IBS and Fecal Incontinence

hello, I am a 21 year old male with IBS and Fecal Incontinence. I have had these problems for almost 2 years now and they are immensely affecting my life. I can't leave the house, I can't work, I can't talk to my friends or hang out with them, I can't do ANYTHING that requires me being in the same room with other people. My problem is simply too embarrassing for me to handle.

My main problem is that I leak every single day, sometimes all day long from the incontinence. I am leaking mostly water and rarely is there ever waste. My boxers and pants become so wet sometimes, it feels like I just sat in a puddle of water. I'll look at the back of my pants to see a huge streak going down the middle, which just totally blows my mind. Even though its absolutely nothing new, it still puts me in a state of "Is this really happening?" I have to completely change my clothes, sometimes multiple times a day.

This is no way to live.

I get occasional constipation and rarely diarrhea. I notice that I leak a lot more when Im constipated though. A lot of the times when I do go, I can only get a small amount out and thats it. I get frequent bloating/rumbling of the stomach with pains in my lower Intestines, but thats just the IBS.

I have gone to the doctor several times and yet has anything worked. I've tried Nexium, Zoloft, Zelnorm, Glycolax, stool softeners, fiber, laxatives and nothing will stop the leaking. Sure, that stuff helped greatly with constipation, but I'm looking to stop the leaking. I can live with the pain from IBS, but the leaking, I can't handle. I am thinking about seeing a gastroenterologist, but I don't know how much they cost and I don't have health insurance.

If anyone has this similiar problem or has experience with this, please respond, it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

hey, sounds like maybe the muscles in ur colon just arent doing there job and holding things in. definately go see a gastrointerologist....u need to check it out and im quite sure they can do something for it,cos leaking isnt normal so that means there might be something not quite right down there...just check it out for peace of mind at least :)

Don't feel alone; there are a number of other people on here who experience incontinence. You definitely need to see a doctor about it, as there may be some repair surgery they can do to tighten up your spincter muscle. There may also be physical therapy that can be done to help strengthen those muscles (this is actually a pretty common complaint among old people and women who have just had babies and I have heard there's exercises they can do to help strengthen their muscles). I have also heard that they are trying botox injections on people who have incontinent bladders and they are having some success on correcting their problems; maybe there's something they can do with it for you.

I know as a man you're going to be offended by this, but women can completely understand about leaking bodily fluids without any control. In fact, most of them do it every single month. There are, of course, tricks that women have learned over the years to get over this leakage problem so that they can go on to have a life; if you're willing to try, it might be something that will allow you to live your life too until you can get some help. First of all, ditch the boxers and go for some briefs. Secondly, buy some feminine pads. I know, that sounds highly embarrassing but trust me, no one will know you have one on; they will notice, though, if you keep soiling your pants. In pads, thinner is better. Too many people think that you need one of those old, inch-thick pads in order for it to be effective. They are just thick because they are not made from very absorbent materials. The thin ones have good, modern stuff in them; I am told they have the same kind of gel as in baby diapers. My brand of choice was the Always slender maxi with wings (I found the wings necessary to keep the darned thing stuck down suffciently). It used to advertise itself as "Great for Teens" and have a heart-shaped emblem on it. They were as thin and as narrow as you could get and worked just as effectively. For your problem, you'd need to place it further back in the crotch of your briefs so that it will catch any leakage (or buy the extra long ones which will cover back that far). Yeah, they're not fun to wear, but it's better than all the laundry you're having to do and having absolutely no social life. They're also better than wearing Depends, which is what some people have to resort to. And you'll find a new appreciation for women who have to go through this kind of thing for a week every month for about 25 years, lol.

Don't be embarrassed about buying pads; men do it all the time for their wives and girlfriends. If you decide to go out for a few hours, you may feel the need to take a spare along with you. This isn't a problem for women because they carry a purse, but for a man you'll need to improvise you a purse. Given that you're still young, carrying a backpack shouldn't be unusual. Just get yourself one that's kind of small and carry it around with you everywhere. You can put cool guy stuff in it, like magazines, CD/MP3 player and cellphone in it and no one will think a thing about it (it's getting to the point where designers are starting to try to come up with man purses anyways because most men have a problem now of having more gadgets than they have pockets to carry them in). You can get a little zippered pouch to stash your pad in and put it in your backback and that way no one will see it when you are digging around in there for something else. Because men's rooms don't have a trash receptacle in the stall like women's do (I assume they don't, anyways), just roll your used pad up in some toliet paper and stick it back in your pouch (or, if no one is in the room with you, toss it in the regular trash can) and you can toss it when you get home.

The other thing a lot of women do when it's "that time of the month" is wear black pants because it's less likely to show stains (not really a problem for you since you said your discharge is clear--but wetness should be less obvious with black than with other colors). You can also dress yourself so that you have something covering your rear-end at all times, like an untucked Oxford. You can also make good use of a long-sleeved Oxford by tying it around your waist.

So long as you have something in place to catch your leakage, there shouldn't be any reason at all why you can't go out with friends some and work (working being the best way to get insurance so you can get that problem fixed for good).

I hope you find something that will help you.

You need to see a gastroenterologist...you could have a prolapsed rectom or some other serious problem going on...do what you can to see a gastro asap.

:)