I just need a bit of advice/help really. Had my 2nd chemo and am suffering from the worst case of constipation ever… dont want to go into too much detail but suffice to say each time I go I cry my eyes out. I’m taking prunes and bran and water, veg etc. I called the GP’s the other day and asked for something “industrial strength” which I now have but I daren’t take it as it says its for seriously ill people and I’m scared I won’t stop going . Its called PINORAX - has anyone tried it. Any advice would be appreciated.
I’m sure you’ll get lots of helpful hints and tips from others shortly but I’ve put the link to the thread ‘top tips to help you through chemo’ thread where I know there is lots of information about how to help combat this problem.
Not everyone is unfortunate enough to get massive constipation, but it can sometimes be to do with the anti-sickness as well as the chemo drugs. Ondansetron has a known side-effect of the no-goes. Some people find it can be helpful to take some Movicol the night before chemo, just to help “get things moving” afterwards. I’ve been lucky, haven’t had that particular problem, but I know there are others who have had.
ohhh that brings back memories, I had epi cmf and I swear it truns your insides to stone, I thought I was giving birth, I took movicol, on a regular basis and it helped ,but i knew it if I did not take it every day.
good luck im sure your medical team will sort it for you xxx
Jojo i had serious 8 & 9 day constipation… it was really poop (pardon the pun)… im sure your doc wouldnt prescribe it if he didnt think it was suitable… i havent come across that specific formulation but have just checked it on the BNF… i think it must be quite a mild laxative as it tends to be given to very poorly patients as you say which means its probably less like to cause violent stomach cramps… but you could call your GP back or speak to the pharmacist at the chemist as they are very knowledgeable should be able to help you with information or perhaps even an alternative.
movicol is a solution commonly given for constipation and you make it up like a drink and can have up to 8 sachets a day so you are in charge of how much you need… very often during chemo you can take regular laxative medication to keep you regular (some people suffer diarrhoea and some varies between constipation & diarrhoea and thats why they dont give it as standard).
keep up with the water, fruit, veg and bran so long as you can take them.
i took dioctyl daily and had senna and movicol for the times when i was really bunged up… was made doubly worse cos i had an anal fissure which is a wee cut in the bum and was extremely painful.
I got one bad episode of constipation during day 2 of my fec1! Not pleasant and very suprising considering all I had eaten was cucumbers and apples (suffered bad neasuea!.. thats another story..)! and I am pleased to say that I didnt suffer from constipation this time (fec2). I started drinking plenty of water few days prior to my second chemo. Also my GP prescribed me Fibrogel which I use starting from the the night before the chemo day and 3xday for the first 3-4days post chemo. I find it helps if I drink one cup of FIBROGEL before I go to bed. Also I get the domperidone in suppositories form. It is supposed to encourage bowel movement. My Gp told me that if these didn`t help then he can also prescibe me lactulose or even something stronger. I also eat mainly fruits and veg the first few days and try to go for light walks whenever I can. I hope this helps.
Movicol worked for me after a really bad case on first FEC cycle - I was also reduced to tears. Second cycle I started taking it on day one and was much better. Good luck x
thanks for the answers and advice. The only reason I didnt just try movicol is that I had tried it during pregnancy and it didn’t seem to help at all so thats the reason I asked for something industrial strength! All I know about this stuff is that the pharmacist told my husband not many people have it in stock as its very expensive! so maybe I’ll give it a go and see what happens. To make matters worse I’ve still got piles from when I had my baby at Christmas (they sort of took a back seat when I was diagnosed with BC so I gave up treating them! oh I wish I hadn’t!) so you can imagine how bleeding painful they are! no pun intended.
