Lovely ladies, I am suffering already for 3 weeks with bloated belly since I had been throwing up a lot after my 3rd caelyx/carbo infusion. My doctor gave me medicine to keep bowels moving and dietologist adviced eating like baby to get the digestion moving.
But maybe some of you have tips to share?
This is really making my life miserable, I can’t do anything, my belly hurts coz is so tight and I also get cramps often.
I am also exhausted from not able to get nutrition in
Lost already 11kg.
thank you and best of wishes to you 🙏❤️🍀
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Beatyourself
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its hard to say for sure what the issue is, so it is always best to work in close consultation with your oncologist and gyno nurse (nurses tend to have the most perception about these kinds of issues because they work very closely with patients and have likely seen this issue in the past). I have seen people suggest a relatively simple solution: using fast reaction de-gassing medication like gas-x or its equivalent in your home country. If you are also have bowel movement issues, it may be a good idea to consume soups and other liquids until you can locate the source of your problems. Have you had surgery to examine your abdomen yet? The problem may (although I hope not) be that the cancer has spread to your large intestine and requires surgery to unblock, but thats hard to say online. Sending you much love and good wishes.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights. My bowels are not blocked, there is lot of movement but the gas is apparently difficult to get rid off so actually the doctor hopes chemo will solve it as the disease should shrink on bowels. My belly got few cm smaller after first weekly treatment but is not yet where I would like it to be . Hope the new treatments will help 🙏
My Dear, I am so sorry to hear that. Your symptoms is very much like bowel obstruction since I have already had this miserable experience twice, so I think most likely it is bowel obstruction. You need to go to A&E and do a CT scan on your belly, and stop eating and drinking, infusion nutrition from your veins. I hope this helps. With my best wishes!
Thank you for your sharing your thoughts. Is not really bowel obstruction is more issues with air in my bowels and thus much more sensitive digestion process so they cannot do much just hope new chemo and me trying to eat sufficiently will solve it, so I pray 🙏
hi , sorry to hear your symptoms . However , your oncologist should give you anti nauseants. They are extremely effective . I have had an awaful lot of chemotherapy over the last 4 years and I am always given anti nauseants . I have never felt sick . I believe that Domperidone also helps with bowel movement .
Also has your doc considered a tablet to help bowel movements eg bisacodyl ?
I do hope this is resolved soon . Sending love and best wishes . 🙏❤️
Thank you for tips, I will check it with doctor coz he didn’t know about other then doing anti nausea and magnesium 🤷♀️. Would be great if this can work for me.
Thank you for your post. I just wanted to add to what our members have said and encourage you to talk to your medical team again if your symptoms are not resolving following the medication you were prescribed and the advice from the dietitian. I hope they are able to help and that you experience some relief from these symptoms soon.
This is miserable for you. This sounds very like I was when I first had a partial bowel obstruction. For me, this was not nauseous vomiting, it was mechanical/hydraulic and triggered e.g. after use of tummy muscles or bending, which sent stomach into spasm to get rid of contents which would not pass further down. My oncologist completely recognised this when I managed to see her, but in the interim another doctor had insisted I take more anti-nausea meds which were no good at all. I was admitted to hospital, put on clear fluids and steroids to reduce gut inflammation and discharged 4/5 days later on a low fibre/residue diet for ever (miserable but my appetite had returned).
I found it helpful when my oncologist explained that 'blockage' doesn't necessarily mean a lump of tumour - the ovarian cancer may be in plaques at different places on the outside of the gut. The gut is thus prevented from doing it's normal muscular peristalsis movements and may have to work extra hard to move contents along which i think is felt as cramps, sometimes quite uncomfortable but usually they don't last for long enough to take painkillers. The gut 'behind' the blockage then blows up with contents that aren't moving along.
I've been having some other horrible chemo (cisplatin) with a view to symptom reduction rather than life extension. It seems to be helping but the partial bowel obstruction has not completely gone away and may be affecting my colostomy which is worrying. It's hard to separate out chemo nausea from the mechanical/hydraulic effect of the bloated bowel but they are a bit different. When the blockage made itself felt again, my oncologist put me on oral steroids (dexamethasone) at home. Again, not sure if the tentative improvement is due to the cisplatin (my Ca125 has been heading down) or the steroids.
In the meantime, my upper tum under my sternum is sometimes hard like a drum. It makes the most astonishing noises, audible across a room - gurglings and squirtings, like I'm full of water balloons or there are whales singing in there. I spend a huge amount of time on the sofa, finding that lying flat in my left hand side can settle things, while 'turning the spit' - moving to lying on my back or onto right hand side might move things along and result in some helpful stoma gas or fluid release.
I'm aware that my guts seem to be pretty liquid which probably means that I'm absorbing very little nutrition and, like you, I have lost lots of weight and muscle mass. Not at all sure guts are reabsorbing water like they should - all to be discussed with oncologist again tomorrow alongside latest CT scan results.
I hope this isn't too much info and that it offers some help. Good luck.
Thank you for this comprehensive reply, and I fully confirm is what I have as well. I do not really have nausea but if I am in wrong position, it feels indeed like physical push simply cause me to throw up coz simply it doesn’t fit anymore and then I get relieve from cramp. Of course try to avoid it coz ideally it should go through the system. So trying to eat small meals portions regularly and then indeed hear orchestra in my belly sometimes with pains sometimes just with lot of pressure. Still hope to get rid of gas which is what is doing the most harm. I have to sleep in half sitting position and that at least give less physical push. Turning sides is also as you say, just would hope more gas is coming out to relieve my bowels finally.
How were your results of CT scan ! Hope you had some good news and new insights to give more strength and positive look out.
Yes, CT scan showed some improvement although I can't pretend things feel much better, but they're not worse, which may be the best I can hope for. Ca125 also down again although still seems v high. So now no more cisplatin; I'm on the daily oral etoposide in the hope it will prevent any backsliding.
I saw a community-based dietitian yesterday who was very pleasant and helpful but though I ought to see a gastroenterology specialist and gastro dietitian because of the specialist circumstances. So we'll see what happens next.
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