On surgeon's advice, going to try the - gulp - daily enema

[beth568]

It must be fate - I haven't been to the board in months, and came back today to check in on how people were doing, and here's this thread!

I'm almost 2 years post-surgery, and while things have improved, I still have more poop issues than I'd like. I'm so sorry that I took my rectum for granted before I lost it!

Anyway, I'm considering the enema thing, too. I have a pattern that often involves a day or two of clustering and then a "free" day, but it's not predictable, and my 8 year old daughter continues to express her amazement at the amount of time I spend in the bathroom.

So thanks for the frank exchange of information here. My surgeon has me do two Fleets before every sigmoidoscopy checkup, so I'm thinking that's where I will start - perhaps every other day. I hadn't thought about cleaning and reusing the bottles, but it seems sensible. None of you notice a significant difference between the saline and plain old warm water?

If anything interesting happens, I'll report back. Meanwhile, tammylayne, I'm loving your husband's enema hunt stories.

[rickker20]

I have been doing this for 2 years and it has change my life. I would have many clustering problems before. Now I just used a fleet bottle with warm water in the morning to clean out or sometimes at night before bed. The goal is to clean out the lower part of your colon.

[Peloton]

None of you notice a significant difference between the saline and plain old warm water?

Beth -

I can only speak from my experience here, but do not use the saline. I started off using the saline that comes in the Fleet bottles and it made things worse. It irritated my fried colon, caused contractions that would last for hours, and watery stool would leak out. I was miserable and actually went back to wearing Depends to work (something I had not done for 8 months or so). I did this for about a week, thinking my colon just needed time to adjust. It never got better and I was about to abandon enemas until my surgeon suggested using just plain old tap water. I noticed the results immediately. I got cleaned out without irritation.

It simply never occurred to me that using tap water enema could induce a large bowel movement. (Not that I spent much time thinking about enemas before getting rectal cancer )

[lauragb]

A tip to add. That post enema feeling of still needing to go seems to be a common sensation. I find that taking a warm bath relieves that feeling. That's one reason I prefer to do my enemas in the evening.
So if you have the time, it might be worth trying to see if it helps alleviate discomfort.

Seems like there are more folks using enemas than I imagined what with the shortage Tammylayne and her husband have been facing and with Walmart keeping them in a cabinet like fine jewelry.

[tammylayne]

Well...2 good attempts and one not so good. Not sure what went wrong tonight. I was barely able to get half a bottle in when it decided to leak out and I had to do a mad, wet dash to the toilet, luckily 8 feet away. I did this 3 times and while I did have some success, it was messy and mentally a bit of a set back. I am going to have to find a better way to make clean up easier.

Has anyone else that does the enema have a problem with leaking fluid and not being able to hold it in?

Oh well,,,tomorrow is a new day...and a new enema!

[Peloton]

"I was barely able to get half a bottle in when it decided to leak out and I had to do a mad, wet dash to the toilet, luckily 8 feet away. I did this 3 times and while I did have some success, it was messy and mentally a bit of a set back. I am going to have to find a better way to make clean up easier."

I've never had that exact experience. The only thing I can think of is that there was already stool in the lower part of your colon when you began administering the enema, which made the process more difficult. The little water that you got in there was enough to start the process.

On rare occasions, I have gone 48 hours without doing an enema. While I didn't have any accidents, administering the enema was more difficult. I could definitely sense the poop near the end of my GI tract. I don't always do the enemas 24 hours apart (I sleep in on Saturdays), but I try to maintain as normal of a schedule as possible. When I travel, I recognize the routine will be slightly off, so the next enema after a travel day will be a little more messy.

As for leaking, again, it's not uncommon for water to leak after I have administered the enema and while I am waiting for the evacuation. Sometimes it's a few drops. Other times it's noticeably more than a few drops. I usually stand over the towel and the leaking goes on that.

My tumor was really low (4 cm above the verge) and while my sphincters are in tact, they're definitely not as strong. I attribute the leaking to weak sphincters (which is also why I had trouble post reversal before incorporating the daily enema).

Also, for some reason, administering the enema is easier on some days than others. Like I said in a post above, being able to effectively and efficiently administer an enema takes practice (I know, it sounds crazy). Even now, a year later, there are days when I feel that I didn't do it correctly. But I've learned to trust myself given that I've gone a year without having had a single accident.

[tammylayne]

Thanks Peloton for the reply...it has made me feel a little better.

I do agree with what you said. I had done the enema Sunday am around 10:30, then not until 7:30 last night, so much more than 24 hours apart. I had gone once prior to the enema, and so I thought rather than enduring 15 trips to the loo, I would do the enema and get it over with. Now this am, I am going at work again...not alot...but enough to know that I did not get a good evacuation last evening. I really want to get a set time arranged for this, and I know that many of you find the am great...I am not an am person. Takes everything in me to get out of bed 45 minutes before I leave for work...getting up an extra 45 - 60 minutes earlier while it sounds very doable to many of you, is more daunting to me than doing the actual enema if I do it in the evenings, I think I will be less stressed, at least for now. Once I get good at it (how sad is that??? lol) I will think about making the move to mornings.

