Our nice day turned, literally, to $h**t today at the movie theatre. I asked dh if he thought he should wear Depends to the movie (just in case). No, there will be no problem. Well, 1/2 way through the movie he says he has to go to the bathroom and will be right back. Well, I knew he would get lost if he went alone, and in fact, he couldn't even find his way out of the theatre without my leading the way. We had no sooner left the theatre and he lost it in his pants. I waited outside the men's room for about 15 minutes and then asked for a towel and went into the men's room to help out. OMG, it was disgusting!!! Took me 30-40 minutes to clean up what he did in his pants (no gloves, either - yuk!!). Fortunately, it was a very slow day today and not another man tried to use the men's room while we were in there. I told dh that he would never again be allowed to go ANYWHERE without backup safety undies on (I think he got the picture).
Anyway, all this lovely description to ask how to get rid of this diarrhea problem that he's had since beginning Aricept. He, of course, tells me that all is well, but, I do do the laundry (they just don't get it that we need to know to help them). Anyway, the Aricept helps out BIG TIME with his moods and attitude so I'm unwilling to take him off that. The doctor said that I could give him 2 Immodiums/day without causing him problems down line and he also told us to add fibre, like Metamucil or Flax, etc. Well, I did add a ground flax seed/psyllium drink to his morning ritual and I think it's actually having the opposite effect on him. I drink down that same drink to prevent constipation. What do you all think? I've never been so grossed out.
Mothert, maybe you could ask the doctor if the Exelon patch would work instead of the Aricept....I remember when my husband first took Aricept....he spent half the day on the "throne". It never did him a bit of good and we took him off of it....those were the days before there were options.
I agree, just put him in the protective underwear and keep a "diaper bag" in your car...towels, gloves, change of clothes, wipes, and deodorizing spray....also a good bottle of wine wouldn't hurt.
you can try the immodium and try to stay on the aricept. but if his body doesnt tolerate it, you may want to try the exelon patch to see if its a better mix for him as sandi* suggested. once it starts you should switch him to depends altogether. and always carry a cleanup packit in your purse. its the new way of life with incontinence issues and the disease. yes its nasty and disgusting no doubt especially if not at home! sorry you had to go thru it. divvi
I agree with above - try switching to the Exelon Patch. My wife had serious nausea and diarrhea with Aricept, but no problem with the Exelon Patch. Also, as others have said - keep a "diaper bag" in the car with towels, extra Depends, gloves, wipes, and change of clothes. AND a good bottle of wine.
I am so sorry you had to go through this. Unfortunately I had far too many of these episodes and a DH that fought me tooth and nail on wearing disposable underwear. Other than the driving issue, the poopy pants issue was one of the hardest things I've been through. I must have thrown out five or six pair of brand new Levi's because the clean up was impossible.
Agree with Divvi, you must now keep him in depends 24/7 forever. Remove all regular underwear from the house. That was a hard one for me and DH would beg and plead for his boxer shorts. I finally took the advice of friends on this board and got rid of them so I could not break down and give in. After months, yes months, of this battle, he quit fighting me on it and disposable underwear became a way of life for him. Bless his heart, he no longer is aware of what he wears.
Your DH may not soil them with urine yet, and the diarrhea may go away, but once there is any incontinence, it's never truly gone for good. With disposables and the emergency clean up and extra clothes always carried along, you will be prepared for whatever happens. Be strong, this can be very difficult. I pray it goes easy for you both.
This reminds me of a trip we made to a place in Cape Coral,Fla called Bubbas for dinner my LO another cpl an their mother,they have free peanuts while your waiting for your dinner,I suppose they hope you eat a bunch an buy more beer,anyway the mother was gobbling the peanuts like a starvein monkey,after few minutes she left an went to rest room an noone paid any attention,after about 20 minutes my LO said she'd go check,LO came back faster than she went in,seems the old girl had a big accident an tried to clean up the mess herself,the mirrors,sinks,floor wall,everywhere,,now the funny part when LO told the other cpl the husband said "not again" apparently this was a common occurence,needless to say no dinner at Bubbas that night
I too am sorry you had to go through this. Lynn was much likes Weejun's experience. I was never able to get Lynn to use the depends. I did try and try, but it was a battle I was not able to win. I too kept an emergency kit with us. When we went anywhere I also carried it in with us, because I knew I wouldn't have the time to go out to the car to get it. Everything fit nicely in a tote bag. Once Lynn was in the nursing home, it was a big tall man that was finally able to get Lynn to wear the depends. Somehow he was able to convince him that all men wore them. He never again questioned why he was wearing them. So odd after the major amount of trouble I had trying to get him in them! Best of luck
My hb takes a half pill of imodium and so far it has helped - no runs that spray all over the toilet bowl. When I told his neurologist I started giving him the antacid again and the imodium he said 'fine' whatever works.
