Paristeen is another morning routine
Peristeen manual pump
Peristeen is another morning routine. This was not a random decision, Peristeen is vital for bowel management and it is now an essential part of my life. I do have a good healthy relationship with my MS but living with it can be tricky and life never stays still.
If you have never heard of Peristeen then read on and find out a bit more about it. If you use laxatives, suppositories and enemas then you might need it one day.
A little bit of history
Eight years ago I started to be constipated. Stewed dried-fruit, especially prunes became a part of my diet. The constipation problem started to deteriorate until it reached the point where my bowels were controlling my life. I spoke to my MS Consultant who said, “You need Peristeen, speak to your GP”. Seven months later it arrived.
Peristeen is another morning routine
It is best described as Botox for the bowel. You can decide when to empty your bowels. The only problem, it does need to be done regularly, for example every day in the morning or alternate days in the afternoon.
Peristeen is a possible treatment for anyone who might have a dysfunctional bowel and is not restricted just to people with MS.
The new routine
In one fell swoop Peristeen has added another hour to my morning routine. Let me try to explain how my mornings now look and why I need over 3 hours from the moment I wake. The alarm wakes me up in the morning, but I need time to surface.
Out of bed
Eventually I am sitting up but it ain’t easy. I grab my trusty rollator and stagger through to the bathroom, Shave and clean my teeth then I wake my body up doing 20 minutes of exercise. In the past I never had to worry about exercise but now it is very much a part of my daily routine but that is an hour gone since I woke up.
Dressing
This is my daily challenge. I cannot stand unaided so I must get dressed sitting on the bed. MS has truly buggered up my fingers so buttons are impossible and tying up shoe laces is a challenge, I’ve also got to attach electrodes onto my left leg for a Functional Electrical Stimulator (dual channel FES) so that is another 40 minutes.
Next is breakfast, nearly always a bowl of muesli and a hot cup of tea, another 20 to 30 minutes. This also starts the digestive process and will make emptying the colon much easier.
Peristeen, the new stage
I will not go into the details of how Peristeen works. Instead here is a link to a video that will explain it all. The whole process takes less than an hour and it is a total game changer. I hope that ghastly feeling when my bowels ruin the day are now history. Laxatives and suppositories can now go into room 101, phew. My quality of life has improved beyond description.
Overall
It taken a a couple of weeks to get a routine established, Yup, there have been one or two accidents along the way but, for the time being it has made the elephant in the room so much smaller. It is a game changer so my quality of life is so much better now.
Associated posts
MS Botox bladder injections are life changing
The FES has been a life changer
March 2024
Thanks for the post, hadn’t heard of it before. I don’t need it at present (and hope i won’t in future), but interesting to find out about.
Hello Richard,
You never know when MS will affect that part of your body
Can you get the Navina Smart system. Electronic so easier on the hands ?
Hello Helen,
Peristeen is supplied by the NHS, I suspect Navina Smart must be bought privately but it does look super good.