Bob always wanted to be a professional freestyle skier. He was dreaming of triple somersaults, and mogul skiing. After working really long and hard, Bob rose up through the ranks and ended as one of the top U.S. freestyle skiers by the time he was 21. Bob was living the dream until he broke his back in a skiing accident at the age of 25.
Despite this life-changing set-back, Bob was determined to start over again. So he enrolled into college for the first time to reinvent himself and found a new passion for broadcasting and video production:
“I remember how devastating it was for me, ít was the worst thing that ever happened to me by far. But I wanted to have a great life after this. I was born pretty much an optimist. So, that first week it was just a fight to stay alive. Perspective is everything. So being paralyzed was secondary.”*
Moving on with his new life, Bob struggled with bowel management for years before discovering Peristeen. He often worried about bowel accidents and tried several solutions without success. He says the treatment helped remove a ‘giant burden’ from his shoulders and allows him to be spontaneous. His advice to new users is to be prepared to adjust their routine so they can achieve the best possible results.
For some people it's going to work perfect the first time, and for others it takes some time to fine tune the routine and get it to work. It took a while for Bob to achieve consistent results with Peristeen but then he consulted with his health care professional on possible improvements to his routine. With guidance from his nurse, he experimented with the amount of water he used. He started with the prescribed amount and then gradually worked with his clinician to find the right amount for his individual bowel routine.* He also switched from using the treatment every day to every other day:
“Trial and error is key. I’ve been injured for some time now so I know a few tricks. In the early days there were times I’d have accidents and you’re thinking ‘how am I going to clean this up’. But I just rolled up some paper and you take care of it.”*
With Peristeen Plus, it may take some time to adjust and find what works for your body, but try to be patient. A positive attitude has contributed to Bob’s success:
Important: remember to always check with your healthcare professional before making changes to your transanal irrigation procedure.
“When you have a bowel accident, you have two options… you can give up or you can clean yourself and carry on. I always tell myself that tomorrow might be the best day of my life. Now my life is so much easier because the thought of having an accident is not constantly at the back of my mind.”*
"My biggest fear ever since I was a kid was being whatever age that I considered old then, it's changing every year. But say being 70 and thinking, "I didn't do anything, I didn't have any adventures. That scared me way more than going on adventures and having all these memories and everything.”*
*Coloplast has compensated this user to share his product experience. Each person's situation is unique so your experience may not be the same. Talk to your healthcare provide about whether this product is right for you.
Information from Coloplast® Care is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice and should not be interpreted to contain treatment recommendations. You should rely on the healthcare professional who knows your individual history for personal medical advice and diagnosis. Prior to use refer to product labeling for complete product instructions for use, contraindications, warnings and precautions.
Indication: The Peristeen® Plus Transanal Irrigation System is intended to instill water into the colon through a rectal catheter, which incorporates an inflatable balloon, inserted into the rectum to promote evacuation of the contents of the lower colon. The Peristeen Plus Transanal Irrigation System is indicated for use by children (2 years - <12 years old), adolescent (12 years - < 18 years old), transitional adolescent (18 - <21 years old) and adult patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction who suffer from fecal incontinence, chronic constipation, and/or time-consuming bowel management procedures.
Contraindications: Peristeen Plus Transanal Irrigation must not be used in the following situations: known anal or colorectal stenosis, colorectal cancer (active/recurrent), radiotherapy to the pelvis, and recent abdomino-perineal surgery, active inflammatory bowel disease, acute diverticulitis, severe diverticulitis, previous diverticulitis and diverticular abscess, chronic symptomatic diverticular disease, within 3 months of abdominal, anal or colorectal surgery, within 4 weeks of endoscopic polypectomy, recent colonic biopsy, recent endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and recent endoscopic sub-mucosal dissection (ESD), severe autonomic dysreflexia, ischemic colitis, during Spinal Cord Shock Phase, complex diverticular disease, in patients who are pregnant and have not used the system before*. Since the list is not exhaustive, the healthcare professional should always consider individual patient factors as well. *If the patient is pregnant and has never used transanal irrigation before, they should not start the irrigation procedure during pregnancy.
Warnings: Peristeen Plus Transanal irrigation procedure should always be carried out with caution. Bowel perforation is an extremely rare, but serious and potentially lethal, complication to transanal irrigation and will require immediate admission to a hospital, often requiring surgery. See the device manual for complete user instructions, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and potential complications/adverse events. For further information, call Coloplast Corp at 1-855-605-7594 or consult the company website at www.coloplast.us. Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician.
