Radiotherapy Completed - A New Challenge Begins

"I woke up, ate cereals, was just walking into the kitchen when I had a sudden urge to go to the toilet."

You really need to be using a low-fibre diet to help . High fibre , as in cereal, suggests you are not doing this. It may mean using stodgy foods for a while.

Google low fibre foods & have a look.

I did find porridge soaked overnight ( in water only ) helpful. You will get the urgency first thing but it seems to help clear through the bowels. You may need to be prepared to go several times before going out for the day. Such frequency is not unusual post R/T.

Until it improves, your best friends will be the removable pants as previously mentioned. You may find you can use a slim disposable pad within those pants to save full changes. And a pocketful of plastic bags for disposals when out.

Good evening Steve,

Glad that you have posted as I was wondering how you were getting on with the bowels problem. I am glad to hear that you are 'managing' it a bit more now and hopefully things will only get better.

I think that your posts are really helpful for other people reading the site, and to give such frank information is really what everyone needs, as being vague leads the mind to wonder what you really mean. If only everyone was so straight talking...

In terms of the nocturia, my OH has to get up 5-8 times per night and he is absolutely shattered by it. Infact it was getting to affect our daytime lives so much that I insisted he speak to the Dr about it, but that got us nowhere at that time. As we all know - being tired affects everything else in our lives and all those around us. He suffered on for 3 years getting up several times, I used to wake up with him (then I was tired) so we bought a 7 foot wide bed so when he gets up now and the mattress does not bounce and wake me up.

To the point though - he had some bad shoulder pain lately that after much worry was put down to arthritis and is having physio, but the Dr also gave him some sleeping pills and they have been marvellous. He now sleeps all night (or gets up only once). It seems as though he was not getting into a deep sleep so the bladder was waking him up. I have not got the name of them - but will look them up if required, as he wakes up feeling refreshed and not groggy at all (as can happen with some tablets).

Once things settle down a bit with your symptoms it may be something that you could try?? Or you may not need them at all.

Stay strong

Alison x

Hi Tamtoot,

Yes there are people who have completed RT with no bladder or bowel problems or any side effects at all, and I am one of them.

I completed 37 fractions of RT on 26th September 2014, so i am now 16 weeks post treatment and have had no side effects at all. There are also a few guys in my support group who are the same. What you have to remember about these types of forums is that most people who come on are looking for advice due to side effects or other issues. This means you read about a lot of problems and issues, but most people who sail through treatments just go away and get on with their life, they have no need to come on the forum. This is one of the reasons I still come on the forum although I have had no issues at all, to let people know there are plenty of people who get successful treatments with no problems.

Good luck to all who are fighting or affected by cancer.

Regards,

Gerry.

Hi Tamtoot,
Hold your nerve. My husband had no problems at all with bowel or bladder, didn't need enemas, no bleeding during or after. And he was having 3Gy each session rather than 2Gy as part of a trial. He was perhaps unusual in that the RT team wanted him to have a high fibre diet (it seems that men are more usually asked to stick to a low fibre diet during the treatment) and he was told absolutely no alcohol or fizzy drinks which he stuck to rigidly. John worked full time throughout the treatment, had his appointment at 8.30am on the way to work and went to the gym every night - the only side effect was the need for an afternoon nap towards the end (either on head on his desk or coming home a little earlier).

Hope all goes well

Thank you all for the reassurance. My concerns are now history...and will advise my outcome in due course.

Tamtoot

Andrew,

I envy your 'twice a day' experience..

I completed my Conformal 3D CRT 55Gy x 20 sessions on Friday 6th Feb and am now left totally bunged up. This has been going on since last weekend when the constipation set in after the third week and has been pretty much the same since. I am taking Fybogel twice a day. Am running to and from the toilet, I don't know how many times daily and would dearly love a good sleep. I changed my diet radically in an attempt to stimulate movement, with nothing but wind, pain, mucous & blooded wipes. I fear to strain too much as haemorrhoid's have developed and am concerned of further damage to the back end. I was provided with Fybogel, Suppositories and anti-nausea tablets by my Onco on Friday. Suppositories tend to last a few minutes only, before being ejected under pressure (LOL, there's something to tell the Grandkids..). Oddly enough the waterworks are faring well, due, I guess, to my water intake of 4+ litres per day. So all in all, not a happy bunny at this time. I will be on the phone to McMillan tomorrow AM to seek their advice as no doubt, I will have little chance of a local GP appointment.

I enjoyed the company and friendship of others while on RT at the hospital but I would not wish my current experience on anyone.. At age 74, I find the side effects of RT very debilitating, any one who did not experience them, during, or after RT, is a very lucky man indeed.

Tamtoot

Really sorry you have been having such a tough time. All I can say is that even though things seems difficult now, it will get better over time.

These are very early days yet, but just try to think of positives, you have given your cancer a real battering.

There are those who have no problems, as others mentioned before you started. I think they are very lucky. Even though I had a bit of a difficult time, I was happy I had the chance to have it done.

I've said before, I'm prepared to do what's necessary to fight this disease.

Things will improve over time.

Stay strong.

All the Best,

Steve

Stuc,

I think you are on to something there. Having looked it up on the internet, it would appear by my drinking too much water I may have induced Hyponatremia which could have caused some of the problems I had encountered over the last week or so, such as:

• Nausea.
• Headache.
• Confusion.
• Loss of energy and fatigue.
• Restlessness and irritability.
• Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps.

Good advice. Thank you

There is no need to apologise  Your problem may not be as serious as someones else problem, but, it is nonetheless significant for you.

Glad to read that things are moving for you.

atb

dave

Hi All,

  I should start off by saying that my experience was extremely rare (I understand) and no one should feel this is an common or likely side effect of RT but perhaps worth mentioning as all knowledge helps.

  I was a bit concerned about my ability for follow the bowl emptying regime as I have suffered from constipation from as far as I can remember, so I was quite keen to follow the requirements as outlined to me.

  I was warned , beforehand (as we are) to expect blood and mucus in my stools. So after the first week when what seemed copious amounts of blood appeared in the bowl I was a bit complacent, however it turned into a situation more like stools in my blood. So much that I was concerned about anemia.

  It turned into something a bit scary so I brought it to the attention of the staff and then followed various tests.

  The upshot was that it appeared to be haemorroids which I had previously been unaware of suffering from. However from that point the external symptoms of piles appeared 

The likely cause was that I had taken to the bowl emptying routine too enthusiastically. My  RT hospital had a policy of randomising the daily appoinments to ensure fairness so the routine had happen anytime between 07:00 and 18:00 depending on that day's appointment.

  I was taken off the dispensed enemas and changed my diet and it halted the deluge. I had one more bout of severe bleeding before the RT ended. 

  I was told that I would have a  Sigmography once things settled down post-RT but as often in the ways of these things, it never happened.  This diagnosis of haemorroids seems reasonable enough so I didn't chase it it.

  My RT was almost a year ago now and although the PSA results could be better, one positive outcome it that my constipation seems a thing of the past and I am now like clockwork! There is still the occasional small amount of mucus but I take that positively, as a sign that the RT is still working.