Let me be blunt

F&E

Problem with incontinence and very soft stool mostly soon after eating ,very little food.The mush in the depends smashes/runs every where and sometimes out of the depends requiring a shower ,etc. This is a daily occurrence.Not a easy task. This causes UTIs. Is this common with PWD? That they don’t have solid BMs. also the stool doesn’t look fully digested .Could this be a cognitively induced symptom ? Has r is anyone else had r having this issue? I would like to know if this is common due to the Alzheimer’s r might it be something else that can be treated.All comments and advice will be greatly appreciated thank you

M1

look at all of her medications. there are some that can cause loose stools/diarrhea that you might not think about--like ACE inhibitors for blood pressure, for example (lisinopril is a common one). Meformin for diabetes can also do it, as can a lot of the Alzheimer's drugs and proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec/Prevacid. Sometimes it may be trial and error to figure it out, but there are a lot of common potential causes. If there's a medication that was started recently, that might be the culprit.

Jo C.

It sounds like a GI issue, not a cognitive issue. You mention it happening, "Mostly after eating", which means it is happening other times too. The doctor needs to be informed; he/she may want stool samples sent to lab to rule out c. difficile or other GI infection which can happen secondary to food or other contaminants. However; such an infection would in all probability have more diarrhea episodes. Still, the doctor probably wants to rule out all causes.

Sometimes, actually more often then we realize, this can happen secondary to a particular medication or multiple medications acting upon one another. As M1 stated, if a new med was added right before this started, that can possibly be the causative factor. Let your wife's primary care doctor know right away.

If there has been any history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, that too can be a culprit.

As said, this is something to report to the doctor. If there is no infectious process going on, the doctor can make a determination as to how to treat it.

Until you have instructions from the doctor, it is best to not use any ant-diarrhea med as that can worsen some infectious processes.

If she must be seen and cannot get to an appointment which seems to be; then the doctor can order Home Health to make a visit and get stool samples to send to lab. If you do not have a physician, there are MDs and NPs that make home visits who accept Medicare and can assess the patient.

It really needs to be medically evaluated and if the cause is a med that is necessary, then the MD will want to make an adjustment.

J.

M1

One other thing F&E: there's a pretty common condition in older women called collagenous colitis that can also do this. Jo is absolultey right that you need to talk to her docs rights away.

CStrope

I'm dealing with the complete opposite! My DH has always had some constipation issues, but it has become extremely bad lately. Last week I actually had to take him to the ER for a fecal impaction. That was NOT fun. They had to sedate him, and the aftermath of the 2 enemas they tried to give him after the clean out made for some stressful days. Just like so many medications can cause loose stools, so many can also cause constipation. Since he hadn't had a bowel movement for so long, he's actually forgot how to! I now have become his "poop coach", and have to sit in the bathroom with him cheering him on and encouraging action!

Iris L.

Consider lactose intolerance as a cause of loose stools. We had a discussion a while back on the need for liberal use of lactase tablets. Lactose is in a lot of foods.

harshedbuzz

@F&E -

My dad had this in the very late stage of the disease.

His geriatric doctor explained it to us as a disfunction of his digestive system caused by dementia. He likened it to the swallowing difficulties seen in dementia patients in the very late stages saying "the brain controls digestion from end to end". At the risk of being indelicate, food came out quickly and not a whole lot different looking than it went in.

That said, by this point, he was losing significant weight and we were plying him with milk shakes, ice cream and other sugary treats as he enjoyed them. He'd never been lactose intolerant (we're of solidly British Isles and Northern European descent) and he didn't have the bloating or cramping one would expect with it. I wondered about the sugar content triggering the loose stools. The worst offending food was hot coffee. He missed it in the MCF but it led to explosive diarrhea almost immediately, so we no longer brought him any.

HB

F&E

Thank you M1,joC,CStrope,IrisL.and Harshedbuzz for your responses. They are very helpful. My wife takes three meds: lasartan. Potassium 40mg, rusuvastatin 100mg and aspirin 80mg for the last six years at least. I would say she is in stage 6E.She has been duel incontient for six years .the loose stool and incontience has gotten worst over the last six years.now it happens every day. Yes there is a history of lactose intolerances 20 r more years ago I will have her see aGI for an evaluation. I will try latase tablets. Her PCP blamed it on AD and said to use Imodium.it works, somewhat but I am afraid it might constipate r impact her . One haft to one whole Imodium per day invariably slows r stops the flow then after four days I Stop the Imodium and she has a BM, harshedbuzz,sorry about your father and thanks for the info .all advice and opinions r encouraged and welcome

Battlebuddy

We are experiencing this at my house and yes I am the “ poop coach” . I also believe it is the late stage dementia wrecking havoc on his digestive system. I feel like his brain can’t tell his digestive track what to do properly. As I sit here next to him, he is struggling to swallow water. ( it’s stuck in his mouth) . He is also very skinny so it seems the digestive system doesn’t know how to absorb the nutrients correctly. I agree with Hazzard buzz. We are having issues “ end to end”