Radiation damage question?

LAD
LAD Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I'm a 54 year old female and was diagnosed in 1997, had colon surgery, chemo and radiation. thank God I am cured, but the radiation has been continually causing damage. I now cannot completely empty my bladder (has gotten worse over the years) I have to catheter myself once a day, soon to be more than that, and now have been diagnosed with osteoporosis with the damage showing only on the extreme lower sacrum. I have UTI's all the time because of the bladder problem. I have been to numerous doctors, urologists to neurologists, and the consensus is the sphincter muscle that is to open to urinate, closes instead.
If anyone has any answers, ideas or similar problems, I would so appreciate hearing from you.
Thanks!
LAD

Comments

  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    #2
    Radiation side effects
    Hi LAD! I have very similar problems to yours. My bladder was very damaged by the radiation, but has improved to where i don't need to be cathetered. That happened twice during the initial rads. It's been almost two years since my radiation treatments and my bladder still cannot hold much fluid, and i still have burning. Sometimes i completely wet myself!

    Now, the bone issue. This is where the most damage has occured on me. I have severe osteoporosis. It's so bad that the doctor told me i could break my back from bending over. I break ribs sitting on the potty, and very frequently get that familiar pain in my sacrum telling me i have a fracture. I'm 40, and my bones will probably never recover. The doctors want me to take high doses of calcium, but calcium constipates, and i already have that problem too badly to tempt fate. I also recently started taking my fossamax again. I heard horrible side effects about it and had stopped taking it. I'm more worried about my bones dissolving than i am about more cancer at the moment.

    Definitely talk to your doctor about the fossamax, and definitely ask to see a specialist. All of my other doctors misdiagnosed the osteoporosis until i demanded to see an orthopod. He was the one who found out how bad it was, and that i was in so much pain because of an active fracture.

    Good luck, and definitely let me know how it goes!

    Hugs,
    Krista
  • dianetavegia
    dianetavegia Member Posts: 1,942 Member
    #3
    Wow! 11 years cured colon and liver???
    That's incredible! God is awesome!
  • Paula G.
    Paula G. Member Posts: 596
    #4
    Hi
    Hi LAD, I don't have cancer my husband does, stage 4. I do know a lot about UTI's. I have MS and was getting them every couple of months. MS hit my bladder pretty hard. My doctor put me on a drug Methenamine Hipp. It is a gen. for UREX. Anyway I have to take four LARGE pills a day and haven't had a UTI for over a year. I have heard of this problem affecting people with MS also. This medication may help you with the UTI's. Hope others have more to offer. It is great that you no longer have cancer. Good luck with the other. Paula G.
  • Louise3
    Louise3 Member Posts: 1
    #5
    I am responding to LAD. I just came back from another visit to the urologist. I have been experiencing UTIs at least once, sometimes twice a month. I am 12 years out from my rectal cancer diagnosis in which I was stage 3 and had surgery, chemo and radiation. This year however has been the worst for UTI's. I don't like being on antibiotics so often. My urine cultures out with different bacteria. We have decided my main etiology is probably from damage due to radiation to my bladder during my cancer treatment. I have severe pain but then it gets better with the antibiotic. Today we talked about possibly trying botox injections, accupunture at my ankles, self-catheterizations using liquid antibiotic so it is not systemic and repeated cystoscopies. Any ideas or encouragement appreciated. Louise3 age 61
  • Goldie1
    Goldie1 Member Posts: 264 Member
    #6
    Hi Lad,
    My husband recently had 40 treatments of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for radiation cystitis in his bladder. The cystitis caused bleeding/clots when he urinated which made urination difficult. Plus, it dropped his hemoglobin count so low, he was getting blood transfusions every week. Within 10 treatments of Hyperbaric, the bleeding stopped and his hemoglobin count rose every week. Hyperbaric is used in cases for healing wounds but I have heard that it helps UTI's too. It was recommended by his urologist and our insurance covered it.

    Take care,

    Ellen
  • bille
    bille Member Posts: 1
    #7
    Goldie1 said:

    Hi Lad,
    My husband recently had 40 treatments of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for radiation cystitis in his bladder. The cystitis caused bleeding/clots when he urinated which made urination difficult. Plus, it dropped his hemoglobin count so low, he was getting blood transfusions every week. Within 10 treatments of Hyperbaric, the bleeding stopped and his hemoglobin count rose every week. Hyperbaric is used in cases for healing wounds but I have heard that it helps UTI's too. It was recommended by his urologist and our insurance covered it.

    Take care,

    Ellen

    bleeding from bladder
    hi goldie, your husbands problem sounds similar to mine but fortunately i have not required a blood transfusion so far. im hoping you or one of the other members reading this may be able to assist me with this question. have you ever noticed or heard about overseas travel in aircraft starting off the bleeding in the bladder, due to variations in the air pressure in the cabin. it happened once to me at the end of a 3 hour flight and i have not flown since. im just trying to comfirm if it was coincedence or not as i am planning a 12 hour flight soon and want to prepare myself. especially for the clotting and subsequent blockages that can occur. any information would be appreciated. thanks

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