Severe Alzheimer patient forgets how to push healthy soft stools out. Needs to be fingered out every 3-4 days. Tried all stuff to promote diarrhea - nothing. Not pleasant task. Guy is still healthy, likes to walk, eats well - lots veggies/fruit.
Any other suggestions to cope?
With age or inactivit, the peristaltic action of the intestine slows down. Often even soft stools are not evacuated. Sometimes more fiber or even softer stools are necessary to get things moving. Have you discuss this with the doctor? Ask about docusate sodium (DSS), a stool softener. There are a couple of fiber additives that you can stir into water or juice and virtually disappears. I don't think you have any luck trying to get him to drink psyllium or Metamucil. I didn't with my mom. She never had any hard impactions or true constipation but because of surgery for an anal fissure many years before, she would get rectal blockages and the only way to get things started was digital deimpaction. Kinda sounds familiar. 2 doses of benefiber or citrucell + 400 mg of DSS daily, plus a good diet usually allowed for natural evacuation. Be sure to talk to the doctor first.