was due to circulation from sitting down so long.

Strangely, my back which troubled me for years (I managed to first seriously damage it shagging a lady in a car - when I got out I couldnt stand up I had to walk bent forward at 90 degrees and spent several weeks incapacitated) has been much better. Until relatively recently maybe the last year, it was almost always very stiff lower down, especially from sitting, that it felt like the stiffened muscles were bruising themselves by squeezing so hard and whenever i coughed or sneezed I'd get a strong jolt of pain as it seemed to unlock them momentarily. Seems odd that I would be having less discomfort now if my back was the cause of my incontinence. Agreed?

Get a mri fo your back for the weekness the bladder issues could be related

Had two back X rays done yesterday. Takes a week for the results

Hey Stevie, how did you do so much damage to your back anyway? Sounds like its in more than one place. Guess you have urinary retention and overflow?

Hmm navy for one but they never diagnosed my back then could be me waling off a latter 6 feet in the air on a job site one day with a huge amount of network cables that re-injured my back and ankle that time lol

we are not exactly sure what caused the initial back injury all i know is if i do something stupid it hurts for days and weeks now

Hi Stevie

Found out today X-ray shows marked narrowing of the disk at L4 -5, rest appear normally spaced. Some other info I did not understand. Secretary read over the phone, havent seen the doctor yet. Can this cause incontinence? Also, find myself slightly overbalancing at times sometimes because left knee slightly giving way.

Hey Stevie

Urologist told me on Monday he was sending me for an urgent MRI of spine. I noticed on the form he wrote 'check for 'cauda equina' apparently because of my also reporting bowel problems as well as bladder problems; retrograde ejaculation, thigh numbness and now balance problems with my left knee dropping unexpectedly at regular intervals. getting scanned tomorrow.

Bobbyab, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauda_equina_syndrome cauda equina syndrome

Thanks Susie, yes I looked it up too. Sounds a bit drastic. Hopefully its something else.

Well it definitely isnt Cauda Equina judging from the MRI. I guess I shouldnt use those symptom checker websites but getting slightly concerned at the suggestion that keeps coming up of Multiple Sclerosis

You may need a brain MRI. That will give a good indication of MS if that is your problem.

Bobbyab, I too have MS. was diagnosed back in 1992. From reading your discription of symptoms, it does sound to me like Multiple Sclerosis, but you should have it checked out from a medical point of view so they can get you on one of the therapies for treatment of MS.

Thanks Curly. My MRI result shows possible nerve irritation of the right L5 nerve going to the right leg from a disk bulging a little to the right. This would all add up except for the fact it is my left leg which keeps giving out on me whereas the right leg is just fine. I am being referred to an orthopedic surgeon for an assessment because of the MRI. Tried to suggest to my doc that the MRI result is probably incidental and not actually the problem and perhaps I should see a neurologist. Didnt feel I could raise the possiblity of MS as he'd probably think I was just neurotic or something. Anyway, he didnt concur and thought it was still probably a back related issue. I guess they'll eventually get to the bottom of it by a process of elimination. Maybe I should look into the possibility of paying for the brain MRI that 'Swichablesusie suggests.

Back specialist yesterday confirmed it is not the spine and that it is probably the brain and is referring me to a neurologist who I'm guessing will probably send me for a brain MRI. Anybody know which part of the brain is important to scan if its my leg, bladder and bowel thats not right? - because I had an MRI a couple of years ago to look at my tongue. I think it also included the lower part of the brain and I'm thinking it might be useful to have another look at that or use it for comparison with any new one.

They know where to look let them do it. Good luck buddy my prayers are with you for speedy recovery.

If they are doing a brain scan with the possibility of MS in the picture, they will do the top of your head down to the brainstem. I doubt they will do only a portion of it because if they find it someplace in your brain, they will only want to do another one to see it all. This is not the place to leave any stones unturned.

I have had several MRI brain scans for my my and they do a scn of the entire brain down to the top of the spinal cord. I have quite a few lesions on my brain, so I ccan joke arond with people and confess that I truly am "brain damaged".

When doing the scan, they put your head in some sort of support to keep it from moving for the MRI. the entire scan takes anywhere from a half hour to an hour deepending on wheather they use a contrast materian in part of the scan or not.

[quote author=curlyt66 link=topic=54839.msg387188#msg387188 date=1317239926]

When doing the scan, they put your head in some sort of support to keep it from moving for the MRI.

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Actually, that's the "head coil". An MRI machine--which is technically an NMR-I machine, but "nuclear" was scary because people thought it meant ionizing radiation--needs a receiving coil to pick up the tiny signals emitted when the field is removed and the protons return to their low-energy state.

That coil needs to be as close as possible to the area of interest. So head exams have a head coil. MRIs of the prostate have a rectal coil. I always hoped someone would want do to a research study on healthy volunteers with the rectal coil...I was a student and I could make the "hey, I need the money" argument at the same time as having a good time being lightly tortured.

Now that I've had prostate problems and LOTS of colonoscopies, it does not turn me on.

Well, I guess it does a bit. But only if I am going in knowing I'm healthy. And my butt is not all swollen from my GI issues...

Stage 2 slip at L5-S1. Bits that hold segment together were broken off. The spine slipped forward pinching nerves. I'm on a surgical list waiting for operation. I don't know how much improvement, if any. But if don't, it will get worse.

How has it impacted on your bowel and bladder control? I am still undergoing various tests: Evoked Potentials, EMG, MRIs. So far I only know that my left leg Evoked Potential test required the current to be much higher than for the right before I could detect it and before they could get a reliable muscle twitch in the toe. Bowel control seems to be getting better gradually but urinary is up and down.

Bobbyab, you mention that you are a type 2 diabetic but you're not sure how long you've had the condition. Might I suggest that diabetic neuropathy or nephropathy might be an issue for you? Neuropathy disturbs the way your brain interprets signals from the body and the way the body reacts to signals from the brain. Loss of or altered sensation as you describe, as well as bladder and bowel issues, and problems with balance and coordination are all hallmarks of neuropathy.

Good luck.