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1.
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How do people with SCI manage their bowel movement?
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Not many people know this but it
is not only the inability to move your arms or legs but also bowel
and bladder control are lost too (in most cases.) This is the worst
part (I think) of the injury. A person with a spinal cord injury
must train there bodies to go at certain times. In order to urinate
since the muscles that control the bladder contractions are lost
(depending on the injury) one must catheterization which can lead to
UTI's.
This subject is vast and everyone's experience is very different. Try
the online fact sheets at www.spinalcord.org
and http://www.fscip.org/
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2.
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How do you pass water?
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Spinal cord injury at any level almost always affects your
control over your bladder and bowels. This is because the
nerves controlling these internal organs are attached to the
very base of the spinal cord (levels S2–4), and then pass
down through the cauda equina, the ‘horse’s tail’
below the cord itself.
In the old days it was said, rather crudely and
pessimistically, that spinal cord injury made you ‘doubly
incontinent’. For many people this is one of the worst
horrors—the idea of being condemned to a life of indignity
with no control over the basic bodily functions. However,
although you will not have the same control that you used to
before your injury—choosing freely (within certain limits)
when and where ‘to go’—a whole range of techniques
exist to help you to ‘manage’ your bladder and
bowels.
These techniques include the use of movement, pressure,
implanted electrodes and/or drugs to stimulate muscles which
no longer respond to your brain; diet and/or drugs to slow
down or speed up the way the body handles fluids and solids;
the use of tubes and drainage bags; re-routing of the
body’s drainage channels; and pads and other special
clothing to absorb any leakage.
Each individual is different, but used singly or in
combination, appropriate continence aids and techniques
should enable you to re-establish a degree of control over
both your bladder and bowels, and enable you to lead a
normal life.
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3.
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Can you have sex after a spinal injury?
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In short the answer is Yes, but the amount of feeling/level of
function etc is very dependant on the individual injury.
There are numerous assistive devices/treatments to help
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4.
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Is there a cure for SCI?
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No, at the moment there isn't. Any damage to the spinal cord
will be permanent. The extent of loss of movement depends on
the amount of damage to the spinal cord. There is great work
being done in the field of spinal nerve regeneration, but at
the moment a 'cure' is a long way off
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5.
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Do people with SCI ever get better?
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When a SCI occurs, there is usually
swelling of the spinal cord. This may cause changes in
virtually every system in the body. After about six weeks,
the swelling begins to go down and people may regain some
functioning. With many injuries, especially incomplete
injuries, the individual may recover some functioning as
late as 18 months after the injury. In very rare cases,
people with SCI will regain some functioning years after the
injury. However, only a very small fraction of individuals
sustaining SCIs recover all functioning.
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6.
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Does everyone who sustains a spinal injury use a wheelchair?
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No. Wheelchairs are a tool for
mobility. High C-level injuries usually require that the
individual use a power wheelchair because of the loss of arm
function. Lower injuries usually allow the person to use a
manual chair. Advantages of manual chairs are that they cost
less, weigh less, disassemble into smaller pieces and are
more agile. However, for the person who needs a power chair,
the independence afforded by them is worth the limitations.
Some people are able to use crutches for walking. These
methods of mobility do not mean that the person will never
use a wheelchair. Many people who use crutches also use a
chair for increased mobility. People who use wheelchairs
don't sleep in them, they sleep in a bed. No one is
"wheelchair bound."
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7.
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Parenthood - is it possible for me now I'm paralyzed?
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Were you told, whilst in hospital after your injury, that
children for you would be out of the question? Were you
advised not to even think about it? advice? Many people with
a spinal cord injury, both male and female, quadriplegic and
paraplegic are the proud mothers and fathers of children
post injury.
I'm not saying its going to be easy or possible for everyone
but there is hope.
Check out the excellent online fact sheets at www.spinal.com if you want to know me
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8.
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You say that people with SCI can still have sex but in a mans
case do they still have the same urges to have and want sex
even though they can't feel anything?
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Many males with a spinal injury still have a great sex-life, in
my case i have very limited feelings to touch, but have a
fulfilling sex-life............the urges and desire for sex
don't go away.......the physical act requires some
assistance and imaginative thinking because of the mobility
problems.........a decent erection can be maintained and
used by the use of pumps, sprays or medication, every sci
will be different and what works for one person may not necessarily
work for another. I use viagra.
Ejaculation is also possible with time and perseverance even
for complete sci's.
I use a product by Ferticare. Works every time.
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9.
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What do you think "quality of life" means especially,
if you are SCI person?
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Life after SCI is a very much an individual choice, my quality
of life is actually better now than before my injury, its
taken time and I still have bad days but I am lading a very
full and good life now
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| 10.
A few illustrations
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CLICK
TO GROW
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