[justaguy377]

I read all your posts and you current symptoms seem very similar to mine.do you now or have you ever suffered from constripation? as a child i had extreme constipation leading to impaction. the impaction required enemas and diet change to resolve.i fear the straining from constipation may have damaged something (all the websites that talk about fecal incontinence say that prolonged straining can cause nerve damage). i dont think i havehad any tests for nerve damage, perhaps i should ask about that.when do people notice the smell about you? how close do people have to be? i have noticed that people have to be quite close..within a few feet, and they have to be next to me or behind me, as the smell comes from the anus.just walking around no one will notice the smell, but things like movie theaters and other areas where people are close together and people will notice. i have no idea if the smell is constant or comes in waves or what.recently i have been working on my bowel movements. lately i've found if i sit on the toilet for 30 min or more, stool just keeps coming out. it does not all come at once. as someone who used to suffer from constipation, i think it will take a lot of bowel retraining to have better bowel movements. but, obviously, a lot of people have constipation and they dont leak bad odor. on the other hand, people (usually kids), that have encopresis (fecal impaction as i used to have) leak stool. the stool leaks around the impaction and stains underwear and leads to odor. though i am no longer impacted, i wonder if that same leakage could be occurring for other, but similar reasons. i should also mention that i leak urine as well. several drops randomly through the day. if that is any indication of the fecal odor, the gas incontinence may be similar...just randomly through the day.right now im just trying to clear the rectum as best i can. if the rectum/colon is clear as can be, less opportunity for gas i am thinking. also, i am trying to eat foods that dont create smell (sulfur) type gas. barring a full cure, i think the symptoms can be reduced significantly.

 

[Constinker]

Sorry I took so long to get to your post, I've been posting from an iPhone and didn't have a computer with net access till just a few days ago. For some reason login just didn't work from my iPhone, so there was no way I could answer your questions.I used to suffer from severe constipation, but that was in the last few years leading up to my FBO, I never really had trouble with constipation before that. I did have the occasional episodes of a brown mucus seeping out and stinking since I was 22 (over ten years ago). As to nerve damage, I have thought that may be a possibility myself, and after quickly explaining my situation to a doc in Canada (I live in Japan), he said that after having had the tests that I had, he'd recommend going to a neurologist, as it may be nerve damage or a motor dysfunction. For a while there, people just had to walk into the same room (even large rooms, or grocery stores), and it was impossible not to notice. I myself was gagging on my own smell even when riding my bicycle. It's not that bad anymore, it's an occasional stink that emits once every ten minutes perhaps? Still weird, and not pleasant, but hardly what it was before.As fr as odor, I smell especially bad depending on the kind of stool in there. At some times I can't smell anything, at others, it's either a fierce constipated smell when I'm taking more Devrom, or a weird raw garbage smell as another person put it.I had very minor urinary incontinence for a year prior to my getting FBO, so somehow I think it really is a motor dysfunction or something. The urinary incontinence has pretty much gone away, but yeah, still struggling with FBO. I'm starting to thing it might be an over relaxing internal sphincter (everyone's internal sphincter relaxes, but it's just been hypothosized in the relevant field of medicine that it might be an over relaxing internal sphincter, a Peruvian living in America suffering from gross fecal incontinence underwent a prolonged anorectal manometry test <-- most anorectal manometry tests are just a quick check of resting and contracting strength of those muscles...., and his muscles relaxing at the same time he had an episode of fecal incontinence correlated very well, but it is just a hypothoses now). Yeah, all I can do is just try to minimize it for now I guess, and hope something comes up.

