bowel issue

[Emiliejo]

hello, I posted before and should of mentioned this also that every time I open my bowels I have to take a painkiller and lie down until it takes affect, as I mentioned before my treatment ended twelve weeks ago, how long will this carry on as I am going to have to become employed again and I don’t know how I will deal with this, any replies would be greatly received

[Bluegenie]

I'm so sorry that you are suffering this. You are still very close to the end of treatment and the pain when you have a bowel movement should calm down over time. One tip the doctors gave me was to pre-empt the pain by taking paracetamol regularly each day (2 x 500mg paracetamol tablets 4 times in 24 hours, with at least 4 hours between does). Apparently it is easier to pre-empt pain than to reduce it once it happens. I hope this helps you as it did me. Do keep us informed of how you are getting on.

[Emiliejo in reply to Bluegenie]

hello, I will definitely try this as I am leaving taking a painkiller till after the movement, thank you the advise

[Warham]

Hi Emiliejo. Like you I was treated for anal cancer. For me the post treatment period was the most painful when I used the toilet. I was given a lidocaine gel by my cancer nurse specialist to apply before using the loo which did help. Also I was really careful about cleaning myself afterwards. I used baby wet wipes - check that they are water based. I know some others with anal cancer use a squirty water bottle or a sitz bath to get themselves clean. Probably the most important thing was making sure that I didn’t get constipated. I was given a powder I dissolved in water and took three times a day which helped to stop hard stools. It was about 12 weeks before things began to calm down for so hopefully you’re getting near the end of the difficult phase but don’t be shy about contacting your CNS for help and advice.

A fairly new Facebook support group called Bottom Line has been set up by me and another anal cancer survivor. It’s a private group and is restricted to members living with anal cancer in the U.K. If you’re interested you can join us using the link below or contact me for details

Best wishes. Michael

facebook.com/groups/5780835...

[Romian in reply to Warham]

As far as cleaning yourself, please don't use baby wipes. Check the ingredients. Yes water is the main one, but all of them contain some citric acid (lemon, poor babies) which burns your already irritated skin. A french oncologist advised my friend not to use them. She has terrible bowel issues. I'm in France and I use humid toilet paper in packages similar to baby wipes. The wipes are only humid and save me a lot of pain. I don't know if they are available in the UK, because I brought them with me when I was in England and forgot to check if they are sold there. If not, wet some thick toilet paper.

[Mariecapp]

Hello Emiliejo. I'm sorry that you are having such terrible pain. Radiation to that area literally burns you from the inside out. I had the same problem but not as extreme as you have. I was given a cream called silvadine and I used that along with aquaphor cream. It helped to take the pain away somewhat but time was the best healer. I hope that your pain subsides.

[Simboti]

Hello. There are some recommendations on this website kskcancercenter.com/prostat...

[Bewildered49]

Sorry to hear about the pain. I actually forgot about it till I read your message. I was treated 12 years ago. I don’t have any solutions for you. I found my oncologist and team incredibly unhelpful. I think they were afraid I’d become an addict if they gave me real painkillers.

A friend gave me a joint to smoke to see if that would help but it didn’t relieve the pain at all, just made me not care. I was pretty angry about the whole thing. I made a blog. Here’s the link. It’s definitely Not educational but maybe it will make you smile . It starts with the last entry so if you want to read it in order, scroll down to the first entry:

buttitscancer.blogspot.com

[Lolagirl24]

Hi Emiliejo Sorry to hear what your going through just read your post. It's a while ago but just wondering how you are? I'm in exactly the same boat as you I finished chemoradiation in February for anal cancer and I'm now left with terrible pain during and after bowel movements, I'm getting by on paracetamol and morphine some days are better than others but the pain is either really bad or not as bad and that's a good day! I feel I've no one to talk to about this who can offer some sort of solution it's just up the morphine and wait! Maybe consider a stoma? It has been mentioned and I'll be speaking about this soon with someone I'm not on my own i realize after reading people's stories on here. I hate mornings then I spend the next how many hours trying to shake the pain off. Anyway keep taking the tablets so to speak. Would love to hear from anyone going through the same or similar. Kind thoughts to all. 🙂

[Hidden]

Try taking Docusate or a drug called Movantik. Also, liquid enemas solutions from your doctor called sucralfate.