Diarrhoea

Needing friends

Sorry to read about your partner and don't apologise for raising anything to do with poo, in some groups that's all we talk about as it's very much part of life.

Pancreatic cancer can give a person diarrhoea and sometimes vomiting and nausea and often the only way to stop it is to look at the diet and make a few changes including looking at the type of fibre being taken and try to avoid high fibre foods

To try and stop the diarrhoea if the immodium is not working, by the way did you purchase it over the counter or was it prescribed as it is possible to take a larger dose than the packet leaflet advises if prescribed by a doctor, as usual I've gone off on a different tangent so what can you do?

Get your partner to drink clear fluids, switch to a diet of clear liquids, such as water, apple juice, clear broth and ice pops. ...

Eat low-fiber foods. ...

Eat five to six small meals a day.

Avoid foods/drinks that can irritate the digestive tract. ...

Try probiotics.

I would suggest that you start a food diary and record everything that your partner eats and drinks and what the output looks like, hopefully in a few days of a lighter different diet will see the diarrhoea easing off.

I have come across a very simple but very practical app for a food diary which is very easy to note everything down as you decide how you to put things down. It can be found in the apps play stores and it's called food diary and it looks like this.

Hope that this has been of help and the diarrhoea  subsides very soon but please remember if it  continues for much longer your partner will be losing  a lot of fluids and could become dehydrated and you should not hesitate to contact your GP or ring NHS 111 for advice as dehydration can bring on a different set of problems.

Let us know how things are going.

Ian

Hi Needing Friends

I get diarrhoea about 3/4 days after each chemo cycle. the hospital pharmacy prescribed Loperamide which has been very effective. if I recall the pharmacist said it could be bought over the counter

Best Wishes

Kevin

Thankyou Ian, he is s currently living mainly on aymes shakes,  fotijuice, procal. Today he had a mily coffee, half a dough, an aymes shake and some jelly and custard. Yesterday he had a couple of cornflakes, a fortijuice  and a tin of soup. Have phoned 111 and am waiting for a return call will take your advice and give him water to sip

 He has already lost loads of weight in the last few months,, I really appreciate your rapid response and advice. Will keep to low fibre and start diary

Thanks Kevin, it's so kind of you to reply. The GP did phone back and suggested that the high protein shakes are probably causing the diarrhoea as his pancreas is struggling to deal with them he said that the creon balance may need to be adjusted so will try taking 4 tablets with the shake. Doctor also said if I can encourage him to eat actual food that may  cause less diarrhoea.. He can also take up to 12 of the loperamide a day and as. Ian said there are stronger things out there which can be prescribed. I think I was so worried because he hasn't got the weight to loose and is due to go to the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday for a due to be injected in the site where his melanoma was removed a couple of months ago and then on Wednesday to see which lymph nodes take up the dye, biopsy them and also do a wider excision of the skin where the melanoma was. I am amazed that people can live on so little, their digestion be so disturbed and still they seem to be relatively OK. Thanks all for listening,

Pam

Update, yesterday only one bowel episode. We kept off the shakes and juices. Made a huge effort to eat a slice 9f toast for breakfast and at 5pm a few chips and almost a whole egg. Perhaps not the best diet but its what he felt he could most entertain. All through the evening and still this morning he is in discomfort feeling bloated and  full. Back to the supplements perhaps, and maybe sipping very slowly so his body can process them a little at a time 

Hello Needing Friends

I think the diet is the hardest thing to get to grips with. The possibility of having diarrhoea is a deterrent to eating. The supplements are not the most appetising.

I had a less than successful day yesterday with the d and tiredness which the consultant said would be more prevalent as the chemo cycles progress.

Best of luck for Tuesday/Wednesday hoping for a good outcome for the both of you

Best Wishes

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, sorry that you are also having problems. Ken isn't having chemo, over the last few months his appetite has plummeted for no apparent reason and this is why the shakes, fortijuice and procal have been prescribed. Each  one was fine for a couple of days and then the usual excuses started about why he didn't want them. However I am not saying Saturday s diarrhoea was an excuse, I understand that was a real problem. I am at my whits end wondering what to do next to get any form of nourishment inside him he has been to the toilet once today, no d, but he still won't eat any thing at all because his stomach hurts. He is in bed exhausted.

 Hope that you are not feeling too poorly today, its such a struggle  x

Hi Needing Friends

I think the Whipple does put a strain on the digestive system. I think it differs from one person to another. At the risk of repeating myself I found the lack of eating by my husband really stressful and that stressed him too. It's all so difficult.

Squeaky

Thanks squeaky, it's awful watching them deteriorate in front of you and not knowing what to do. He is supposed to be going for the dye Injection and xrays tomorrow prior to lymph nodes biopsy and further skin excision on melanoma site Wednesday. I look at him and wonder what is going on, should he have to through all this, will it help xx

Hi Squeaky, it's really getting to, the not eating. I feel so guilty, as if I should be doing more, help!