Bowel & Bladder preparation before Radiotherapy

Hi

I can't comment on laxative question. However, a little confused with your comment, in the heading, about emptying your bladder. This wasn't my experience and, in fact, had I done so, they would have sent me back to the waiting room to fill it up again.

Hope someone else on here can comment further but if not try the nurses on here - they are really good .

Stuart

My mistake Stuart. You 're right of course, you do not empty but prepare the bowels and bladder.

The Royal Marsden procedure on the net has cleared my confusion in that you do the enema on the day before and also on the day  2 .5 hours before. The full bladder can be tested in advance to see that you can hold it for approx 1.5 hrs.

Soŕry for the confusion.

Hi Casor

No worries,  getting your head around everything is daunting!

Regarding the bladder. You might find your definition of a full bladder differs from theirs. When I went for my diagnosis meeting, I was told to have a full bladder. When I got to the hospital, there was no way I could have held on for 1.5 hours! 

It might be worth having a chat with them on this, as to get a full bladder, I was told to drink 600mm of water prior to RT.

Anyway, good luck in your journey.

Stuart

I took a powdered laxative the evening before, then next morning it was easier to empty my bowel.

I must say, that for one week previously, I took the laxative once in the evening, helping my bowel prepare softer stools.

Hope this helps you out, Good Luck.

It's nearly 4 years since my RT and things seem to have changed quite a lot. I was never offered an enema. I was told to empty my bladder 30 minutes before treatment time and immediately drink 600 ml of water. I used a 600ml water bottle and added a sachet of Twinings Cold Infuse to make it more palatable. It was the biggest source of frustration for the radiologists that many men would still only be halfway through the water when their treatment time arrived. It was usually OK except for one occasion when the machine broke down and I had to walk through the corridors to another machine. That was a strange experience!

I hope everything goes well for you.

Hi, I was at Addenbrooks in Cambridge. Roughly an hour there and an hour or so back. 
I was given laxatives to take for the first 2 weeks, the night before. I adjusted the number of tablets to suit. I chose afternoon appointments to allow the process to happen at home!! 
after 2 weeks the radiation took over and adjusted my bowels without intervention from me, a side effect that builds through the month. 
with regard to bladder, the instructions were, book in, go sit. After a few minutes the radiographer came out and told me to start drinking. Go to the loo and empty your bladder then drink 3 cups, around 600ml of water pretty quickly. The reason to empty is you may not be able to hold what’s in your system for the time needed and that means a trip to the loo and start again. And the reason it’s a known measure is that amount fills and lifts your bladder away from the prostate area so they can see on the scan they do daily and ensure the beam hits the right place. 
Be aware as the process continues each day will erode a little of your ability to “hold on”. You’ll notice that at the end of the session, first stop is the loo. And that becomes more urgent as the sessions pass. It played havoc with me and all the guys I spoke with while waiting. I’m a week finished now, the last week was trying and I’m still adjusting now. I’m told up to 3 weeks possibly longer before any sense of normal - although normal is a new normal, nothing like before. It’s ok, you’ll survive, just have to adjust a few things toilet wise!!! I live in the country (luckily) had to stop at least once sometimes twice on the way home in a field. 
Treatment delivery is painless and simple, radiographers know their stuff ask them anything. 

Thanks again Stuart, I didn't make it the first time in holding on. It took  1.5 hours and  I had to abandon it. Repeated the next day with no problems. 

Hi Seamus,

Yes, they told me that in an emergency I could fill my bladder in 30 minutes but ideally they need an hour.

Hi Malnik,

Thanks for your thorough  advice. Here in France, their procedure is to first of all do a scan with empty bowels and a full bladder so as to map out the cancer area to enable the treatment to get to the right spots. I did this and now I have to wait for two weeks for starting the rt treatment.  

They told me that I'll need a full bladder every day but other than going to the loo at home they did not ask me to take a laxative for my bowels. I'ĺl need to check that out, because with constipation, I cannot guarantee emptying out properly. 

Castor, I was at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle last year for my Radiation treatment.  I had to take an enema 45 minutes before treatment and then once I had been.. . I had to drink 2 cups of water.

I had to keep the water in, so my bladder was full (or as full as they wanted) and empty bowels).

This was so everything was allegedly in the same place every day.

As Malnik said, 

malnik said:

You’ll notice that at the end of the session, first stop is the loo. And that becomes more urgent as the sessions pass.

This is very true.  You do adapt.

Best of luck with your treatment.