half way there

judyv3

KarenK57 said:

half way there for me

Hi today is day 19 of my radiation.  I also start my second dose of chemo next week on Friday.   I am struggling today with the radiation burns.  Dr. suggested to soak in red gatorade for soothing comfort.  Also sitz baths.  Is there anyting I should put in the bath to help with the burns?  I am still struggling with the "why me"  of my cancer.  Especially when it starts hurting real bad.  I don't want to eat so I don't have a bowel movement.  All I can say is UGH!!!!!!  Reading your blog has given me hope and a little better outlook.  I wish you the best of luck and hope all is cured for you soon.  

KarenK57

Don't get too discouraged!  I am 5 months out of treatment and remember quite clearly how difficult it was.  This I know - you MUST eat and hydrate.  I know the discomfort of going to the bathroom, but you can make it a tiny bit easier.  I always coated myself Aquaphor prior to peeing or pooping.  I also went right from the toilet to the shower and rinsed with the handheld shower.  I did not take baths, I have never liked them, but toward the end I did do sitz baths.  And I as many others in here have said, went to the bathroom in the sitz bath and also in the shower - whatever I had to do.  I also took plenty of stool softeners - up to 6 a day at one point.

I can honestly say that I am feeling good now.  It's different and will never be the same but I'm doing well.  Never mind "why me" you have a life to live and you need to get through this to do it.  And we all have done the "why me".  

There is a great deal of knowledge on this site - you will find lots of options and answers.  And we are all sending you good thoughts and positive vibes.

Take good care.

knolltop

KarenK57 said:

half way there for me

Hi today is day 19 of my radiation.  I also start my second dose of chemo next week on Friday.   I am struggling today with the radiation burns.  Dr. suggested to soak in red gatorade for soothing comfort.  Also sitz baths.  Is there anyting I should put in the bath to help with the burns?  I am still struggling with the "why me"  of my cancer.  Especially when it starts hurting real bad.  I don't want to eat so I don't have a bowel movement.  All I can say is UGH!!!!!!  Reading your blog has given me hope and a little better outlook.  I wish you the best of luck and hope all is cured for you soon.  

Sitz Bath

KarenK57 - I used a portable sitz bath that sat right onto the toilet.    I would just fill it wilth warm water and it was soothing.    At the end I was in so much discomfort but pain med and creams helped.    With BM....I sometime went right into the sitz bath.   Dumped it out and cleaned the container.    It helped with the pain at the end with BMovements.    I also soaked in the tub at times for comfort too.    I also had aloe plants that I used on it.    And the cream they gave me.    I wonder if a lidocaine mixture cream may help before BM  ????   wonder if others would know.  

Blessings,

mp327

KarenK57 said:

half way there for me

Hi today is day 19 of my radiation.  I also start my second dose of chemo next week on Friday.   I am struggling today with the radiation burns.  Dr. suggested to soak in red gatorade for soothing comfort.  Also sitz baths.  Is there anyting I should put in the bath to help with the burns?  I am still struggling with the "why me"  of my cancer.  Especially when it starts hurting real bad.  I don't want to eat so I don't have a bowel movement.  All I can say is UGH!!!!!!  Reading your blog has given me hope and a little better outlook.  I wish you the best of luck and hope all is cured for you soon.  

KarenK57

I'm sorry you've had to find your way to this site and that you are in some pain with the radiation burns.  Mine were pretty bad and I found the most relief soaking in the tub a few times a day in lukewarm water.  For pain relief with BM's you might try applying some lidocaine first.  I know the feeling of not wanting to eat or drink, knowing that whatever goes in must eventually come out.  However, staying hydrated is very important.  Some people become so dehydrated that they end up in the hospital to receive IV fluids.  You don't want that to happen.  As for eating, nutrition is very important, especially in getting enough protein, which promotes healing.  I hope you can find some relief and that you can get through the rest of your treatment with the least amount of side effects.  If you need advice, we're here for you!  I wish you all the best!

qv62

KarenK57 said:

half way there for me

Hi today is day 19 of my radiation.  I also start my second dose of chemo next week on Friday.   I am struggling today with the radiation burns.  Dr. suggested to soak in red gatorade for soothing comfort.  Also sitz baths.  Is there anyting I should put in the bath to help with the burns?  I am still struggling with the "why me"  of my cancer.  Especially when it starts hurting real bad.  I don't want to eat so I don't have a bowel movement.  All I can say is UGH!!!!!!  Reading your blog has given me hope and a little better outlook.  I wish you the best of luck and hope all is cured for you soon.  

