Cervical stenosis

Good Morning Stells

I am glad that you have found being part of the community valuable. It really helps to share with others who are going through similar journeys. I hope you do not mind me replying as I had a different cancer to you but I have shared part of your journey so I thought I would respond. 

I also had pelvic radiotherapy (Aug/Sept 2022) and recognise the multiple daily toilet trips and anxiety of not having a toilet near by. It is tiring but I am starting to see some improvements now. Have you got a Can't wait toilet card? You can get one from Macmillan/your hospital. It helped take some of the anxiety away for me. 

I had a hysteroscopy as an outpatient due to bleeding but I do understand that sometimes people have them under an anaesthetic. This happened recently to a friend of mine. My cancer was in my womb. Bleeding was the symptom that alerted me to a problem. I did have some watery discharge but that was a couple of weeks later. Some days it looked straw like and some days it was pinkish. My main symptom however was heavy bleeding and later on a feeling of discomfort in my tummy. 

I have just had a check up at my hospital and they always ask about any bleeding or discharge. I was told that pelvic radiotherapy can indeed cause a discharge or bleeding although this is not something I have had since surgery. Pelvic radiotherapy can have lots of effects in my experience but I always mention them to my CNS team.

It sounds that it is right that they should check this symptom out for you and it may well be that it is connected to your radiotherapy but doing the hysteroscopy/biopsy is the only way to know for sure. If it turns out to be connected to the radiotherapy you could speak to your team about a Late Effects Clinic at your hospital. They can do investigations and give advice on the ongoing radiotherapy effects. I was told that this is an option for me if my tummy does not settle. At the moment I am managing with loperamide and dietary changes.

I hope that your appointment comes through quickly. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help.

Jane

Hi Jane

Of course I don't mind you replying. Your advice is much appreciated and very helpful. Thank you!

Have the urgent loo card. Will definitely enquire about the late effects clinic. That's good to know about. 

Thanks again and take care. 

Stells 

Hi Stells,

Glad it helped.

I was told the Late effects clinic is an option if things don't settle. At my hospital they tend to wait a few months and then if you are still having symptoms that are disrupting your life- eg constant loo trips they get you in and give you a full check (to confirm its down to the radiotherapy) and then give you advice on managing symptoms. They can also refer you to other depts eg gastroenterologists, dieticians. Because I have managed to cope so far with loperamide and have made adjustments to my diet things are beginning to go in the right direction. I have developed some food intolerances that when I cut those foods out, my symptoms improve a lot. 

I hope that your appointment for the hysteroscopy comes through quickly- good luck

Jane

Hello Stells

I am so pleased to hear that your tumour is gone, it is such a wonderful thing to hear after such gruelling treatment.  The side effects can be an absolute pain but some do dissipate over time.  At six months out I still had real loo urgency at any time of the day, but I now mostly only get it first thing in the morning and I don't leave the house until I have had at least three loo visits.

I am so sorry that you have this hanging over you but it sounds as if they are doing a very thorough check. Do you have a date for the op?  I know shadowing can mean different things and I hope your examination under GA shows nothing untoward.  That doesn't help you at all at the moment and I completely understand how worried you must be.  Please let us know how things go.

Irene xx

Hi Irene

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. What a coincidence, I too have the benchmark of "three loo visits" before venturing out into public. ;0)

Since writing have been given a date of 27th, thirteen days from now. So grateful for the excellent service I'm receiving. 

Thanks for your reassurance. As you say I'm sure the exam will show nothing untoward. 

Take care

Stells xxx

StellsD, I am thinking of you, and am so pleased that you don't have long to wait.

Irene xx

Hi Stells, 

I'm a year out and still keep strictly to the three loo visits- sometimes more if I've eaten carelessly the day before- before leaving the house!

I hadn't heard of cervical stenosis before. What a pain to have to go under to get the scan. Hopefully they get you in soon and figure out the mystery fluid. 

Am so bummed that we have nothing like a Late Effects Clinic around here.

Hugs

Suz

Hello Stells welcome to the group. Just wondering if they gave you the dreaded dilators after your treatment as some peoples vaginas close up due to maybe the position they had to get the radiotherapy beams at. I couldn’t insert the smallest one at first but after persisting I gradually managed to work up to the larger size but it does take time. Just wondering if because it’s closed this affects the natural function of self cleaning. Even if you have a stoma the bottom can still produce the mucus needed the move the stools which have to be passed. Good luck with the investigation. I am two years post treatment and I will add like some of us on here my morning routine which is the first bowel movement is usually harder to pass due to being sat there all night (that’s my theory) and an hour later the next one is easier and I’m usually good to go but sometimes I will go again around four in the afternoon depending on how much and what I have eaten. Like Suz I drink gallons of water as I worry about morning constipation and sometimes if it isn’t soft enough it just sits there and I have to try and have a muscle contraction. What we eat, drink and toilet worries is so time consuming but you do get perfect days and end up wondering whether you should eat exactly the same and drink exactly the same that day before again to get a repeat of the perfect bowel movement!

Hi Jaycee

Thanks for sharing your experience. 

Yes, was given the vaginal dilators and after much perseverance managed to progress, with a great deal of discomfort, to the largest size. My blockage is "higher up" at the opening of the womb. There must be a slight opening as, after using the dilator, straw-coloured sticky fluid comes away. 

I was booked in for a hysteroscopy but the doctor was unable to insert the camera into my uterus. Hence having to go in to have the procedure under GA. 

The sticky fluid is exactly what you would expect to see from a burn so I'm hoping this is down to damage from the radiotherapy. 

I agree, toilet worries are so time consuming. ;0(

Thanks again

Stells