Side effects from rt

Hello Jack (Jack8109 ) 

Sorry to read that side effect - it's not one I have had although I am sure others will be along with an answer.

My advice is to ensure you keep the Radiotherapy team in the loop - I am sure they will have seen this before and have some answers for you.

Good luck moving forward.

Kind regards - Brian.

Hi Jack,

I was told that is a normal side effect of RT as the rectum gets burned (and swollen as a result) as well as the prostate area.

The medical term for it is Tenesmus = the feeling that you need to ploop when there is nothing to ploop with.

They said It is important NOT to strain or piles may be a result.

Check out what your people advise but mine just nodded sagely and said it will go in weeks to months. No advice on how to speed up the process so presumably waiting is the cure.

The swelling stretches the nerves in the rectum that usually signal the rectum is loaded and ready to go but they fire off fairly constantly until the swelling subsides. I found it v unpleasant but after about three weeks it drifted off over a couple of days.

I had what felt like quite severe proctitis, the medical term for an inflamed rectum.

I could actually feel it especially when seated as it puts pressure on the swollen rectum which took some weeks to resolve. Some wriggling to find a halfway comfortable position was needed and I would probably have been shouted at by my old infant school teacher for having 'Ants in my Pants.' Yes Miss, these beggars are fire ants.'

Number 2's were extremely painful to pass as part of the anal margin was burned too, it felt like passing paintstripper for a few weeks and caused involuntary shrieking which must have frightened the horses. That took a few weeks to settle too.

I had an awful lot of gas so any ploops were jet propelled and passed in a microsecond, it was impossible to tell if it was wind or solids so sitting on the loo was essential to avoid accidents. 

Mine was probably worse as I needed early RT after complete failure of prostatectomy so you have the double whammy of an area that is trying to heal being burned, an added insult to the tissues, so reacts more than one that has had time to mature.

And add to that the dose of X rays is not reduced so as the prostate is not there to absorb some of the energy the surrounding tissues get the full benefit of the radiation.

Hope that helps a little.

Albert

<My comments are from my own experience only and should not be taken as medical advice but used, if at all, as a basis for further discussion with the medical staff involved in their treatment, preferably their surgeons and oncologists.>