I am going to shake off last nights episode, and go at it with a positive attitude again tonight.

Ahhhhh...my life is so exciting!!

[Guest]

this is a wonderful thread, I was the only one on csn who openly admitted to being an enema addict, and claiming many benefits. of course it fixes clustering, alas i got into to enemas after my reversal, they would have saved alot of pain.

I just discovered using organic coconut oil as the lubricant, i am going for natural alternatives where possible.

I use the coconut oil for many things a teaspoon for my evening ketogenic snack.

a teaspoon for oil pulling which you do by swishing the oil around your mouth to get the mouth clean and hopefully the antibacterial feature of coconut oil to work.

for the enema, i normally use a couple of strong long black coffee organic with filtered water if posssible and 2 cups filtered water making 900 ml.

but recently I have used wheatgrass, sometimes milkthistle, my favvourite and a world first is GCMAF probiotic yogurt. Now this i think has real potential.

Even my wonderfully alternative doctors were gob smacked at this latest idea, yes i have done many gcmaf enemas and i am officially in day one of remission or ned or whatever you want to call it.

I think its good to use your enema time creatively, yes you can do yoga, or qigong or meditate. but i generally hang around the bathroom. sometimes i run a nice hot bath and soak and meditate or listen to biochemistry lectures in the bath.

I try and have a few days a week where i do no enemas, to make sure my bowel muscles are strong. I also dont have enema stress, where i dont get fussed if i dont do one.

its possible to also do a light workout whle doing your enema, ie 60 pushups 3 x 20, then 60 squats 3 x 20 and then some quigong between. Guaranteed to get something good happening.

Watching for iron depletion, is important. I also besides doing a gcmaf enema, do a little probiotic retention enema to repopulate the good bugs.

They say the colon is the 8th organ, i think it is. Its got more neurons then the spinal cord. think about that, so its intimately linked to our brain. yes our butt is directly linked to our brain. so good gut health, equals good colon health. Enemas are an important part.

they have a specialised use for ketogenic diet, ie stop you being constipated. they also help if you are doing active detox therapy ie heavy metal detox etc.
when i am doing these detoxes, i always try and up the number of enemas in a day and have some bentonite clay.

the last little tip is i get a one litre coffee flask for free and breakfast in the hotel. it sits on the bathroom counter keeping the coffee hot all day. so i get my breaky, afternoon nap and evening enema done effortlessly. no kitchen, no cooking. ok taking a few short cuts but thats life on the international healing journey.

finally if your in room 301 in the shangrila hotel in singapore, look ontop of the bathroom cabinet, i left my enema kit their. i wonder what the cleaners or the next guests thoughts were about my little surprise.

hugs,
pete

[rickker20]

None of you notice a significant difference between the saline and plain old warm water?

Beth -

I can only speak from my experience here, but do not use the saline. I started off using the saline that comes in the Fleet bottles and it made things worse. It irritated my fried colon, caused contractions that would last for hours, and watery stool would leak out. I was miserable and actually went back to wearing Depends to work (something I had not done for 8 months or so). I did this for about a week, thinking my colon just needed time to adjust. It never got better and I was about to abandon enemas until my surgeon suggested using just plain old tap water. I noticed the results immediately. I got cleaned out without irritation.

It simply never occurred to me that using tap water enema could induce a large bowel movement. (Not that I spent much time thinking about enemas before getting rectal cancer )

Yes use only warm water avoid the Saline. I do my in the morning when I'm taking a shower. I do my enema and clean myself out and then take a nice hot shower. This is the only way that I found that keeps everything clean.

[tammylayne]

Quick update - came home from work yesterday and started to have BMs, so i decided to do my enema to speed things along so I wasn't in the washroom for 3 hours. I seem to only be able to do 1 fleet bottle at a time, then empty, repeat, About 15 minutes after the last bottle (I did 3) I go one last time, Felt the urge for about another hour, but didn't go. All in all, about 30 - 40 minutes for the process. Wish I could take more water and go more, but I think I will get there. I am hoping to add an extra bottle every other day to get up to 5/6.

I don't feel this is something you can do once or twice and base your success on that. I truly believe this will take a couple of weeks to get the hang of it. Hopefully I will be washroom free all day today...we shall see.

My goal is to have a decent routine in 2 weeks, as my husband and I are taking a mini trip to Jamaica, and the stress of no control while travelling can be overwhemling for me.

Will keep checking in with updates, but I would love anyone that has decided to give this a try to update too. Maybe we can get better together

[Peloton]

I don't feel this is something you can do once or twice and base your success on that. I truly believe this will take a couple of weeks to get the hang of it. Hopefully I will be washroom free all day today...we shall see.

