i was given movicol by the hosptial and it help to the point i dont take it every day or ill be in the bathroom all day lol so i take it once every 3 to 4 days only se i get from taking is wind lol but carnt have it all
maz xx
Lol had a good chuckle Reading this thread!! Can empathise so much- constipation has been by far the worse chemo se for me. I had ibs pre cancer but have never experienced anything like this. I had to have an enema a few days after my mx due to the codeine binging me up. I was petrified as my bum would have literally burst if that poo had come out on it’s own… :-S
then fec- omg I spent several hours per day just sitting on the loo + if I was lucky I would pass what looked like a dehydrated raisin. Lots of movicol, lactulose + dulcolax helped but it still was unpleasant. I’ve just had my last carboplatin + have had hellish constipation throughout. It’s defo the ondansetron- one tab + everything turns to solid concrete. ITs soooo uncomfrtable feeling like there’s a huge lump of poo just sitting by the ‘exit’, unable to get out…
I even get nauseus especially when the bowels do finally start to move after a major blockage. Think I’ll ask my hubby to insert a suppository for me next time I’m suffering- just to see his face!!
Happy poo-ing everyone 
tina x
Tina, how very graphic, and if you’ll forgive me, very amusing. I laughed at your post but felt massive waves of sympathy for you. Shame I couldn’t turn it into waves of peristalsis…
laughed so much at some of these, whilst understanding the pain you have been going through.
When i had my MX/ Recon i needed blood and also iron tablets i did expalin to the nurse that these bung me up. “not every one” says she, like some thing out of a carry on film.
After 5 days no show! they agreed to senakot, two days later still no show.
On the day i was coming home they agreed to a supository, which they brought just before i was due to be picked up “how long will this take to work ?” I ask " about an hour" they say, hmmm my car journey home is about an hour so may be not a good idea. “we can give you something for in the car” they say “what a toilet” I ask.
I refused their kind offer and 2 days later after much pain and tears passed the blockage.
I have my first chemo tomorrow CMF i have been advised this can cause the “runs” so don’t know what do for the best, all i can say is this really is a pain in the a—e
Terri
LOL Tina… was so lolling at that… its good to have something to laugh about even if its really cr*p at the time (dont pardon the pun).
terri when i had cmf i got 8 and 9 day constipation and not a whiff of the runs in sight… but think it can affect everybody differently.
id say keep a supply of bowel explosives close to hand just in case you have the poo from hell.
Lx
I had horrendous constipation with FEC and general anaesthetics so just before starting TAX last week I asked the onc for something other than senna or dioctyl cos they didn’t seem to do the trick. He prescribed Movicol which I was pleased with as I had heard its very good. However, 5 days into chemo and despite taking at least 4 sachets a day, nothing is moving! There were rumblings last night and some rabbit droppings this morning but still waiting for that explosion! Now would be a good time too as I have the house to myself!
Is there any hope? Is Lactulose any better?
Debs
x
not talking from personal experience but quite a few of the students i work with (severe asd, learning difficulties and very often digestive probs) many take movicol and it does take a good week minimum before the explosion usually(sorry)!4 sachets is quite a normal dose. i have known as many as 10 taken? just a thought. good luck and happy poos ladies!!! love alex xxx
ps 4got 2 say, the reason they are on movicol is due to meds.like being on chemo and the meds that accompany it un fortunately x
Thanks. Maybe I was expecting a bit too much of an instant reaction! I’ll just stay close to the toilet for the next few days! lol
Hi I’ve the same prob but had movicole and it gone from one way to other then now back to nothing so I can’t seem to win its all or nothing not been for 3 days again now next lot chemo next wk so might ask him tc laura
OMG, I think I must have put my bum on a boil wash by mistake and shrunk it! What needs to come out is knocking on the door but can’t get out, dispite 10 gallon of lactulose, senokot’s and litres of water.
New SE OF CHEMO shrinkage of rectal sphincter!!
Hugs to all those struggling.
you crazy lady, its all that eating you have been doing it got to go somewhere
one word solution …vaseline !!!
Exactly! and it’s not,it’s making me miss the final of BGT how sad is that, do I not have anything better to do on a Saturday night? it would appear not. Might have something to eat!
T
I feel your pain!
I finished my chemo in Feb and my poor bum is still in recovery - I developed piles and fissures and still bleed. At it’s worse I likened taking a poo to ‘having barbed wired dragged out of my arse’…
I didn’t find the lactulose much use, I just really upped my water and fruit intake.
RHUBARB!!! stew it yourself or get the tinned - but it’s an old constipation remedy. I found a bowl for breakfast with a bit of muslie really helped.
Talking to chemo-buddies, for most of us the constipation started after surgery - the morphine we reckoned. On my ward it was mostly women post bowel and stomach cancer and none of them could go home until they’d ‘gone’… Why on Earth staff don’t take the attitude of prevention being preferable to cure, I do not know!
Peppermint tea is supposed to be good too. Hmmmmm… think I might make a jug and put in the fridge to help with night sweats tonight…
Hi Emmasquarepeg, I feel your pain - literally. I started with constipation 2 weeks ago just after last chemo and bank hol Monday I had to resort to emergency GP and hospital because I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. If they had offered me a colostomy I would have bitten their hands off.
Now 6 days of movicol, Nefopam and local anaethetic to the fissures, I now have liquid poo which although is burny burny is such a relief to the feeling of passing shards of glass. Last chemo this week and going to ask that I remain on movicol for the whole of the cycle. The thought of going back to the solid stuff fills me with dread!
Karen
Same for me, started with the surgery and honestly when I passed it was 3 days after and it was the hugest thing you’ve seen in your life and a big load of blood on top. Agony to pass, I cried and was yelling on the loo. Would have preferred a prevention yes, I think this is where my piles and tear occured too! And I’m stuck with it now til after chemo! bummer, literally.
And someone (who isn’t in the same position as us) once said, “oh well, you’ve coped with the hair coming out, that’s the worst bit out of the way” had NO idea! At least losing your hair doesn’t hurt like not being able to poo!
Massive sympathies to those of you with constipation as a SE, particularly when accompanied with the munchies. Fortunately I only had it bad after surgery with the codeine, but the more I ate, the further up my body I could feel it building up. I was scared of vomiting in case I puked up the poo that couldn’t get out the normal way!
Hi girls,
glad to report I didn’t have a reoccurence of the dreaded constipation after EC no 3, dont know what the difference is and didn’t take anything to help. For those of you who are still suffering why dont you ask for the medicine I was first described (the very expensive one!) not sure if it works as I still have the bottle in the bathroom but it’s called PINORAX I do carry it around with me everywhere I go incase I get another dose of the constipation! If anyone has tried it please let me know if it worked!
Jo x