Over time, your bowel needs may change, and this may affect how you manage your symptoms. The Peristeen® Light routine you began with may no longer be optimal for your situation. If this is the case, it may be necessary to adjust your routine.
This article explores what to do if you think you may need to adjust your routine and summarises some possible ways your irrigation routine may be altered. Importantly, you should not deviate from your prescribed irrigation routine without consulting a healthcare professional.
When might it be time to adjust my routine?
Peristeen Light is designed to help people who struggle with constipation and/or faecal incontinence. If you find your symptoms do not reduce after trying Peristeen Light for some time, you may need to adjust your routine.
It may be necessary to adjust your routine if:
- You are not continent between your irrigations
- You are not able to perform a successful irrigation (i.e. evacuate stool)
- You have to irrigate multiple times per day
Always consult your healthcare professional if you have concerns about your irrigations or wish to change your routine.
What do I do if I think I should adjust my routine?
Before adjusting your routine, it is always necessary to reach out to a healthcare professional. They will be able to advise you on how best to proceed and what adjustments may be suitable for your bowel.
If you are worried about changes in your symptoms, you may also choose to fill out a bowel diary to keep track of your irrigations and any associated problems. This way, when you talk to your bowel nurse or doctor, you will be able to give a detailed account of the issues you are having.
What adjustments may be possible?
It may be possible to adjust how frequently you irrigate. If you irrigate only every couple of days, you may need to up this to daily irrigations to achieve the desired result.
Maybe, you also need to consider when you irrigate. Peristeen Light is a portable device that has been designed to fit into everyday life. You may find you carry your low-volume system with you throughout the day so you may irrigate when necessary.
Peristeen Light is a low-volume TAI system that can deliver up to 175 ml of water to the bowel. You may want to alter how much water you use after discussing this with your clinician.
If low-volume irrigations do not provide adequate symptom relief, it may be necessary to move to high-volume TAI. High-volume TAI provides a deeper irrigation (evacuating stool from the rectum and parts of the colon1) and in some cases can help people with bowel issues remain continent for up to two days.
Key takeaways:
It is possible to adjust your routine with Peristeen Light if you do not achieve sufficient symptom relief with your irrigations. After consultation with your healthcare professional, you may choose to:
- Increase your irrigation frequency
- Increase how much water you use
High-volume TAI is another form of transanal irrigation, and you may also wish to discuss this further with your doctor if you low-volume TAI does not bring adequate relief from your symptoms.
- Magnuson FS, Christensen P, Krassioukov A, et al. Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury and Multiple Sclerosis—An Updated and Simplified Treatment Algorithm. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023;12(6971).
