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I first experienced fecal incontinence over 12 years ago. It happened periodically, maybe once a month. I went through testing that showed it was not a muscular problem. I went to a couple different GI doctors, also went to Mayo Clinic. Same diagnosis: I need to figure out my “trigger foods”. I got one period of reprieve when I went to a Functional Medicine Nurse Practitioner who guided me through a very strict elimination diet and added many supplements. It seemed to help. I slowly added in my usual foods. A year or so later, the problem erupted again. I changed GI doctors. The new diagnosis was, and still is, I am constipated. I have fought that diagnosis for 5 years, how can I be constipated when I am uncontrollably messing myself? But, I am finally accepting that the pain in my upper right quadrant of my torso and the x-ray and ct scan they have done both show all the stool in my abdomen. I am now on a daily laxative to help clear my body. My doctor wants me to stay on it indefinitely, says eventually the “old poop” (a term I heard from someone else who has the same issue) will clear and the laxative will keep things moving and prevent stool from building up inside me. In the past year, I have also found specific foods, that I have eaten previously with no issue, seem to bring on the incontinence. Beans and avocado seem to really be my enemy now. I wish there was a definitive answer. I’m lactose intolerant, so don’t partake in dairy, could I have another intolerance driving it? If the stool keeps building up, why? Is it the foods I’m eating? Is there a nutrient I’m lacking? Why is my body not working right, that I need a laxative everyday? By the way, I’ve been on the laxative for two months and I’m waiting to see the improvement! So, I make sure to get up at least two hours before I have to go anywhere, to allow my body to empty. Well, it doesn’t seem to really empty. Anytime I eat something, I usually have a BM within a half hour. I wear the diapers quite frequently now (lifesaver!). Has anyone else had the diagnosis of constipation?

Yes and no. The initial diagnosis was due to muscle weakness. Later Constipation was added, with the explanation that new poop builds behind the constipation and eventually squeezes past uncontrollably. My GI Doctor mentioned stool softeners, which I am now taking. While they haven't seemed to have helped the incontinence, they do seem to have helped with regularly going.