Skip to main content

Multiple Sclerosis & Its Connection to Incontinence

multiple sclerosis and bladder and bowel incontinence connection

Are you living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)? If so, you probably already know that this neurological condition that affects the nerves often provokes any number of symptoms in the body.

People living with MS may experience fatigue, depression, and/or vision and hearing problems, among other things. In fact, one of the more common but less known symptoms of MS includes both bowel and bladder incontinence.

Do you need insurance-covered catheter supplies due to symptoms of MS?
Contact Us

How Does Multiple Sclerosis Affect the Body?

ms attacking nerves
MS attacks the myelin sheath that protects nerves

MS creates inflammation inside the central nervous system (CNS). This immune system-based attack can damage the myelin sheath that protects nerves, thereby damaging the nerves themselves. Unfortunately, this causes the usual messages in the body’s central nervous system (CNS) to become scrambled or even stop completely.

According to the National MS Society, the symptoms can sometimes resolve over weeks or months, but sometimes the symptoms become permanent.

The severity of each person’s symptoms varies on an individual basis. While some people will never become severely disabled from living with MS, others may eventually have to be in a wheelchair or using a walking aid.

Some symptoms of MS may include:

  • Fatigue
  • Blurry or impaired vision
  • Slurring of speech
  • Vertigo or dizziness
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Tremors
  • Numbness or weakness
  • Impairment of bladder or bowel function

Can Multiple Sclerosis Cause Incontinence?

While many people with MS may never experience urine leakage or loss of control of their bowels, others might. Incontinence concept. Man wants to pee and is holding his bladder. Neurogenic bladder and neurogenic bowels are both fairly common when damage in the nervous system affects these particular areas of the body.

The most common type of urinary incontinence that occurs with MS nerve damage is urge incontinence. In other words, someone with MS who gets urge incontinence may have problems with their bladder or their bowels holding on to their urine or stool until it’s time to go.

Some people living with MS may experience a kind of fecal incontinence that stems first from constipation. In other words, they stay constipated for a length of time until the impacted stool is pushed out. This is also called overflow incontinence.

In summation, incontinence of both kinds will sometimes happen with the nerve signals between the brain and the bladder or bowel are disrupted.

Treatment Options for Multiple Sclerosis-Related Incontinence

First, the wisest course of action is to seek your doctor’s medical advice. We suggest scheduling an appointment with your prescribing healthcare practitioner and letting them know a little more about some of the symptoms you’re experiencing.

From there, your doctor can determine the best course of action of incontinence treatment for your individual situation. Some treatment options may be as easy as diet and lifestyle changes, such as avoiding certain types of bladder or bowel irritants like caffeine. Another example might be to include regular pelvic floor muscles exercises to strengthen the muscles that help control and support the bladder and bowel.

Where To Get Catheter Supplies

If you need to start using intermittent catheters as part of your treatment plan for issues like incontinence or bladder retention due to multiple sclerosis, 180 Medical is here for you.

Our friendly specialists are ready to help you during this transition. We can offer you the empathetic support you deserve while giving you the reliable service you need.

Contact 180 Medical
At 180 Medical, we will verify your insurance coverage to determine if and how your catheter supplies will be covered. From there, one of our friendly specialists will go over the full details with you. We’ll also discuss any potential out-of-pocket costs after your insurance covers their portion. Then we’ll spend some time getting to know your needs and determine which catheter will work best for you.

Contact us today to get started.

180 Medical also proudly supports those living with Multiple Sclerosis by donating and participating in our local Walk MS events, benefitting the National MS Society.

march is ms awareness month 2019

Call Toll-Free (877) 688-2729

Join the 180 Community


About the Author
Multiple Sclerosis & Its Connection to Incontinence
Jessica is the Sr. Marketing Specialist at 180 Medical with a tenure of 14 years. She loves getting to be creative in her role and seeing the positive influence 180 Medican can make on our customers' lives.

Outside of work, you can find her hanging out with her husband and their dogs or browsing garden centers (where she will almost certainly buy another houseplant she doesn't really need).