Anyone with diverticular disease and IBS who has had radiotherapy?

Hi Hop, have they given any advice re diet? As I understand it, side effects are usually due to inflammation which would mean you may be more likely to have side effects as your system already gets inflamed. So diet tweaks can help, to make digestion easier and less likely to cause inflammation. They should also be able to advise on meds if you do get any. I don’t have diverticular but I do get IBS but that wasn’t an issue for me during treatment. 

Hi MarmiteFan,

They have given advice re diet, no fibre etc. Yes that's right regarding the inflammation. I'm really nervous about the radiotherapy as I coped so well with chemo. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I'm imagining. Need to gear myself up for more fight, feel done in at the moment. 

Hop x

Bless you, I feel for you as you’ve already had chemo to deal with. Have you had your planning CT yet? 

Hi Hop5

I had severe side effects during radiotherapy but they were still manageable with dietary changes and medication. It took a while to get the diet and medication correct but once it was- I was able to complete treatment. I have always had some IBS.

I think having chemo first, you are not really back to normal when the radiotherapy starts. What I would say is to start taking the medication sooner rather than later- particularly loperamide -as this will help. The hospitals normally give you some dietary advice but sometimes it is about finding out what works for you. If you have any intolerances or foods that normally affect you, then these can become worse. I found dairy and fibre were the culprits for me. A bland diet of toast/crumpets/rice etc was suggested for me and that helped limit symptoms. I still have some intolerances now from it ,that I did not have before. But mostly any symptoms now are controlled by diet and routines. 

Another thing I was told with the medication is that sometimes it was the way in which you take it that can make a difference. So for a normal upset tummy, you would take loperamide after having an episode of diarrhoea however with radiation induced diarrhoea I was advised to take it 30 minutes before eating. Best advice I can give though is to keep talking to the radiotherapists- they really are the experts and little tweaks in meds can make a big difference. And don't wait until you have bad effects, talk to them at the first signs of problems. 

I wish you the best with your treatment

Jane

Apparently I'll hear next week about my planning CT. I've got to have kidney CT too as I have a stent (being replaced Thursday) and the lymph right near ureter being blasted so they want a scan. Thanks so much for your advice, this forum is invaluable x

Hi Jane,

Thanks for this. A lot of what you've said is exactly what the consultant said today. Did you have pain and vomiting too? You are spot on regarding having had chemo, I don't feel ready to start more treatment but know this will give me the best chance. Reading yours and others journeys really helps me get in the right mindset x

I had a fair bit of nausea that developed slowly at first and increased towards the end of the 5 weeks. I was given anti nausea and I had to take one, 30 minutes before being zapped- and that helped. The only pain during radiotherapy was related to stomach cramps caused by the diarrhoea. Other than that it was just a sort of achiness. The one thing they said to me was it was best to start the anti diarrhoea regime at the early stage, rather than wait until it was more established. There are a lot of different combinations of medications they can try and they will find something that helps. With having chemo first, I found I was still quite weak from it so it is even more important that you can eat and absorb nutrients through your diet. At one stage I became very low in magnesium and haemoglobin and ended up needing a blood transfusion. 

I never vomited during radiotherapy- but it was a constant niggly nausea. It was different to the chemo nausea (that sometime lead to being actually sick) The radio nausea was a background sort of icky feeling.

I did feel rough but once started on the treatment you sort of get into a routine. I am glad I had the treatment as I know that I have done everything possible to reduce the risks of recurrence.

Jane

Hi again, I was concerned about nausea but had a word with my CNS beforehand and she arranged for an advance script at the hospital pharmacy for some anti nausea tabkets, so that if I went for a session and found I needed them, I could just pop over there afterwards and pick up without having to wait. Thankfully I never needed them.

Hi Jane,

You have said everything the consultant has advised me to expect. Sounds like you suffered but got on with it as, as you say, it's giving the best chance regarding recurrence. This is all I keep telling myself. Spot on about still feeling weak from chemo, I feel the same. It's like it's all coming out now, I stayed strong during chemo, now I feel battered. 

Thanks so much MarmiteFan, great advice from you all on here x