Karenk57

Hi Karen, sorry you are here but if you need support you are in the right place for sure I just finished day 23, my doctor upped my dose of daily radiation and lessened my days of treatment so that Tuesday will be my last day of both chemo and radiation, my son has prom on Wed and graduation on Thurs so I told them prior to treatment I would be taking those 2 days off, they were able to adjust everything so tht I don't have to go back on Friday providing all goes well. As for your question about putting anything in the bath, I use just plain water and cetaphil liquid soap. A friend on the board said that she would put the blue powder used in aquariums in hers and found that helpful. I did not get much relief from lidocane or proctofoam, the silverdene has been a great help for me but everyone is different so try it all till you find what works, never heard of the gatorade but again if it's working buy a case I know what you mean about not wanting to put in what needs to come out but it is so important to have prper hydration and nutrition. I am drinking 3 liters of water a day, after I tinkle I use a peri-bottle and pat dry with a washcloth, I have a ziplock I take with me when I leave the house since I can't use tp. I bought 2 dozen white washclths at Costco (they can be bleached) and use them to blot dry after rinsing with the peri bottle. I use the sitz, take a bath every night and a shower every morning, last week my burns were one step away from landing me in the hospital but had 3 skin checks last week and Fri they told me there was improvement. I was also able to get the ok to up all my pain meds due to the pain from the burns, don't be afraid to ask about this as well. I am finding that helpful too. I hope some of this info helps, please feel free to private message me if you need to.

sierra28

KarenK57 said:

half way there for me

Hi today is day 19 of my radiation.  I also start my second dose of chemo next week on Friday.   I am struggling today with the radiation burns.  Dr. suggested to soak in red gatorade for soothing comfort.  Also sitz baths.  Is there anyting I should put in the bath to help with the burns?  I am still struggling with the "why me"  of my cancer.  Especially when it starts hurting real bad.  I don't want to eat so I don't have a bowel movement.  All I can say is UGH!!!!!!  Reading your blog has given me hope and a little better outlook.  I wish you the best of luck and hope all is cured for you soon.  

Hi Karen,
I used Betadine

Hi Karen,

I used Betadine mixed with water in a spray bottle and applied it several times a times a day.  It stopped the blistering and redness.  I would spray it on and pat it dry.  About an hour later I would rinse it off with the shower wand and apply Jeans Cream. I never had to take any pain meds the entire time of my treatment and never had any sores.  I would rinse myself off after every trip to the bathroom with the wand and pat dry.  I was very lucky that I did not suffer any discomfort from the radiation.  The only problem was the itching and the cream helped that.  I also took 3 or 4 sitz baths a day with a little of the Betadine in the water. I hope this helps.  I finished my treatments last week and I am starting to feel better.  Good luck to you.

sandysp

qv62 said:

thank you all

I appreciate the thoughts, prayers, comments and advice as always and I am glad to hear from all of you. I had a rough day with the discomfort of the burns and in addition felt weak each time I got up, I actually stayed in bed watching tv all day (something I never do) I took a shower and got right back in to bed half way through the day but I am finally feeling better now unfortunately it's 10 pm and the day is now over. Hoping to be back on track tomorrow. I am 18 treatments down and get my next dose of mytomycin on Tues. Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I am glad to hear you are resting

Don't push yourself. Sometimes I slept 18 hours straight. The body is doing a lot of work trying to heal you all the while you are getting these treatments that are so toxic. You need to let it do it's thing.

I am so glad you are getting this over with. Thank God, you are finally on your way to recovery. Your suffering will end, but patience will be needed. A lot of patience. If you don't feel well, it's not your fault. You don't need to feel one bit guilty.

I used to apologize for everything, even being sick. No more!

Take care, and good luck with the second round of chemo. They had to reduce my dosage. The first coupled with radiation almost killed me. But Sloan is very good at monitering all this stuff very carefully.

Take care,

Sandy