Discomfort in rectum

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JanJan63
JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
edited September 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1

Now that I've found this site I'll probably post like crazy, sorry everybody!

I've been having rectal pain since about two months after the resection surgery. It feels like I'm constipated but no matter hom long I sit on the toilet I never go or feel better. Some days it's so bad I can hardly sit and standing for any length of time makes my legs feel like rubber because of it. If I take a percocet when I get up it helps a lot and works for most of the day. Most days I don't need another one but some days I have to take another one before bed to feel better. The last thing I want is to be addicted to them but I don't know if this normal or will go away after a while or what. I've tried taking over the counter painkillers but they don't help at all. I also sit on a heating pad in the evenings to avoid taking another one and it feel better as long as I sit on it.

Has anyone tried an enema for this? I should add that my tumour was 8 cms (about 3 inches, I think?) in from the rectum so the cut was pretty close to it.

Edited to add: I also have a bloated tummy all the time. If I have nothing in my bowels and no gas, what's up with that?

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  • Lovekitties
    Lovekitties Member Posts: 3,364 Member
    #2
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    Consult with your surgeon

    Do not take an enema or any over the counter med for this issue without consulting your surgeon.

    May a visit soonest so that you can get appropriate help for these issues.

    Marie who loves kitties

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #3
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    Hi Jan, an enema is a really

    Hi Jan, an enema is a really bad idea after surgery. If you had a basic rectal resection you should be seeing improvement not worsening so you should go in to see your doc right away.   Also the thing about the pain killers is that after a long period on them when you stop taking them, the withdrawal causes serious phantom pains and it takes about three days for those to pass. I was having those after 30 days on oxycodone. I finally realized that I was getting addicted so I went cold turkey and had phanton pains as part of the withdrawal. First go to the doctor to see if anything is wrong that may solve the pain issue.  If you had colon removed it might take longer but a basic resection should ge smoothly . It took me almost two months after my second surgery for the pain to stop and I was on a very restrictive diet at first.  For my first basic resection my doctor had me using stool softener and drinking lots of water.  Once you are cleared do extra Tylenol or advil as long as your doc approves depending on what else you are doing medically with a heating pad to wean yourself off the percocet but still get relief.  

  • JanJan63
    JanJan63 Member Posts: 2,478 Member
    #4
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    Helen321 said:

    Hi Jan, an enema is a really

    Hi Jan, an enema is a really bad idea after surgery. If you had a basic rectal resection you should be seeing improvement not worsening so you should go in to see your doc right away.   Also the thing about the pain killers is that after a long period on them when you stop taking them, the withdrawal causes serious phantom pains and it takes about three days for those to pass. I was having those after 30 days on oxycodone. I finally realized that I was getting addicted so I went cold turkey and had phanton pains as part of the withdrawal. First go to the doctor to see if anything is wrong that may solve the pain issue.  If you had colon removed it might take longer but a basic resection should ge smoothly . It took me almost two months after my second surgery for the pain to stop and I was on a very restrictive diet at first.  For my first basic resection my doctor had me using stool softener and drinking lots of water.  Once you are cleared do extra Tylenol or advil as long as your doc approves depending on what else you are doing medically with a heating pad to wean yourself off the percocet but still get relief.  

    Enemas

    I had to have a radiographic enema about a month and a half ago so they could if things were healing up and how the abcess was doing and it really set me back. I'd been feeling pretty good and I went back to feeling tired and weak again for over a week. So I'm scared to try an at home one. I see my surgeon Nov 10 and I have to do one before the appointment.

  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #5
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    JanJan63 said:

    Enemas

    I had to have a radiographic enema about a month and a half ago so they could if things were healing up and how the abcess was doing and it really set me back. I'd been feeling pretty good and I went back to feeling tired and weak again for over a week. So I'm scared to try an at home one. I see my surgeon Nov 10 and I have to do one before the appointment.

    Oh yeah that would explain

    Oh yeah that would explain the pain.  I wouldn't do an enema. I would call the doc, maybe get cleared for stool softeners or suppositories. If you had colon removed the pain is harder and it takes about three months to feel close to normal and sitting is still hard.  As long as you haven't been taking percocets for two months straight, give yourself a break. Taking one here and there isn't bad.  That's the idea behind having them.  I took mine 30 days straight  three or four times a day and that started to be a bad thing.

  • Trubrit
    Trubrit Member Posts: 5,796 Member
    #6
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    Another tumour?

    I remember having the sensation of a ball in my rectum, for months after my resection. I asked the GI Doctor about it and he said it wasn't a concern. After a pre-scheduled Colonoscopy, he found nothing. 

    I have since come to the conclusion that we are given very little information about what side effects or what to expect after surgeries. This forum was my go-to place for help, though you will notice that we always suggest you double chech with your Doctors. 

    Sue - Trubrit

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