Hi friend,

My situation might be rather unique in that I know which lesion is causing the bowel troubles, at least at certain times with this disease.

I have one in my C-spine, that has caused me paralysis and/or complete numbness on several occasions, and that is the reason I seem to have the "type" of bowel troubles that I have. (This can be caused by lesions much lower down as well i.e. in the T-spine, but in my case it is the C-spine lesion that usually acts up and EVERYTHING below that level is affected). During those times, I can't feel anything what-so-ever down there, which definitely contributes to my issues, but when I am numb is not the only time I have difficulty either.

On a day-to-day basis, when I am not having obvious difficulties from my spinal lesion, I can still have intermittent bowel difficulties. Since this problem is intermittent (sometimes I am actually fine), then I think there must be some other MS-reason/lesion that can be causing problems for me.

Other then when it is directly caused by a spinal lesion attack, they don't seem to know a whole lot about why we can have bowel issues . . . but they recognize we do. Some theories include:

"Constipation can be caused by a number of factors. Lack of physical activity—brought on perhaps by fatigue or immobility—can disrupt the digestive system. Depression, poor dietary habits, spasticity, and medications can also be culprits. And, MS itself can be responsible. The loss of myelin in the brain or spinal cord can interfere with signals indicating that it’s time for a bowel movement. Finally, many people with MS who have bladder problems drink less fluids as a way to urinate less often—and this leads to constipation. This is such a common reason for MS-related constipation that your first step may be to seek medical help for your bladder problem."

http://www.copaxone.com/aboutMS/bowel.aspx

When I am in the midst of a spinal lesion attack, there is NOTHING that works to make me go. I can't feel anything, there seems to be no muscle or communication channels working, and no amount of roughage or anything else will help. When my bowel problems are not as a direct result of a spinal lesion attack though, there are several things that can help, like increased fruit, water, fibre (even "Benefibre"), etc.

Here's another good link:

http://www.mssociety.org.uk/about_ms..._ms/index.html

As far as bladder problems, again this can be complicated by spinal lesion attacks, but the most common reasons can be found in the attached brochure:

http://www.mswatch.ca/ContentRoot/Ed...adder%20EN.pdf

Cherie