Hi Everyone
I hope all is well.
I finished my 4 week chemo/radiation yesterday and mostly It appears (touchwood) to have gone OK-with the exception however that from middle of wk 3 to current I have been having persistent issues with painful stomach cramps, constipation (now eased thru high fibre diet), liquid discharge , urgent feeling to poo with very little discharge . It usually starts around 3.30am and I can be on and off the toilet for hours , always painful cramps, until mid day-1pm when things start to settle. Apart from the pain I sometimes feel sick (slightly), slight headaches , listless , miserable and demotivated. My nurse said this won't be permenanat but can go on for ages In some people. Just wondered If any one who has been thru similar can offer up advice / support. If I can see an end In sight I will feel much better but If this is an ongoing thing then blimey-how to cope with quality of life?? Thanks for reading. Pie n mash
Hi Pienmash . Good to know your treatment has finished. We know that RT continues working for a couple of weeks after treatment finishes and it is common to have an adverse effect on bowels etc. for some time. In my case, I had the sudden urgency to go and always needed to know where the nearest toilet was . I also had bouts of fatigue which lasted for an hour or so each day. This all gradually got better over several weeks and all back to normal. Important not to eat large meals, but small snacks more often. Also stay well hydrated. My oncologist recommended something for any mucus discharge but I never needed it. I will dig out my old notes to see what it was. You are bound to feel this way after what your body has been through but you should recover. I hope all goes well. Best wishes.
Hi again Pienmash . Found my hospital records and a discharge letter says , there may be some radiation proctitis giving rise to tenesmus or mucus discharge, in which case 10ml Isogel granules may help. I didn't try it so best check with your own team first. Best wishes.
