Around the time I was going from biopsy through staging scans, I changed my food intake to eliminate dairy, meats and eggs. Replaced by vegan protein powder plus a mostly vegan/vegetarian plus occasional fish and chicken regime. With lots of veggies that are fairly well known for going out the other end in due course. To put it a bit coarsely, I eat to poop. Suggestions? Oatmeal, vegan (tofu) chili, fiber cereals, strawberries, apples, etc.
was this change prompted by constipation problems thata would negatively affect radiation successs? constipation my BIG concern, laxatives substantially reduce hard stools, but still irregular bowel movements..... "motility" problem?
My situation was a bit different, because I had proton beam therapy, but I was told to take Miralax daily, and eat a low-fiber diet. The laxative resulted in multiple small (and very soft) movements daily, so there would never have been much in my rectum. Good thing, since I had a rectal balloon inserted for each session. I had a much harder time managing my bladder, but it got easier when I was switched to an 8:30 a.m. appointment. Good luck with your treatment!
I was on the noon rotation for 25x IMRT sessions, and what helped me was eating pressure-cooked butter beans every afternoon. Some might think they would give you gas, but if pressure-cooked, it reduces that effect. That made my stools soft and easy to pass every morning. Then I drank a liter of water and was ready to go with a full bladder by noon.
Different diets are suggested, but everyone responds differently to them. I was told to adhere to low fiber, but I refused it. They relented and it was no problem.
Drink sufficient water and get plenty of exercise-very important.
...OK, I will bite on this one...if you are having a of problems and being denied treatment due to full bowels, you may have to take a hot water enema before you to go treatment...I did this every morning before my treatment...only once in 6 weeks did I have poop in my bowels. I came out of IMRT treatment, post RP, without any bowel damage. When you dont have a prostate you cant use SpaceOR to shield your colon...so its urgent that you have empty bowels and full bladder...the full bladder part is easy...to make sure you are empty and dont have your colon encroaching into the radiated field is tricker...
I also volunteered for the 6:30am session; no one wanted it...that way it was first thing in the morning as well and I had not eaten since 5 pm the night prior...freed up the entire day as wel...
These too things did the trick for me...good luck. Rick
Well, so far Psyllium powder after an early dinner clears me out in the morning!!
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