radiation enteritis
#266142 - 05/29/06 04:09 AM
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Hello all! I'm from the northeast USA and it's my first post.
I've had radiation treatment for prostate cancer 13 months ago. It looks like I have some kind of mild radiation enteritis and mild IBS. I'm leaving that declaration to my many doctors. Although I wouldn't call 8 to 10 trips to the toilet during attacks when they happen exactly mild. Mild in the sense that the attacks don't happen all the time but leak often enough to use pads every single day. I have the attitude and mechanics part down great. But am less sure about if this is what I have. Or does it even matter if all the symptoms match; all i know is that my diet needs to change in order to see exactly what foods do in fact trigger these episodes. Then there is the near constant leaking that's caused by something. That part is a drag on wheels! I used to have what I called a ceramic lined, hydrogen cooled stomach. Well; no more.
So; with it being like this, my questions are the following:
1) With it being just occasionally, should I start by eliminating everything from my diet then log everything that I eat to see what's causing these bouts?
2) I didn't see anything that talks specifically about what i've been through as a subject matter but does that even matter with what i'm dealing with, this is what i've got, right?
3) It does seem that every thing that can go wrong in the 1 or 2% of patients has gone wrong. So it seems my body is physically sensitive. My physical therapist suggested taking 1/2 a Imodium tablet with the insoluble capsules to slow me down as a tablet by itself stops me cold for a day or so. My other doctor gave me some meds that I'm to take 1/2 hour before eating but that don't do dickly snichit.
I'm totally into the natural approach but need the fire truck approach with the meds sometimes. I keep forgetting to take the "Metamucial" fiber tablets every day because I don't always leak but then once it starts it can take 2 weeks to go away. Any ideas? Thanks for any input and support! ~ McGloin
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Welcome to the Boards. You should check out the Diet Board - it's the main Board for information on the Eating For IBS Diet.
Assuming the 8-10 trips to the toilet during an attack are diarrhea (rather than having to go and not being able to which I would classify as constipation), then it sounds like you may have IBS-D. I do think the diagnosis is confused by the radiation enteritis, but I did a super-quick Google search and it looks like following the EFI Diet is pretty much in line with the recommendations for radiation enteritis (Physician Info; Patient Info). Obviously, this is just one site, so you should make sure your doctors are okay with this approach.
As far as I know, fecal leakage is not a common IBS symptom, but I would think anything that calms the gut would help with that.
Quote:
I used to have what I called a ceramic lined, hydrogen cooled stomach.
Me, too.
Well; no more.
Me, neither.
So; with it being like this, my questions are the following:
1) With it being just occasionally, should I start by eliminating everything from my diet then log everything that I eat to see what's causing these bouts?
Rather than eliminate everything, I would first try following the EFI Diet and I would definitely start with the Break The Cycle Diet. Definitely keep a food and symptom log.
2) I didn't see anything that talks specifically about what i've been through as a subject matter but does that even matter with what i'm dealing with, this is what i've got, right?
If you have IBS, then, no, it doesn't matter what triggered it. IBS can be triggered by an "insult to the gut" and radiation would definitely qualify.
3) It does seem that every thing that can go wrong in the 1 or 2% of patients has gone wrong. So it seems my body is physically sensitive. My physical therapist suggested taking 1/2 a Imodium tablet with the insoluble capsules
What do you mean by "insoluble capsules"?
to slow me down as a tablet by itself stops me cold for a day or so.
Imodium is certainly worth a try and 1/2 tablet makes sense if a whole one is too much. If you do a Board Search on the Diet Board looking for Imodium (also try it again spelled Immodium), you'll find lots and lots of information on how people use it.
My other doctor gave me some meds that I'm to take 1/2 hour before eating but that don't do dickly snichit.
My own experience with meds was that they didn't do much good until I started following the EFI Diet.
I'm totally into the natural approach but need the fire truck approach with the meds sometimes.
You might do better using the meds preventively, at least until you stabilize. Again, the Search on Imodium/Immodium will turn up info on this. Linz is no longer posting here, but her old posts should be quite helpful.
I keep forgetting to take the "Metamucial" fiber tablets every day because I don't always leak but then once it starts it can take 2 weeks to go away. Any ideas? Thanks for any input and support! ~ McGloin
If you're experiencing diarrhea, do NOT take Metamucil. It contains both Soluble Fiber and Insoluble Fiber. Loosely speaking, Soluble Fiber will calm your gut; Insoluble Fiber will make you go. Find a Soluble Fiber Supplement that is pure Soluble Fiber. I like Acacia, which I order from this site, but there are others that are more widely available. (SFS FAQ)
Here's a recent post I did that will point you to some reading about the EFI Diet - just follow the links. In particular, if you haven't done so already, you really, really need to see a good GI guy to be sure you've been accurately diagnosed.
HTH. Good luck.
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