I was searching for this question on this site and have yet to find it so here goes. Has anyone ever heard of the incontinence fecal plug? Its soft and inserted into anal area to absorb leakage. I was wondering if anyone had heard of it. Used it and if its safe as I was told after jpouch surgery that nothing should be inserted back there. Any insight on this would be helpful. Thank you!
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I am sorry I have not heard of it. I would think that it could be uncomfortable, but sadly so is incontinence. I would ask my surgeon before I did anything. Maybe buy one and see what the surgeon says. I can’t imagine that it would be a good long term solution though.
There are a few of these devices on the market, designed for those with unmanageable fecal incontinence. They are designed for those with an intact rectum. I saw one preliminary study about the feasibility for those with an ileal pouch, but testing had not yet begun on actual j-pouch patients. Here is the link to the abstract on it for those who are curious about it.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30218632/
The primary issue I see is if you also suffer with anal stricture or fissures, that would be a definite contraindication. Also, if you have pouchitis or cuffitis it probably would be too uncomfortable to retain. That said, for anyone with chronic incontinence issues, even if it is only while sleeping, there would be a lot of motivation to try something like this.
Note, these are medical devices, not something you can buy over the counter. “Butt plugs” that you may see for purchase are sex fetish things that are not for treatment of incontinence, so don’t buy those expecting a solution to your problems!
Jan 
Thank you both so much! That helps alot. I have an appointment with my surgeon at the end of the month and run it by him. @Jan yes there are ones that are fettish so don’t want anyone to get confused. The one I’m referring to is almost like a tampon of soft material that expands to block the fluid from leaking from the rectum!
@Angieb posted:Thank you both so much! That helps alot. I have an appointment with my surgeon at the end of the month and run it by him. @Jan yes there are ones that are fettish so don’t want anyone to get confused. The one I’m referring to is almost like a tampon of soft material that expands to block the fluid from leaking from the rectum!
When you run it by our surgeon please let us know how it goes, I think a lot of people would be interested on how it works
Absolutely!
@Angieb posted:Absolutely!
Thankk-you
Saw my surgeon a no go on the fecal plug
What was his rationale?
Hey Doug he didn’t really say and I didn’t question it
I hear ya. Surgeons hate explaining themselves.
Frankly, I am not too surprised. This is experimental stuff and it seems that it would be useful in only select cases.
Usually, incontinence is dealt with by changing consistency, slowing transit, and treating IPS. But, if you have sphincter damage, there is a bigger problem.
Jan
I tried such fecal plugs several years ago, after an anal fissure surgery that worsened leakage. They had to be soaked in water to make them soft and then inserted. They are usually designed to hold normal stool consistency, so liquid stool may be a problem and several designs / shapes of the plugs should be tested.
For me the problem was chronic pouchitis / cuffitis, that inflammation made it painful to insert / hold the plugs. Besides such plugs should be used only once and if you have to go to toilet at night you have to pull it out and afterwards prepare a new one.
I'm currently doing pelvic floor training to improve nightly leakage, but it takes time. A better stool consistency and less bloating can help a lot.
Thank you Steve ! That information was greatly appreciate it. If you dont mind what type of pelvic floor you do?
Hello Angie, currently I use a rental device for pelvic floor exercises by electo-stimulation. A probe with electrodes is inserted into the anus. It should build up the inner sphincter muscles that are important for passive tightness, i.e. when you sleep.
Basically it is similar to conventional pelvic floor exercises, where you are told to imagine pulling out a nail from a board or something like that. But you have a electric stimulation on the one hand and a visual feedback of sphincter pressure on the other which shall help to identify the right muscles.
Sadly I see little success after three months of using that device.
