Diet SBRT

[Sunfire]

Starting SBRT in mid February. Marker placements and simulation two weeks prior. Best diet going into all this? Typically eat Oatmeal for breakfast. Police officer so rather active and eat on the go. Suggestions for meals? I'm told low fiber but constipation is concern.

[Tall_Allen]

Ask your RO and stick to whatever he says. My RO was adamant that I should make no changes in diet because change of any kind affects bowel motility (which is bad for image guidance). He just wanted me to take a dump before each session and fill my bladder.

[Sunfire in reply to Tall_Allen]

Interesting this is the first I heard no diet change during treatment. Most of the time as I understand it is a significant part of the treatment. However I do think each RO has their own treatment. plan.

[Tall_Allen in reply to Sunfire]

It may also differ by the platform. I was treated on a very fast machine. Some, like CyberKnife, take a longer time.

[Sunfire in reply to Tall_Allen]

I see that makes sense. SBRT here it is on Varian Edge takes longer. Uses same technique as MSK since Lehigh Valley is affiliated with them.

[tnone]

I completed SBRT this past August and the diet before and during that treatment was a significant part of that process. I also had to start this diet two days prior to my planning appointment so that imaging at that time would be similar to the imaging taken during treatment. The bottom line was that I ate a low fiber diet and kept total daily fiber content below a certain level. My RO provided a handout of low fiber foods that were acceptable as well as foods to avoid. The typical foods that are acceptable were not the healthier variety. The goal was to minimize bowel motility and gas in order to aid imaging during the treatment process. An enema within two hours of treatment time is also part of the routine. I also had a small rectal catheter placed for each treatment to passively evacuate gas during treatment. Again, this was another step in minimizing bowel motility and aid imaging during treatment. My RO also gave me a fluid intake plan to follow on treatment days in order to have a certain level of urine in the bladder during the treatment. You'll have to tweak that as you proceed. The goal was to keep urine in the bladder but not so much that you have trouble getting through the treatment before emptying out. My first stop after each treatment was the bathroom.

The bottom line was to have the bowels empty and the bladder moderately full prior to each treatment.

As I researched treatment options before deciding on SBRT, I found that different RO's have different routines. I also had a SpaceOAR placed to minimize rectal bowel exposure to radiation. Your RO probably has his/her own routine that works best for them.

Good Luck!

[Sunfire in reply to tnone]

I was told I'd be given a low fiber diet too however like you said each RO has their own treatment plan. Thanks for your feedback. I hope it went well with minor side effects and it's becoming a distant memory!

[tnone in reply to Sunfire]

I may have had a slight amount of reduced urinary flow for a few weeks after the last treatment. I was on prophylactic Flomax during treatment but stopped it four weeks after the last treatment. I actually think my urine flow is slightly better now than it was before treatment. My first PSA test at 3 months was 1.48, which was a 69% decrease from the last PSA test before treatment. At that visit with the RO he did a DRE and said the SpaceOAR was gone. I have zero side-effects so far except for reduced ejaculate.

Best wishes!

[Sunfire in reply to tnone]

Fantastic great to hear your doing well with minimal effects during treatment! Thank you for the information. Going forward this is helpful in what to expect. Already on Flomax and expect to double up during treatment per RO. I've heard occasionaly others having improved flow after side effects dissipate. That is encouraging. That was a quick absorption of the SpaceOAR get too. Hopefully it made a world of difference in terms of bowel effects. There is some study on a slight protection to the bladder too but they aren't sure why. Glad to hear this is in your rear view mirror now and never returns. Stats are some of the best in those terms and in a few years hopefully there are better salvage treatments for rads. There are some on the horizon already. Thanks again and all the best!

[Sara_2611]

very good luck with the diet Sunfire Hope it goes ok

[cybertreated2019]

Will echo other commenters. I Had SpaceOAR and directed to a low residual diet. Had enema before first three treatments, but they dropped it for the last ones. I had one treatment paused to let a gas bubble pass. Nothing like being in a rad room while they wait for you to fart. Rather than flowmax, I used low dose Cialys for 30 days before and 60 days after to preserve erectile function and address BPH. Almost one year post treatment I believe it helped. God speed to you.

[Sunfire in reply to cybertreated2019]

Thanks sounds like your doing well too! I asked about Cialis but since insurance doesn't cover it and I've been using Flomax for BPH and RO says to just double up on it.

[cybertreated2019]

My insurance balked at cialis too but using the GoodRx app got it down to $100 for 30 days. Not cheap but way better than $300 retail. Itseemed worth it and worked real well on BPH symptoms and morning erections reminded me things were okay too. I took the lowest dose of Cialis because the ED dosage produced too many erections. Not something I thought I would ever say. I did discontinue the Cialis a couple weeks early because of a persistent metallic taste that went away when I discontinued it.