when DW was in the nursing home recently she had chronic diareha. they gave her cholestramine in powder form mixed with juice it worked quite well for her.
now now, that crown was handed off a while back to various deserving souls who boldly post of their poop dramas. grin. it has by 'mistake' come back to rest on my doorstep but i politely mark 'return to sender' and thats that. i admit i sometimes find myself wishing for that title again but i know more deserving folks are out there and need to be recognized. :) its not a position you hold lightly. sounds like mothert's head is fitting it for at least a queen for a day? :) dont worry mothert i am always at hand to take it back til another poor dear steps in line! divvi
You poor thing. I hope I never have to do this. I don't think I could do it. I wish I had some advise for you. Keep up your spirits and I hope things get better for you.
Not a pretty sight to be sure.. A few months ago, something DH ate too much of upset him.. He had diarrhea, and as always, said nothing to me.. ya see that dam pride is going to kill us all.. Long story short.. during the night the event happened and he lay there, next morning I found it on the carpet, walls, all the bedding was soaked with it and the drapes didn't escape either... I have no idea how something can get so out of hand... I took it all out to the garbage and bought new.. I just could not clean that up without making myself sick in the process... He didn't remember any of it.. but did say, he had a slight cramp and that must've been what happened... Lordy what fun?? My neighbor said recently when I mentioned some of the stages we go thru with this disease, that "My, My, and I always thought your life was so happy and organized"... Some people must live in a bubble... Move over, I want some space there.....
Hmmmmm, I really do think the title should go to Peggy - that really is a horror story :-). Good thing we can laugh about it later, huh?? Btw, dh was totally cooperative today when we went out and I told him to put on his undies - I did have to tell him 5 times and he still put on his big boots first and had to take them off and start all over again. I never wanted any children - guess God had other plans.
Yeah, me too mothert. One of the first things I thought when DH was diagnosed was "God, you didn't give me any kids when I was young. Why are you giving me one now?" Another thought was I always prayed for patience but this isn't the way I wanted to get it. I can lose pateince pretty quick and even manage to keep quiet at times!
Jean21, I always thought I HAD patience, but this is proving to me that I don’t. Or maybe I used it all up raising 4 children.(I’ll have to ask them if I was a patient mother.) I always said (kiddingly of course) that if I would get pregnant after I was over 40 I would just shoot myself, hmmmmm, wonder if that is an option? Naaa, I wouldn't want to leave this for my kids.
Well , guys, you need to go over to bigtreemurphy.com and read her mantra IT'S JUST POOP PEOPLE!
Yes it's a mess and no I didn't like it when my husband was in that phase. But it is not poison. as the kids book says, Everybody Poops. Try to establish a routine like you did with your kids so he goes after breakfast. It will work in many instances even if he has to sit a wHile on the toilet. Get gloves from the pharmacy. Try immodiUm if it's diarrhea. But it is not the end of the world. Just think. Would you pay $8000 a month to not clean up poop? That's what a nursing home costs. And learn to cope with it.
Of course you are right, Briegull. We've all lived through it and the newbies will too. You really do learn to take it in stride after awhile, and from Divvi I learned to laugh about it.
Bruce D - how much of the cholestramine did your wife take to control her diarrhea?
I think the home here that I like and has a AD unit is around $10K/month (yikes!). I have advised our Financial Advisor about dh and have asked him to structure our finances so that dh can be cared for and, hopefully, there will be some left over to care for my old age, too. His mother had AD and she actually died of a massive stroke - his father died of a stroke also. I know it sounds terrible, but I think that would be a much better ending for him then final stages of AD. It's in the Lord's hands.