Hi Jo _ I too had horrendous constipation which in turn set of a bout of diverticulitis after my first EC. Onc said that as I had not been sickly it might be worth trying just half the does of the Ondansetron. So after that I only took half a tablet a day and did not need anything else. However I started having lactulose from the day before chemo until day 4 and also tried to eat a veggie diet on those days . This really seemed to help me BUT it depends how you are reacting to the chemo. Go It really is the most awful thing (not to mention the affect on the piles as well) Good luck. Marli xx
Poor you! I had rotten constipation and piles. I took sennacot every night for the first week and a half after chemo. On my first cycle i threw up because of the pain of constipation! I also had hemorroid cream from the gp which helped the sore bits too. Once you know you might be prone to being bunged up you can try and prevent it. Don’t suffer any more now, take the medicine your gp has prescribed. The fact it can be taken by very poorly people is a good thing, not a bad thing, as it suggests it is kind enough to be tolerated whilst still working. Get it down you!
Hi Jo, I to have had this problem, I became impacted and no it’s awful. But to go I had to claw it out. I was given movicol took 8 sachets and suppositories ( you can get them over the counter). And it worked! I now take 2 sachets before my chemo and continue for 4 or 5 days to premt it happening again. I alway have a high fiber diet and eat prunes and beetroot till it comes out of my ears, unfortunately it’s the drugs we are given that causes this problem. Wish you all the best with this problem
Love Ruth x
Thanks for the advice girls. The only thing I’ve ever noticed in life that makes me “loose” is wine so last night I had 3 large glasses and went like a dream this morning! can’t obviously keep doing this or I’ll end up needing a new liver!
You could try taking something like sennacot for a few days starting the night before and then go for the hard stuff if sennacot doesn’t work. To be fair, I didn’t get to a desperate stage and a bit of sennacot was always enough for me.
Yep memories of tears on the toilet have been prompted - so can really relate to your situation - mine was due to FEC too. So after bad experiences on first couple of FEC I started Lactulose the day before the treatment (think it was the Ondestron anti-nausea that prompted it with me) and the Senna for the next few days as well.
Hope your meds do work and that things are better next time. Managing SEs seems to be the major impact of chemo that ends up dominating our lives for a while so hope you do get relief - love the thought of wine helping, I know my husband swears it does work as you wish it would on bowels…
Oh, the memories. I can remember kneeling on all fours on the bathroom with a poo stuck in my bottom that was at least three times the circumference of the hole it was supposed to come out of, or at least that’s how it felt.
I tried lots of things to help and the thing that worked the best for me was simple glycerin suppositories which you can buy over the counter. You do have to get them as high up past the blockage as you can which can be quite difficult to do on your own. I know it sounds horrible but I got my husband to put them in for me which we both agreed we’d never speak of again, although we do laugh about it from time to time now. The other thing is you have to resist the urge to go for as long as possible because the longer you hold them in the better the result.
Hopefully you will have gone by now but for next time, the best advice came from my District Nurse who said constipation is easier to prevent than treat. In other words take Movicol or some other laxative on the evening of the first day you don’t go if you’re normally regular. Or even start taking it before the chemo just in case.
HI everyone, not happy memories but I know that when I spoke to chemo team after round 2 of FEC - (the constipation round as its known here!!) - they were really clear about prevention being better than anything so did the bran etc,etc,etc thing as you mentioned - everything I ate had to have fibre in it, and then took senekot, movicol as needed
I think it was never as bad as round 2…
best of luck, Nicola
Crawfo64
Just read your post and have nearly wet myself laughing - but only because I can relate to everything you said. I currently ask my OH to be on the other side of the door just in case I pass out with the pain (I can take a lot but this is bl…dy ridiculous)
Anyhow thanks for making me chuckle with your very colourful description!!!
Off to drink another gallon of water - I’ll pretend its lager!
Linda
crawford 64 - my husband wont even entertain looking “down below” he’s old school - i.e. keep it to yourself. Tried using the anusol suppositories the other day to calm the piles down - they were soooo sore I didn’t know if I had the right orafice! suffice to say I ended up putting them in “the wrong one” sorry if any of you are eating your tea.
P.S. just got my first period in 9 weeks so in agony with that! I feel like my body is doing nothing right at the moment! Just tried doing 30 mins of a Davina DVD to try and help movements!