constipation

[Rusty821]

well I saw oncologist last Friday and had an X-ray which revealed I was ‘backed up’ Iv been on the laxatives but seem to have the overflow of diarrhoea as they call it as I’m still being sick so no movement on the beast

I can’t keep food down hence weight loss

Any ideas

[Keepingstrong]

Hi Rustu821,My husband has had some issues with constipation. We found the medication was causing it andpain killers he had taken. He's off all that and is better. Restoralax worked well and an herbal cleanse which works slower than laxatives to prevent diarrhea. I make him smoothies and add flax oil and ground flax to help keep thongs moving. Prune juice helps too.

Hope this helps.

[Keepingstrong in reply to Keepingstrong]

Oops... things moving.

[mizzrm]

i’ wonder if coffee enemas would work? i m found this 3 times a week as it’s detoxing the liver as well as the colon. i hope this information is helpful x

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Dear Rusty821

Sorry to hear you are having such a miserable time. However, it is good that you got checked out to find the cause of your symptoms. Constipation can be very common as a side effect of many drugs, and often it can be the medication used to treat pain.

Constipation can often make people feel and be sick. If oral laxatives do not work the doctor may prescribe an enema that you can do at home, this can be obtained from the pharmacy, it can often be helpful for those that have overflow from the constipation.

Drinking plenty fluids is very important and the medical team should be able to help you relieve the constipation, if they have prescribed an enema, and this does not work within 24 hours, then do speak to someone either in your oncology team or GP.

This link from cancer research UK may be helpful in how to manage constipation: cancerresearchuk.org/about-...

You could also discuss this with your local pharmacist or lung cancer nurse specialist.

If there is anything else you would like to discuss you can email ask the nurse at [e-mail] or call our free phone nurse led helpline number on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600

Hope you feel better soon.

The Roy Castle Support Team

[Rusty821 in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

hi there what exactly is the overflow

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

The overflow is what can only pass from the bowel, that is, if the bowel is impacted with the constipation, only fluid can pass by this. It can be an indication that you need more assistance to help with the constipation.

Hope you feel better soon.

The Roy Castle Support Team

[Rusty821 in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

sorry to keep asking you I'm not having a solid yet just thick poo does this mean I’m still clnstipsted

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Rusty821

I will send you a private message.

The Roy Castle Support Team

[Rusty821 in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

Thankyou

[Mazemaze]

Hi there,

I hope you are on the road to feeling better. My dad had terrible constipation due to the side effects of painkillers - tramadol and cocodamol, that he was on post tonsillectomy. Possibly could have been to do with the interaction between some chemo drugs too.

He was prescribed Laxido which helped a lot so he did not need an enema. Xray showed it was all backed up but luckily he passed solid straight after this.

The doctors generally all said that he should be eating a healthy balanced diet with plenty of fibre. He's eating lots of plums and kiwi fruits to try to prevent this happening again. It took a good few days after passing solid to fully recover normal bowel movement.

Hope that your problem has been relieved now.

Take care