[Trevor from West Cork]

I am a paraplegic T5-6-7 of 4years and require digital stimulation on a bidaily basis, due to my short arms and long body it is imposible for me to self stimulate so I require a nurse to carry it out on my bed which usually takes 2 hours with 2 mini enemas. I do have a hand held device supplied by the Rehab but have been told not to use it. Can any one give me advice re my situation?

[In The Wind]

Trevor from West Cork, on Jan 19 2010, 12:17 PM, said:

I am a paraplegic T5-6-7 of 4years and require digital stimulation on a bidaily basis, due to my short arms and long body it is imposible for me to self stimulate so I require a nurse to carry it out on my bed which usually takes 2 hours with 2 mini enemas. I do have a hand held device supplied by the Rehab but have been told not to use it. Can any one give me advice re my situation?

Isn't SCI fun? Just look at all the neat shit we get to do...( ), and the conversations we get to have, yay!

Just a few things. First, is your stool "normal", ya know decent turds, no to hard, not to soft and all of that.
I've found that keeping things "normal" eases and speeds my routine GREATLY. A good diet, and since I take pain meds I take just a tiny bit of miralax every night.

I dunno why your rehab would tell you not to use a digi tool if you can't reach unless they are concerned that you might hurt yourself. Do you have any sensation in that area?

You might try a different enema product. I find that the enemeeze work great for me. Most vendors will send you samples to try, so you might take advantage of that and see if a different product helps.

Try a couple of different postures sitting up in your shower chair to see if you can find one that will let you reach that area. I've got the seat on my shower chair rotated so that the cutout is on the left side. That lets me reach around, butt (pun intended) if I'm not sitting right I can't reach it either.

I normally give myself an hour butt (yea yea) to be honest I can have it done in 30 minutes. The only problem that I've had is that if I don't have a movement that removes the enemeeze I'll have a mucous discharge as soon as I bend over to get my chair out of the truck. So I give myself extra time and go ahead and digi stim again in the shower to try and get that stuff outta me. Nothing sucks worse than getting to work and going to get out of the truck and farting out a mess of that nasty ass-mucous...

This post has been edited by In The Wind: 19 January 2010 - 04:28 PM

[oldwheelz]

Aren't those short arms great. Never thought that mine were so short till they had all these extra jobs. I have my seat a quarter turn to the right. Hang on to the left armrest and stretch for all I'm worth. I am very lucky as I need no suppositories or meds. Just reach under and go. Takes less time than when I was AB. Never had a uti or used any medication.

[E-DOG]

In The Wind, on Jan 19 2010, 08:27 AM, said:

Trevor from West Cork, on Jan 19 2010, 12:17 PM, said:

I am a paraplegic T5-6-7 of 4years and require digital stimulation on a bidaily basis, due to my short arms and long body it is imposible for me to self stimulate so I require a nurse to carry it out on my bed which usually takes 2 hours with 2 mini enemas. I do have a hand held device supplied by the Rehab but have been told not to use it. Can any one give me advice re my situation?

Isn't SCI fun? Just look at all the neat shit we get to do...( ), and the conversations we get to have, yay!

You might try a different enema product. I find that the enemeeze work great for me. Most vendors will send you samples to try, so you might take advantage of that and see if a different product helps.
Nothing sucks worse than getting to work and going to get out of the truck and farting out a mess of that nasty ass-mucous...

Trevor, you need to find a cuter care giver. One with thin fingers, who'll give you a lil' kiss when she's done.

Windy, I like to save my ass mucous. I put in into gallon jugs, got it stashed all over the house, just in case.

Nothin' more fun than a SCI. Bowel care is soooooo cooool!

E

[steviek]

Squirting water up your bum imho gives you the best clear out.

[edlee]

I gotta agree with stevie,,, water up the poop chute works wonders.

As for the short arms,,, well,, it's really more about flexibility than length. Takes time to get your body in shape for it, but I'm on the fat side and I can reach right handed,,,, can't get there left handed, tho. Hope I never break my right arm.

I have used enemeze with the same good results and the same bad one ,too. Price you pay, I guess.

The chair does help,,, I can't reach IT in bed, either,,, When sitting in the chair, I guess gravity helps with the bending. Helps with the movement, too.

You might want to look into the peristeen system. It can let you go a couple days between sessions,,, sometimes more. Coloplast makes it, and you should be able to get it there. We can't get it in the states, yet.

Hang in there, mate.
ed

[greybeard]

Hi Ed, Short arms really don't help. Although I don't have to do a bowel routine, I still have to reach it!

I too have a long fat body and very short arms. Like you I could just about manage with my right arm only - and then tore a tendon in that shoulder. Stuffed!!!!!

[BigBizzle]

I am a T-4 complete and just bought a suppository insertion tool. I'm having trouble using it due to the fact that I can not feel (so how do I know if I'm inserting it???) does anyone have any tips for sucessfully using this?.
Thanks