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Addressing constipation, fecal incontinence might help,
study suggests
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by Joyce Frieden News Editor, MedPage Today
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Sluggish bowels may be contributing to fatigue among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, according to a small study presented here.
Patients who reported having severe bowel dysfunction were also very likely to report feeling fatigued, Emma Matthews, QN, of Northampton General Hospital in England, and colleagues reported in a poster at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers annual meeting.
“People with MS have a very sluggish bowel and it takes a long time to get rid of all that toxic waste; they can go for 10 days or more” without having a bowel movement, co-author Kathy Franklin, QN, also of Northampton General, told MedPage Today.”We think there’s a correlation between fatigue and having a bowel that’s full of feces.”
Although most MS patients experience bowel problems, “it is often not spoken about as it can be too embarrassing to discuss,” the investigators wrote. “It can present as constipation and/or incontinence, and is often associated with poor mobility due to closely linked nerve transmissions. So we can safely say it is a hidden symptom for a lot of people with MS.”
To address the issue, the researchers had 50 MS patients complete a questionnaire and worked with six patients in a focus group. The instruments used to gather data included the Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction (NBD) scale; the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) to measure fatigue; and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) to measure sleepiness.
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