Excessive gas

STUARTC
STUARTC Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I had surgery on Jan 10 to remove a growth in my colon. I had the resection and am going through my chemo threatments now. I haven't had many side affects except some diareha and bad gas. Some days it feels like I am going to explode. I just fart all day. It is very frustrating and ebarrassing. Has any else had this problem? I've adjusted my diet so not to eat foods that could cause this. I have tried taking over the counter medication to reduce this but they don't seem to work. Some days it is okay other days it is tough. I've been in touch with my physician and he says it is part of the 5FU side affects. OTher than than that I feel fine. I am 43 and had a stage 3 growth. Since the surgery my blood counts are normal, my energy is fine, I am going to work,
and things are fine. I forget I have cancer until I go to my treatments. I have found a number of survivors who had the same stage cancer as myself who have been very supportive. I myself just look at this as a speed bump. They don't stop you, they just slow you down, and then they ae behind you.

Comments

  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #2
    STUARTC -

    Excessive flatulance? Welcome to my world. I was diagnosed about 18 months ago, did the resection, did 6 months of chemo that ended about a year ago and I still have the flatulation issue. I have come to accept it that I will have this minor side effect for the rest of my life. I should say it isn't as bad as it was during my chemo, but it is still quite prevalent. Especially when I lay down. All I can think of is that we have "less storage capacity" for the gas, hence our overactive venting.

    You seem to have a great attitude - hang in there and just consider your problem "the wind of life"!
  • latimer
    latimer Member Posts: 3
    #3
    Hey Stuartc
    Had colon resection back in October ,2002. I had severe post surgical loose bowels and severe gas with pains, usually around midday. I tried all those over-the-counter anti-gas meds. None of them worked. I then tried Metamucil. It did not work, in fact, it made my problem worse. The Metamucil would ferment in my gut and really cause some serious gas and pains, plus it tasted just terrible. I next tried Citrucel Powder. It has worked great. It comes in powder and pills and I have both. Use the powder when I have time and take a couple of the pills when in a hurry. I take it morning and evening. Also, I started walking several miles a day and started on the Adkins Diet. I believe the high fat/low carb diet has been responsible for reducing the loose bowels and almost eliminating the severe gas and associated pains. I did not have any type of dietary restrictions on me so I could eat pretty much what I wanted. Now I do not know if if these things were primariliy responsible for my improvement or if it was just the ole body healing, but I have experienced a remarkable improvement.
    Hope some of these things help you. Let me know if they do work.

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