Hi all
I usually post in November starters thread but wanted to hear from ladies further down the line too. My mum had fec-t which started in December 2014 and last cycle was April 2 2015. Throughout the chemo she had constipation with abdominal pains and even had to have an enema at one stage. Even though she’s had her last chemo at the beginning of April, the constipation issues and cramps are continuing. The BCN said he bowel may have become lazy due to laxative use throughout chemo. She needed to take though as was worried about being admitted with it again. She is now still taking something but it’s normacol and she has v small amount. She has also suffered with a couple of Urine infections but not with stinging etc - only frequency (feeling need to go often but not always producing much urine). We are now unsure if the cramps are the constipation or the bladder and also whether the constipation may be causing urine frequency. It takes her a while to empty her bowels still - she said it’s as though the muscles are not working properly. She is going to speak to gp tomorrow. She has antibiotics for possible urine infection but still has symptoms.
Did anyone have constipation and or cramps throughout the chemo - and did they go on after the chemo had ended?
Many thanks
Xxx
Hi Daisy
I had chemo from October last year to Jan 2015.
I too had constipation every time I had chemo, and terrible cramping, stabbing lower gut pains. My gut just felt as though it wasn’t pushing the food along. Eventually the pain got really bad (two weeks after my final chemo) - it hurt particularly sharply on the left hand side just above my pelvis - that I was admitted to hospital. It turned out that I had acute diverticulitis, which is a serious infection within the colon and I had an abcess in my gut. I was put on IV antibiotics, which cleared it up but I’ve been told that it could reoccur, apparently diverticulitus is when pockets are created in the gut, and they can flare up, particularly if your gut is stressed by constipation.
I hope that your mother doesn’t have this, apparently these gut pockets are fairly common, but they don’t normally cause huge problems. It was the chemo and the constipation that triggered my infection there.
I’m better now, but apparently I’ll always be prone to a reoccurance. I occasionally feel twinges if I get at all constipated, but now I know what it is, I just eat prunes to help things along. I don’t take any laxatives at all now that chemo has ended. I eat a very healthy diet and find that eating fruit for breakfast helps.
This may not be what your mum has at all, but it sounds pretty similar so I thought this info might be helpful.
Good luck to your mum…
Thanks PETA
Mum has seen her GP and due to persistent cramps and the area in which they are in (I think they’re lower than where yours were) she has been referrrred for an ovarian and bladder ultrasound. Hoping it’s just precautionary.
Xx