Bowel timing...

User

Posted 24 Jul 2015 at 20:50

Good day all,

I am now nearly six months since my radio therapy which unfortunately blasted my bowel. Struggled for a couple of months with acute radiation Proctitis which has now settled down. I am feeling good and enjoy life again with the exception of getting going in the morning.

No matter if I get up at 6am or 8am, I still have to run to the toilet at least three times before 10am, after which things then settle down for the day...

I used to play golf with my buddies three mornings per week starting at 08.30. Sadly I just can't do that now.

Do any of you have a tip to help restore my bowel movement to going only once, first thing in the morning. I have tried various dietary changes without success and am beginning to think this bowel function problem is locked in for life! I have also tried Loperamide with limited success, as I then become anxious if I venture out before 10am, not feeling that I am ready for the day - if that makes sense!

Any practical tips will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Tamtoot.

User

Posted 24 Jul 2015 at 22:11

Hi Tamtoot,

Really sorry you're having this problem too. I think it's quite common following radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

It might help if you could get a copy of the MacMillan publication "Managing the Late Effects of Pelvic Radiotherapy in men". It has quite a lot of useful information in it.

Best of Luck,

Steve

User

Posted 25 Jul 2015 at 12:47

11 years on & still rush 2/3 times before daring to go out. Sorry , but not found an answer. Only the stodgiest diet would slow me down & that would be the most unhealthy.

I've heard taking loperimide in the evening has helped a couple of guys. Try that.

User

Posted 26 Jul 2015 at 22:26

Hi Tamtoot

I am about 9 months post radiotherapy ( following prostatectomy and currently on hormones ) and while the radiotherapy certainly didn't blast my bowels it messed them up somewhat . Fairly explosive and three or four times a day and certainly daren't risk a sneaky or in fact any kind of parp without almost certain follow through ! However on my last oncology follow up ( psa steady at 0.07 ) he prescribed me some Normacol - 62% sterculia granules . one 7 gram sachet after breakfast and also after my evening meal . Ironically its a laxative , it's a sort of bulking agent , but it has helped me a lot , fewer visits , more normal stools , can pass wind confidently most of the time as well . It has to be worth a try and it may be available over the counter if the medical folk won't play ball , it's basically only fancy wallpaper paste after all .

Hope this helps

All the best

Neville

User

Posted 26 Jul 2015 at 23:23

Can't help with the bowel problem, but not to be able to play golf is awful. Do you play later in the day?

Paul

Stay Calm And Carry On.

User

Posted 02 Oct 2015 at 19:45

Dear all

I had radiotherapy in April/May 2013 and suffered most of the symptoms mentioned in earlier posts, on my worst days having double figure bowel movements and bleeding. I became extremely nervous about travelling and my running had become very difficult. So two weeks ago I changed my healthy eating habits to a no-fibre diet. No vegetables except cooked root vegetables; no beans or peas; no fruit with seeds; and products made from refined white flour only. The result was instantaneous. The next day.....1 bowel movement only and this has basically remained the pattern to date. I am experimenting with deseeded and peeled tomatoes and bananas seem OK. The amazing side effect is that my running has got easier also, to the extent that I am contemplating another marathon. (To put some context to my situation, I am 65 and had the radiotherapy following a radical prostectomy as part of an international trial)

Best wishes

Ian Clark

User

Posted 03 Oct 2015 at 10:42

Hi Guys,

I currently have the opposite problem of constipation which kicks in whenever I am put on a course of antibiotics, right now I am on ciprofloxacin for a prostate infection and my stools are rock hard.

From previous experience once I finish the course of antibiotics it will take my inards some time to settle down unless I help with the right 'medicine'.

It seems that bowel motions are influenced not so much the actual food we eat, but by the state of the microscope fauna inside the bowels.

So I find that those biotic yogurt drinks help.

Get the balance right and we do not need to worry about constipation, wind or loose bowels.

But best of all is real ale, not beer from a bottle or a can, but real draught ale served in a pub where the beer is non presurised and they actually have to pull the pint.

Round here we have Adnams, and Greene King, when I was last up in Derbyshire I enjoyed draught Bass.

So my advice is to get down the pub and have two or three pints of medicine, more if you need it, but do not under any circumstances have a kebab on the way home!

Dave

User

Posted 12 Dec 2015 at 07:55

Hello,
I'm 11 months past final RT .
I have continued with my GP's consent to take daily sachet of normacol. I also take loperamide about 2-3 times a week.
I have found that this helps control my bowels . It's on prescription.
There are times when there is still a sudden urgency to go. But once the 'system' is cleared I find that I am fine for the rest of the day.

Hope this helps.

User

Posted 18 Jan 2016 at 14:29

On another thread I posted my last minute doubts about the radiotherapy route (in my case HDR brachy topped up with 15 sessions of ERBT - or - possibly just 20 sessions of RT but at a higher rate).

Spoke to my brother and he said he still has some issues over 2 years down the line although they seem quite manageable. Basically he doesn't leave the house before he's been. That, then, seems to do him for the rest of the day. He is following a low fibre diet and has gradually tried re-introducing some more fibre on a food by food basis. He can now eat some fruits but he said the killers for him are wholemeal bread and, oddly, digestive biscuits. He was a bit of a digestive addict but when he tried to re-introduce them, he was on the toilet within the hour!

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