Very painful passing stools and frequency

Hi @Nana42 and welcome to our group. I'm glad to hear you're through treatment and out the other side. Unfortunately, the radiotherapy narrows the anal canal (stenosis) making it more difficult to pass stools, particularly if they are fairly hard. It's a good idea to keep things nice and soft, with a stool softener (not laxative) which will make it less painful.

Going over water also helps enormously.  You can get a sitz bath/bidet bowel, which is a special bowel filled with water that you can put in the toilet to relieve the pain of going.  Water wipes can also be much better than using toilet paper. Pampers coconut pure wipes have also recently been suggested by a member of the group.   I used to shower off with cool water then have a salt bath immediately after going to the toilet. I used plain table salt but you can also use Epsom salts. I would have 2-3 a day and they definitely helped reduce the soreness.  Please ensure you are fully hydrated, drinking plenty of water will also soften the stools somewhat.

I cannot imagine how much more painful going to the toilet will be for you with you having haemorrhoids too. It must be agony.  If you're not having treatment for them then please ask your Oncologist next week for advice as to what you can use to treat them.  I would also definitely mention the swelling in your legs/feet to your Oncologist. If the swelling gets worse over the weekend then give your colorectal team a quick call about that next Monday.    Your treating team need to know about any changes you are experiencing. Hope things improve for you very soon. Bev 

Thanks Bev there’s some useful information in your post.  Appreciate you taking the time.

Hi there  Nana42,

I’m sorry that you’re having what sounds like increasing issues right now. If you’ve suffered low appetite during treatment & now you say your appetite has returned to normal then that could explain the increase in frequency of bowel movements, increased input = increased output so to speak. Are your stools difficult to pass? If so maybe stool softeners such as Laxido or Movicol would help, I still use these intermittently over three years out due to stenosis. Also has a Dr diagnosed the haemorrhoids? If not I would explain to your treating team the discomfort you’re in & ask for a face to face appointment so that a physical examination can be performed to ascertain why you’re in increasing amounts of discomfort, at least this will put your mind at rest, I know the worry & distress that these hiccups can cause! Also you need some medical advice on the swelling in your legs & ankles, I know treatment can cause damage to the lymph system resulting in lymphoedema, but this needs mentioning also to your treating team. I would give them a call, when you’re in pain & discomfort such as you are next Thursday is still a way away, my oncologist always made it clear that he was there whenever I needed him between appointments if necessary. I hope your team can give you some advice that offers you some relief soon. 

Nicola 

Hi Nicola thanks for suggestions.  How long did it take your anus to heal so you passed stools without too much discomfort  - presuming you had anal cancer.  Appreciate sensible suggestions I’ll contact my team tomorrow.  

Hi again Nana42, external healing was pretty quick, internal healing was slower. I’d had a biopsy  & local resection surgery prior to chemoradiotherapy so a lot of trauma to the area in a short space of time & the internal healing was quite a gradual process. I was lucky that I didn’t suffer diarrhoea during/after treatment but found I needed to use stool softeners on a daily basis to make things more comfortable to ‘go’. Timescales are a bit of a blur to be perfectly honest but I would say by the time I was a couple of months out of treatment as long as I kept things soft it was manageable. Some days were better than others & up until this last year my skin would split & I’d bleed a little if passing a difficult bowel movement, this wasn’t prolonged bleeding though & would stop as soon as I’d wiped, the episodes of this happening have gradually got further & further apart & it rarely happens now. I also only ever wash the area with aqueous cream, this stops the ‘new skin’ from drying out & I find, even now, if I use even the mildest of wash products it burns a little & drys out my skin. Hope this helps a little. 

Nicola 

Glad you seem well again and so useful to have this information.  Nana42

Hi Nana42 like you I had pain passing stools and ended up having a fissure which was pretty uncomfortable. I did get a ointment from my doctor for this but unfortunately the ointment gave me very bad migraines due to one of the ingredients containing something they give heart patients! I then resorted to good old fashioned Vaseline which worked for me. As others have said try to keep those stools soft to lessen the pain. I didn’t get haemorrhoids or swelling legs which your team will give you the right advice on what to do. I am nearly eight months post treatment and from where you are now to where I am now I feel so much better. I am prone to being constipated if I don’t watch my diet and take physillium husk every morning which helps bulk and soften stools. I use a skin balm every time I use the toilet call Procoal intensive ointment which help keep the skin stretchy and moist and healing and not suffered any more fissures or bleeding. It takes time and I hope your team sort out your discomfort soon. 

Hello Nana42 well done on completing treatment!! I’m 5 months post treatment and still a little delicate.

The best way to help is to take stool softeners such as Movicol etc that will help you pass more comfortably.

You also can’t beat a salt bath to help heal things downstairs. Honestly it really works. Some plain Himalayan bath salts deliverd same day or next day from Amazon. I buy big 12kg buckets as it’s just so good for you. Also you can use your sitz bath (also available from Amazon) to pass a stool in. Sounds awful but sitting in the warm water can really help you relax which helps you pass stool more carefully and gently. It was one of the regulars on here that told me about that and immediately post treatment that’s what I did. Goodness that was a blessing!!! It’s easy then just to flip it over and dispose and then clean it in the shower.

Your doctor may also be able to give you something to help the healing to so don’t be afraid to ask. If you are a regular sufferer of constipation the you might ask your doctor for some Resolor. This also helps keep you regular working on the brains serotonin. It’s a bit of a miracle product that either works for you or it doesn’t but maybe worth a try?

Good luck hope you find something that helps. And as I mentioned in previous post the Pampers coconut pure wipes are a godsend in wiping very delicate tender skin down there as the coconut oil locks in moisture there and aids the healing   Xx 

Excellent advice I shall be trying some of your suggestions.  Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your advice.  I can see a consistent suggestion, salt and sitz bath, that will be my next step,