Butt Burn

[NWgirl]

Soooo.......up until recently I seemed to be managing my bowels pretty well. Changed my diet - no dairy, limited sugar, limited processed foods. Citrucel as needed.

But with going back on chemo - yikes. It seems all my changes have been in vain because my butt is on fire again!!!! I'm on 5FU and Avastin right now. Do others (especially those who have had an ostomy then had it reversed) on this chemo regimen have problems with frequency/burning issues? I thought I had this under control, but this past week (and I didn't even have chemo last week) has been pure hell. I don't even know what to do to get a handle on this - I'm going to try to scale back my eating to basic foods - oatmeal, apple sauce, eggs - boring stuff that should be really easy to digest. Last night I was in so much pain I resorted to 2 percoset and half a bottle of wine (I normally don't drink at all on chemo). It worked, but obviously I can't use this type of self medication on a regular basis. Would be nice though wouldn't it?

I guess what I'm asking is anyone who had control of their bowel issues - then went on chemo and had problems - what did you do to calm things down again?

[nicola smith]

NWGirl, I've had my ileostomy reversed (I have no colon)but have never experienced chemo with a normal butt as I had a bag the whole time. The IBD Sucks website has a web page called How to Soothe a Taco Butt" which might be helpful.

For the butt pain of reversal, I use calmoseptin and another compound the recipe for which is on the Taco Butt page. Here is a link to the page but you will probably have to register to access it. [url]http://ibdsucks.utah.edu/webx?13@13.FIQLeKNJsjT^3@.ee73e7d[/url]

Just in case, here is the compound copied from the page: "from Mary Surman, ET. You will need a prescription: Westcort 15 grams, Nystatin oral suspension 20cc, Zinc Oxide 225 grams. Have the pharmacist mix the above together and then you apply to affected area as needed. Ask your doc to make this a PRN refill".

I am sure you are already doing sitz baths with epsom salts and using the softest TP available.

What I found the best solution for me was an investment in a kind of toilet seat that replaces your existing toilet seat and acts as a bidet including wash and dry functions. The water spray is gentle and soothing and with the dry function, you never even have to use TP. These are pricey and I'm not sure I would have bought one if I hadn't wanted it anyway - here's the website http://www.biobidets.com. Now I am so glad I did.

[Rob in PA]

I've had chemo since my reversal and the butt burn that goes along with the diarhea. My best relief tip is to get the softest toilet paper on the market (I like quilted northern) and load up on butt paste with lots of zinc oxide. I rotate between Desitin, Balmex, and Monkey Butt Paste (yes, that's a real name!). Apply generously every time you go, unless you are clustering with your bowel movements and going every 5-10 minutes with minimal evacuation. Warm sitz bath also works. Butt burn is NO FUN.

Sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes usually help me get my diet back on track. bananas, Rice, applesauce, toast (BRAT diet), etc... also help

[Twinsmom]

I still go 5-10 times a day minimum and so I'm no stranger to butt burn. My recipe is to use nothing but diaper wipes. If the burn gets really bad, I spread a soft diaper cream on the wipe before I use it. If necessary, I use a squeeze bottle of warm water to clean up. I use the diaper wipes even when my butt isn't burning - never wipe with anything else. This keeps the problem completely under control. Good luck, Belle!

Wendy

[lorrainem]

I still swear by hemorroid wipes, I've used both Preparation H and the store brands, both good. Then Calmoseptine and if it's really bad, warning here comes the TMI part, using surgical gloves insert some of the Calmoseptine into the area. Not sure if that's the right thing or not, but I get relief 95% of the time from my own little system. I hope you find yours, this sucks.

[jjlist]

i didnt have chemo with my illestomy

but

bananna and white toast slows things down for me. mashed poatao helps too. immodium works well for me. a half pill will slow me way down. although it makes me constipated,,,,,
be very careful with the percocet and alcohol. i was doing that due to pain from clustering and rectal spasam for couple of weeks during my early post reversal. it sure took the edge off.

[Surroundedbylove]

For food Belle, you might want to try white potatoes, yams, and dates. The dates in particular seemed to help me "gel" up the stool - both during chemo and post takedown.

[edsandra]

I am a survivor of rectal cancer. I suffered terribly with a bleeding burning butt for many months after my ileostomy reversal. My problem is multiple (ten to twenty) bowel movements each day. The multiple cleanups were rubbing me raw. I had trouble getting to sleep each night due to the burning sensation. I searched the Internet for “bidet reviews” out of desperation and found this site:
http://www.poopreport.com/Consumer/bide ... _buck.html

The site contains a description of a number of devices that turn an ordinary toilet into a bidet. I ended up buying a Biffy from http://biffy.com/ for $60 plus $7 shipping. It is the best money I have ever spent. I no longer have a bleeding burning butt. I hope this post helps others with raw butts.

It has been a year and a half since I installed my Biffy and I continue to be thankfull. When I am away from home for 5 or 6 hours my butt starts to bleed from multiple cleans ups with toilet paper. When I get home the Biffy is a great help in stopping the butt burn. I also recommend a skin protectant "Clear Moisture Barrier Ointment" Made by Coloplast to sooth the burning. http://www.activeforever.com/p-2815-col ... tment.aspx I believe that the radiation thapery made my anal skin extremly tender.

[NWgirl]

Thank you all for the suggestions-I'm going to print out this thread and work my way through it. The butt burn has since resolved, but since I had chemo yesterday, I'm ready for anything this week. I most likely will do the bidet, along with the other suggestions. The diet suggestions are all good and all things I like, but it's not going to completely resolve my issues. Then again, eating healthy - even if it helps just a little, is always worthwhile!

[zephyr]

I never know how I'm going to respond from one round to the next ... but I think I've had more than my share of butt burn. This last round was pretty tough in that regard but I stumbled on a remedy two days ago that is working well for me: coconut oil suppositories that you make yourself. I found it on an online pregnancy forum. Here's the link to the post plus another link for how to make your own:

http://www.whattoexpect.com/forums/january-2015-babies/topic/hemorrhoids-i-found-my-cure.html
https://www.earthclinic.com/coconut-oil-for-hemorrhoids.html

I've only been using them for 2 days but the difference is remarkable. I'm not healed but the pain level is way down. You just need to make sure you're wearing a pad or adult diaper to keep the coconut oil off your clothes.

[TXLiz]

I had really bad butt burn early in chemo, and would shower after using the bathroom. I'd use baby soap and air dry for as long as possible after the shower.

I know too much washing and soap can be drying as well, but it really helped me to shower and air dry.

[mesh123]

Avoid vegetables no matter what it is raw or cooked, I had my reversal 4 month ago and the only things that caused me a butt burn is eating vegeis, I always eat KFC chicken and no problem lol.

p.s I have j-pouch, rectum and colon completely removed.

Good luck with ur chemo.

[Need2talk]

I tried many things after my surgery and calmoseptin rocked