Rectal Cancer Summary

Hi. This is my first interaction with any support forums/chats since my Rectal Cancer diagnosis in early October 2017. I'm sure i'll post more history, but right now, i have a couple of major concerns i'm hoping someone else has some experience with and/or considerations to share. I had 80% of my rectum removed on June 23, 2017. I had an ostomy installed then and it was taken down on Sepetmber 29, 2017. I never experienced loose stools, or diareha on a regular basis before my diagnosis. in fact i was pretty regular. I'm actually doing much better today than i was in early ostomy removal days, but still, it's a big consideration, since i have little storage, and leaking is a problem. I'm trying to stay off immodium, and using foods for stool control, but now I think i may have IBS, and my surgeon wants me to try the FODMAP diet. So I'm going to start that this weekend.

The other thing is I am a 59 year female, pretty much no sex for several years, too embarrasingly long, lol anyway, a little overweight but have all my female parts and no children. I am now diagnosed with level 2 prolapse, seems bladder or uterus us falling into the space between my rectum and vagina, causing a big bubble in my vagina, it's not as bad as it could be, but is worrisome. I'm so freaking pissed about that i can't stand it. While i'm totally grateful for being cancer free based on my last scan 2/28/2018, i'm just pissed that no one told me that this could happen, cause maybe i could have done something to prevent it. it did not exist before my ostomy was reversed.

I had aggressive chair chemo, radiation, and pill chemo over a period of 9 months. I was stage 4 rectal cancer cause they saw spots on my liver. the liver spots were gone in January 2018. The tumor was big initially, but almost gone by the time surgery happened, but he took all of the original marked spot, i had no cancer in any lymps, or other parts of my organs.

I worked all the way through chemo, and radiation, up until my surgery. Recovered pretty well, and managed the ostomy pretty good. Seems since the ostmy has been gone, i've had most of my issues. While i'm forever grateful to be cancer free at this point, I'm constantly worried about what i eat, when i eat, when i'll poop, and for how long i'll be stuck on the toilet.  As well as, worring that i'll poop out my bladder. I still work in a professional office and attending meetings are a regular part of my job, kinda stressed a lot worring about my bowels.

i'm going to physical therapy to learn keegles, i've gotten some estrogren cream to help thicken the walls. I'm also going physical therepy for hip and knee pain on my right side becasue of bone and muscle loss from treatments and low activity. I'm supposed to loose weight, and now go on this FODMAP diet. Dr dosent' want to do surgery to fix prolapse, i wonder if he knows something he is not wanting to tell me?

So how to  you manage your bowels after cancer rectal tumor removal surgery? Immodium, Fiber, diet?

How are you handling a prolaps after having rectal surgery?

i'd rather not have surgery to fix prolapse, just starting to accept that i'll never be the same, but I do have hope i'll be better than today

Thanks for listening.