Accidental Bowel Leakage (ABL), Bowel Control Issues, or Fecal Incontinence (FI)?

I suffer from ongoing:

• Loose stools or diarrhea
• Constipation, gas, bloating, and abdominal cramping
• Strong, excessive, uncontrollable bowel contractions which push out the stool
• Uncontrolled relaxation of the anal sphincter

Severity can range from an occasional leakage of stool while passing gas to a complete loss of bowel control. If any of these apply, talk to your doctor about ways to improve bowel control (also known as Fecal Incontinence, or FI).

Loss of bowel control is more common than you might think. NICE indicates a prevalence rate from 1 to 10% of adults are affected by fecal incontinence, depending on the definition and frequency of fecal incontinence used. The average person experiencing fecal incontinence is of middle age.

For women:

• 58% of Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) patients
• 56% of Overactive Bladder (OAB) patients and
• 50% of Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP) patients
  also have loss of bowel control³.

Causes include constipation, diarrhea, and muscle or nerve damage associated with a weak or disrupted anal sphincter. Damage to the anal sphincter often occurs as a result of aging or from nerve and muscle injury resulting from childbirth by vaginal delivery.

Treatment typically starts with behavioral modifications, dietary changes, pelvic floor exercises and antidiarrheal medicines to relax the bowel.

Laborie offers:

• The Eclipse™ System for Bowel Control – an innovative non-surgical therapy that offers immediate results for women experiencing loss of bower control.
• Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) with Urgent® PC – a low-risk, outpatient therapy typically used when conservative treatments aren’t enough but before more invasive treatments.

The Eclipse is the first vaginal insert designed to provide bowel control. The insert is placed in the same location as a tampon or a diaphragm by the user, and can be inserted or removed when wanted. A well-fit insert will be comfortable for almost all women. Women who were successfully fit with Eclipse by a medical professional, in a 1-month study overwhelmingly reported comfort wearing the insert with 86% of patients reporting treatment success^4.

A detachable and discreet pump is used to inflate and deflate a balloon on the insert. The balloon is designed to control your rectum and prevent stool from passing when you’re not ready for it. When you’re ready to have a bowel movement, simply deflate the balloon. Once you have finished your bowel movement, inflate the balloon again and go on your way. This design allows you to actively control your bowels

Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) with Urgent® PC is a low-risk, outpatient therapy typically used when conservative treatments aren’t enough but before more invasive treatments.

• Urgent PC is a low-risk outpatient treatment for the symptoms of overactive bladder including urinary urgency, urinary frequency and urge incontinence and fecal incontinence.*
• Since 2003, healthcare professionals have used the Urgent PC Neuromodulation System as an effective office treatment for men and women suffering from fecal incontinence and overactive bladder. Urgent PC is up to 80% effective, even after behavioral measures and drugs have failed ⁵. Plus, Urgent PC is very low risk, making it a great choice for patients unable or unwilling to have more invasive procedures.