Very bloated and unable to go to the toilet

[nikki9]

am going onto 2nd line chemo on tuesday gemcitabine/carboplatin will the bloating go down and bowels return to normal love nikkix

[BusyLizzie]

Hi Nikki,

You may already know all this, so at the risk of telling you old news....

If you haven't been to the toilet for 2 days, you need to ring your Doctor and get a prescription or advice. I presume you have tried senkot. Other gentle options are lactulose (available over the counter) and movicol (available on prescription - so free because you are a cancer patient). If this does not help, you need the district nurse to help with suppository or ask the GP for other measures. If you start being sick, you need to report that immediately.

The anti-sickness you have with chemo seems to give you constipation too, so if possible you want to be going fairly OK before chemo and take something the day before chemo i.e. hit the ground running so to speak

Avoiding bananas I have heard is also a good idea - as they can bung you up a little. I assume your bloating is down to constipation and not ascites? My ascites is not huge at the momemnt, but I am also bloated in part due to my gut/bowel my onc thinks. I assume the bloating for you also is an occupational hazed of oc? If so, I think if the chemo does it's job, it should control the symptoms along with the monster itself.

Make sure you have enough fluids too.

The very best of luck, and along with myself, I hope we can keep on moving!

Love Lizzie

X

[nikki9 in reply to BusyLizzie]

Thank you so much you have helped I have just got some movicol and I also have some as cites so my scan shows so I expect that isn't helping. I will do what you suggest thank you again love nikkix

[BusyLizzie in reply to nikki9]

I find the movicol very pleasant. I have at least one sachet a day, and 2 senakot at night.

Let us know when we can start singing the Hallelujah chorus because you have a movement.

I find nothing is private these days!

Love Lizzie

X

[BusyLizzie in reply to nikki9]

Hi Nikki,

How are you getting on with Movicol?

Love Lizzie

X

[bosue]

Nikki, as busyLizzie, Movicol is brilliant , hope it works for you, when I was on Chemo and very constipated i ended up taking the full 8 sachets over the day, and I was singing Hallelujah! Private what private anymore ! good luck. Love Sue x

[CFMF]

Hello Nikki,

My mother, who has OC with ascites and has just completed her third cycle of chemo (carbo/taxol), has been taking magensium citrate tablets to ease her bowel movements and it works.

I also tend to be constipated and also take some magnesium supplements which have really helped me have daily bowel movements. In France, when babies are constipated, they also recommend giving a mineral water called HEPAR which contains more magnesium then other mineral waters.

You might want to double-check with your consultant that he is OK with your taking magnesium and if he is OK, I think it would be worth trying. You would find magnesium supplements in health shops. There are different forms of magnesiums and different origins, Some come from the sea water. I know of magnesium citrate / sulfate / or oxyde and I think ant o these types would be fine.

Let me know if you try this and if if produces any result (although you might already be taking something else).

Sending you all my best wishes for you chemo.

Love

Cecile