 

[Common Response]

I've also suffered fron FBO for much of my life.Fluctuating from constipation to diarrhia, the common symptom has been constant FBO which has impacted greatly on my life.In the last 2 years I have learned that I'm lactose intolerant & don't digest wheat products very well.Even after eliminating these foods my FBO was better but continues.I worked over some years to eliminate variables by:Exercising regularly.Meditation for relaxation.No smoking & drugs, & minimal alcohol.Plenty of water.Abstinance of junk food & processed food.Regular early morning toilet time.I've become mindful that the key to managing FBO is the quality of ones stools.Poor stool formation leads to imcomplete evacuation, sticky mess, odor & gas emission.No matter what one does (wash etc) FBO continues.To some extent a 3 month course of Huang Lian Si (Chinese herb) was able to reduce messiness of stools by about 70%.I must now report that a "huge"" factor in our gut function & stool quality is our western diet.I'm on vacation in Thailand & already my stools have improved out of sight.They are light clay in color, well formed & slip out easily leaving me fully evacuated.They have a non offensive low odor.I've been eating all kinds of freshly cooked Thai dishes consisting of chicken, seafood, rice, spices, rice noodles & vegetables. Thai people are too poor to buy our western processed foods. I see this as a blessing. They are spared all the additives which have no benefit other than expediency & profit. I susepct processed food contains contaminants not listed on the labels & chemicals which play havoc with the gut of many.Three days on natural Thai food & my confidence has been restored.No matter how poor your sphincter may be if the contents in your rectum is well balanced & sweet then you don't have a problem.Flying to Thailand with FBO was going to be a traumatic expereince for me. I overcame this by abstaining from solid foods for 1.5 days, living on clear broth, juices, glucose (jelly beans) & honey & water.20 hours before flying I cleared by system with 2 sachets Pico Prep & plenty of water.I flew with total confidence because there was nothing in my gut to offen. I questioon the diet our societies feed us. We are being poisoned with chemicals and additives which can result in severe symptoms for many of us.I still can't get over how good my stools were this morning.I'm flying south to Surat Thani today to attend a retreat & I'll be boarding my plane with no worry of FBO at all.

 

[Constinker]

From my experience, that seems true. While staying at my parent's house, I got a lot of healthier fiber rich foods, and my FBO was a lot less intense. At this time though, we don't have a lot of money, so I'm simply getting through each day on whatever food my wife cooks up. I'll be getting back on a better diet when I can though. I'll have to try that liquid diet before traveling next time.

 

[Constinker]

Here's the link to IASRs, or Internal Anal Sphincter Relaxations.

 

[Constinker]

A bit more on IASRs and the possible correlation with fecal incontinence. I speculate that a few of us have very mild cases of fecal incontinence that may involve this over-relaxation of the internal anal sphincter. Dunno, cause at times the smell is fierce and at others it's imperceptible to me at least.

 

[funnyface50]

I have been having a problem with fecal incontinence. Have tried a lot of things but none work. I have IBS with constipation and I never know when I'm going from one problem to the next. I had surgery to repair the vaginal wall and the rectal muscles but this only made the constipation problem more difficult. The incontinence still happens, usually without any notice. I can't go out or do anything. Can somebody help! PLEASE

 

[Constinker]

What have you tried?

 

[jerrybbs]

I am also a life-long sufferer of food sensitivities (asthmatic, etc.). I remember as a kid eating Ex-Lax trying to be comfortable. We knew I was anaphylactic on eggs and allergist recommended no milk. I have a long list of foods I cannot eat because of the big-D and/or gas. I use a lot of Beano and pro-biotic (NOTE: hard to find it not made in milk). I cannot tolerate red meats but legumes are trouble, too. So I eat lots of fish, turkey and chicken. Anything related to cucumber (melons, etc.) are also trouble. I also recently concluded that fructose is an irritant.I am VERY frustrated with my Gastro-Doc. He only wants to scope my bowls every two years and says everything is fine, except for some redness and inflammation. Well, of course, you made me clean everything out!Obviously, eating out is very limited and I take multivitamins. I use Miralax daily.OK, any suggestions?

 

[justaguy377]

constinker et. al, in case you all didnt see the other thread i started. this info on sacral nerve stimulation seems promising:http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Pa-St/S...timulation.htmlwhat really stood out was how it is supposed to restore function to the pelvic floor area.