Lost control

MyklzGram
MyklzGram Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
feb 04, colon resection, most of 04 spent on chemo and radiation. Lack of control of bowels for months. Now it seems to be happening again. Blood work perfect, recent CT, MRI and Bone Scan, perfect. Thank you God. Anyone else out there, this far out of treatment, still having control issues? Would really appreciate hearing from you. Ca doc has no info for me, recent scope shows no problems....Is this going to be part of
my life forever?

Comments

  • tkd3g
    tkd3g Member Posts: 767
    #2
    Hi there.

    More poop talk, got to love it.

    Well, I had Stage 3 Rectal CA. My resection was June of 2004. Chemo radiation before and chemo after surgery.

    I have found that my diet is SO SO SO important in what happens in the bathroom. I have to admit, when I am weak and have a glass of soda ) sorry, EM)...my body revolts and I do the "sprint or you ain't gonna make it to the bathroom dance."

    With that said, If I watch my foods and really listen to my body, things have been much better.

    If you haven't already, clean up your eating. If you have...maybe some additional fiber?

    Best of luck,

    Barb
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Moesimo
    Moesimo Member Posts: 1,072 Member
    #4
    I know some of you might be sick of hearing this, but I am saying it again. I became fed up with the constant trips to the loo and all the accidents when I did not get to the loo on time. I had a colostomy done one year ago. I got my life back. I no longer search for the loo, I eat anything I want. (Sorry, Em.) It's not so bad really. My quality of life is so much better than it was without the ostomy.

    Moe
  • CAMaura
    CAMaura Member Posts: 719 Member
    #5
    For me, diet controls my bowels. If I eat well, my intestines respond well. Sounds simplist, but for me it is true. There could be something else going on, but you might think about changes you have made or the overall quality of your input; it does affect the output. All the best and I hope things improve for you - Maura
  • goldfinch
    goldfinch Member Posts: 735
    #6
    Hmmmm...all this time I thought my stool incontinence was due to the botox injection I got for treatment of an anal fissure (didn't work by the way). That's when it all started anyway.
    I still have problems when I'm getting chemo. Severe diarrhea is still difficult to manage, bit since i've had a reprieve from chemo (due to elevated liver studies) I am doing much better. In fact, yesterday was the first time I went without a diaper in about 9 months!!

    Have you tried kegel exercises? I tried them in the summer (another break from chemo) and they seemed to help. There are supposed to be specific kegel exercises for those of us with bowel incontinence, but I just did the old fashioned "squeeze anal sphincter tight for 10-20 seconds". Repeat several times. Do this 4-5 times a day.
    There is also supposed to be a type of physical therapist who deals with this and can teach you the specific exercises that will help. Someone on the JPouch discussion group (www.j-pouch.org) is always recommending this type of therapy to folks there.
    Good luck!
    Mary
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #7
    goldfinch said:

    Hmmmm...all this time I thought my stool incontinence was due to the botox injection I got for treatment of an anal fissure (didn't work by the way). That's when it all started anyway.
    I still have problems when I'm getting chemo. Severe diarrhea is still difficult to manage, bit since i've had a reprieve from chemo (due to elevated liver studies) I am doing much better. In fact, yesterday was the first time I went without a diaper in about 9 months!!

    Have you tried kegel exercises? I tried them in the summer (another break from chemo) and they seemed to help. There are supposed to be specific kegel exercises for those of us with bowel incontinence, but I just did the old fashioned "squeeze anal sphincter tight for 10-20 seconds". Repeat several times. Do this 4-5 times a day.
    There is also supposed to be a type of physical therapist who deals with this and can teach you the specific exercises that will help. Someone on the JPouch discussion group (www.j-pouch.org) is always recommending this type of therapy to folks there.
    Good luck!
    Mary

    My recent topic on "poetry" prompted you to ask me how far out from surgery I am. Well, I had surgery in aug. 03 for descending/sigmoid tumour,2/3 bowel blockage, went thru the bowel wall, stage 2, no node involvement, 6 months 5fu/leucovorin. I am NED now for 2 years. As for bowel control that took some time after chemo finished...nothing unusual I discovered. I found that small meals more often helped and as others have said here what you eat plays a huge part. Choosing the right food for you will really be an experiment in itself I think. As I had some complications after surgery bowel function was pretty pathetic but surgeon mentioned a condition called "spastic bowel" which essentually means that part of the bowel interfered with during surgery basically stops working correctly(peristalsis movement from memory I think they call it...but don't quote me) and takes some time to correct itself.Because the bowel is inactive during surgery and for a couple of days post op. it literally forgets to produce the movement that moves faeces along it.I was told that from time to time this can cause problems.but of course that may not be the case with you.
    Anyway....a bit of info which pertained to me at the time. Today I am fine.
    Ross and Jen

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