I have had three Fec and three Docetaxol. Each time I have had some bowel problems, alternating between constipation and upset tummy, but nothing like this last treatment.
Apparently I have waht is called constipation overlfow which means my bowel does not fully empty. I am now on 8 Movicol a day, lactulose, and suppositires and nothing seems to help. It is really frustrating and quite unbearable.
Has anyone esle had this problem and how did you manage to rectify it?
Many thanks
Tesco’s dried apricots … enjoy! x Jacq x
Hi,
Poor you, I really do sympathise as I suffered this way too on epi, then got the trots on cmf, not sure which is most debilitating.
I had dire problems between epi dose 3 and 4 and got totally seized up inside. I won’t go into how i got right here, which was agony. But after that if I did not go that day , I always took a senna tablet that night. It almost always worked next morning and when settled found I could go down to half a tablet. It is a natural product. How are you standing movicol, I was vomiting it back up as I tried to drink it. Yuk. You are so brave!! Also rhubarb works really well and so does licorice.
Lots of luck and hope things improve. Many, many of us have been in the same boat
Lily x
I have had terrible problems with constipation.
This recipe has been put on a previous constipation thread and it is the only thing that works for me.
I eat a thick slice of this with butter each night before I go to bed, and in the morning - hey presto!
I do add some natural bran as well for extra ‘go’!
‘Go Cake’:
4oz All Bran
5 oz sugar
10 oz mixed dried fruit (Basically whatever’s in the cupboard - use a nice mixture. Apricots, cranberries etc as well as sultanas. Lots of chopped prunes for extra “go”.)
1/2 pint milk
4oz self raising flour
Put All Bran, sugar and fruit into a bowl, mix, add milk and allow to stand for at least half an hour
Sieve in the flour, mix well and pour into well greased 2lb loaf tin.
Bake in moderate oven (180 deg c) for about an hour, until a knife comes out dry. Cover with foil after 30 mins if it’s browning too much.
Turn out of tin and cool.
Slice and serve with butter.
My husband enjoys this cake too!!
I had this problem too. Am on the same chemo as you and on my last injection of TAX I didn’t take any of my anti-sickness and this totally solved everything. It is the anti-sickness that causes it for me (granisteron).
I also had movicol, lactlose and a nurse friend of mine gave me suppositories too…all they do is give you rip roaring belly ache which resembles that which you get in dodgy places abroad!
I will say I have had no sickness either with the tablets or without…and as I only have one more injection to go, I wish I had worked this one out sooner!!!
this is causing me major problems - seems to take me out for a week and my poor tummy is in turmoil and feels so sore afterwards. I eat little and often but epi seems to have it all backing up, tried lactalose (sp?) it does work but give me really bad tummy pain. I have noticed that I don’t get the “signal” to go to the loo unless its really really urgent - same with number 1’s is this what others have experienced??
I just look forward to when my body can get back to normality - when???
Hi S,
I had the same probs after taxotere, not nice at all. I ate a full tin of prunes the night before and it did the trick for me, also a big bag of creme filled licorice from health food shop. If you have these things before bed it has several hours to do the job. Also try to drink more than normal.
I really hope some of these can work for you
Chris x
Hi Snottraggs,
having finished my chemo back in August, I can tell you it only takes a couple of weeks for the tummy to settle down again,in my experience. it took another four weeks or so to feel back to normal, but oh what a relief! You have my sympathy. i found it one of the worst side effects of the medication, bunged up during FEC then awful runs during TAX. Like you say, your poor derrier gets so sore from the two extremes. I don’t think the nurses realise what we go through, do you?
best wishes to you all. Your body WILL recover!
A. xx
Hello Dibble
I used to take a mixture of lactulose and senna liquid the morning before I went for the chemo (about 4 teaspoons of lactulose to 2 teaspoons of senna liquid). Then while I was on the anti-sickness medication the couple of days after each chemo I would take half that dose each morning.
Best wishes
Anthi x
Hi,
this is all sounding terribly familiar, mine stopped when I changed from epi to cmf. I had the runs dreadfully on that and could eat no fruit or veg or much else on that without suffering.
By the way a couple of tips for when you are in the loo, from a doc who deals with it. Try rocking gently forward and back while on the loo to keep the movement going. If ‘struggling’ to finish (you know what I mean) lean forward from the hips, makes the angle better!!! LOL
sorry to be so graphic but amazingly they work
lily
thanks for the tips lily - will have to write them on the back of the door !!! I have to say it has made me realise that when we move house we need an extra loo - its no fun with the kids banging on the door!! oh we have to laugh or I’d go mad.
Thanks for all your tips and advice. Was sent by my GP to the chemo unit at Stoke Mandeville today, to be sent onpromptly to A+E. Thankfully the chemo unit asked my GP to phone A+E and say she was sending me!!! This sort of fast tracked me, well a 1 1/2 hour wait. After being seen by A+E Doctor, I had the pleasure of an anemena , deep joy!!! Unfortuately this only solved a small part of the prblem, I was threatened with a 2nd anemena tonight5, but after further discussions the doctors decided to send me home for the evening with another drug to take that they hope will resolve the problem. I suppose I’ll have t wait and see!!! Once again thanks everybody, at least through posting I discovered I wasn’t suffering alone, the support has been greatly appreciated.
Oh Dibble I don’t even want to think about how bad your day was.
Big hugs
Lily x x
Dibble
How awful for you. I well remember the horrible time I had with my poor botty when on chemo last summer. I dreaded going to the loo cos it hurt so much, whilst I was doing it and from then on. I had a lot of bleeding from my rectum and ended up in A&E cos of that. So painful. I oculd hardly walk.
Finished chemo in Oct 08, but still on 2 sachets of Movicol a day. If I miss even one my stools are rock hard and painful/cause bleeding to pass.
Hope yours is sorted out soon - remember it’s not for ever
Massive hugs
Kinden
x