Post treatment - advice welcome!

Hello Carole

Five weeks is still very early days in your recovery although you must be disappointed that this is a new development.  I had intense pain on passing stools - it felt as though I was passing broken glass - for probably 10 - 12 weeks, then thankfully the pain eased off.  I know I have anal stenosis but I make very sure that I take a stool softener every day so that I never have to strain and my stools are always very thin.  But the aching throbbing pain after a bowel movement is exactly what I had in the early days.  I would mention everything including the bleeding to your oncologist when you see them, they will check you out and make sure that there is nothing untoward going on.  I am sorry the oramorph isn't helping, the oncologist suggested taking a dose when I went to the loo but it gave me such constipation I stopped three weeks after treatment ended and never took it again.

I have assumed that the urethra and bladder also suffer to a degree as I also occasionally have very slight leakage of something, but I don't think it is urine.  This comes and goes, and I have taken to wearing panty liners all the time.

I learned more on here about after effects than anywhere else, I think it really is a case of one size doesn't fit all, some people get off very lightly and others much less so.  I do hope your oncologist can help, and in the meantime, that you get more suggestions.

Irene xx

Oh Carole, damn, it's SOOOO discouraging when you start to make a little ground and something slams you back like this. I had several such occasions the first couple of months of recovery and was starting to despair.

I still get the itch, then pressure, then pain if I need to move my bowels and don't get to it fast enough.

And nothing makes you want to wail like that toilet bowl full of bright red. 

For me it's of the utmost importance that I take a full dose of psyllium husk every day, which means with my current brand, 10 capsules. I take several throughout the day as taking them all at once upsets my stomach. I've got 40 oz water bottle that I try to empty each day. I don't always succeed, but if I don't get at least 3/4 of the way through it I'll suffer the next morning. 

I love spicy food but I have to be super, super judicious about it. And very rich food, like bacon and creamy cheeses, goes through me like opening a sluice gate.

We're not offered the expanders here (and not sure I could bear them if they were) but some folks have found them to help with stenosis.

And yes, maddening to keep getting thrown back to Dr. Google!

Hugs

Suz