Tammy -

Glad you had a little better success yesterday. There's nothing wrong with a virtual high five after an effective enema.

Your quote summed up my experience. I'm not sure if I mentioned in my prior posts that I needed 6-8 weeks before I felt completely comfortable with my routine. It requires trial and error and, most important, patience. You get one chance a day to get it right. If it doesn't go well, you have to wait until the next day to try again.

But as you do it more, you'll learn what works and (at least in my case) the process will start to improve quickly. Even now, though, I still try to think of ways to tweak my routine to make it more efficient.

[ams5796]

Okay, I'll admit that you guys might be onto something. I didn't want to think that doing daily enemas was the only way that I could achieve success in the battle with my bowels. But, I did an enema (four fleet bottles filled with warm tap water) on my way to a college admissions event with my son on Sunday. It was a great day, enjoyed the event, came home had a great meal with my family, and got to watch Mad Men with NO interruptions. I still wasn't sold on the "daily" part of it. I didn't "go" at all Monday. Tuesday, I started clustering late at night and continued into the wee hours of the morning, but did not finish. So, this morning when the clustering started again, I took the four fleet bottles out and went at it. I'm having a great day. This just may be the solution. Although I have to say I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it. I'm still wondering if I could ever achieve normal bowel function through diet etc. I guess I'll see if I get used to it.

The information in this thread is great!




Ann

[tammylayne]

When I first had my ileosotmy, I remember feeling like it was wrong. I wasn't meant to poop in a bag!!!! It felt unnatural. As time went on, and not a long time I might add. I "outgrew" that thinking. I never loved having an ostomy, I don't think anyone does, but "Stella" and I came to an understanding and we got along ok for 15 months.

I don't think anyone that has never had CRC "loves" to have BM's, even though they are doing them the old fashioned way...so I have adopted this thinking to the enema. I don't have to like it...I didn't like the other ways either. I do need to just accept it as a fact of life, and one that could give me a better quality of life then the other 2 options. So...if I am going to "go" (which of course I am!!!) then why not do it in such a way that is easiest for me??? I was thinking about this last night as I lay on the bathroom floor...this really is no worse than a clustering event, except that I am telling my bowels when they get to let loose, they no longer tell me!! Same result, but better quality of life for me. Sure I need to fine tune it, but I tried fine tuning the other way for 13 months since my reversal. I have improved my life in 6 days to the point that I am maybe not exaactly where I want to be...but I am headed in the right direction.

Good luck Ann...maybe this is right for you...maybe not, but please give yourself a pat on the back for trying!!!!

[Peloton]

This just may be the solution. Although I have to say I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it.

This is a very big part of the process and it took me a while to fully wrap my head around it. But I'm a half-glass-full type of guy. I don't say to myself each morning "darn, I have to do a messy enema or else there's a good chance I'll be running to the bathroom throughout the day."

Rather, I do say "If I just suck it up, do what I have to do, spend an hour in the bathroom, and get through the enema, I can live my life in essentially the same manner as I did before my stage 3c rectal cancer diagnosis." Perhaps it sounds silly, but viewing it from the positive as opposed to the negative really helped. It quickly turned into a sense of liberation.

Also, I have co-worker, who is also a close friend, who's husband is a quadriplegic. She has shared some details of their morning routine, and suffice it to say, it's take more time an energy than doing an enema.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm certainly not trying to trivialize the effects of rectal cancer treatments. Trust me, I've been down that road. But I've found that keeping things in perspective has helped me come to terms with my situation.

I still wasn't sold on the "daily" part of it.

I'm sure that there are people who go a few days between enemas. I've gone two days on rare occasions. But I like doing it daily for the piece of mind. Also, when I skipped a day, the next enema was definitely messier. So, in the end, staying on top of the routine by doing it daily seems to be the most efficient. Of course, there is no right or wrong way to implement the routine, so if your system works for you, that's great.

Continuing with the "this probably sounds silly" theme, I try to make the best of each morning when I am doing the enema. I seriously study jazz music. So I put on same great tunes (Chet Baker, Stan Getz, Joe Pass, Grant Green, etc). I also make "enema copies" of my sheet music (I've never been a fan of taking reading material in and out of the bathroom). After I administer the enema and clean the area, and while I'm sitting on the potty waiting the for fireworks to come in waves, I use the time - 20 minutes or so - to study music.

Any way to make the process less of a drag is a good thing.

[Jachut]

My motto is "bag or bottle". It really helps to remember, there never was going to be any normal for us. We haven't failed, nobody gets back to a solid once a day bowel movement.

Nonetheless there's two things I find hard to accept - I can't do this in public. There's no nipping into the ladies at work, no staying in people's houses, sharing motel rooms etc. we have friends with whom we've had awesome beach holidays at their house, but one bathroom, twelve people? Nope. And I still suffer regularly with really irritable guts. I ate wheat a few days go, it made me cluster and have strong urges and I did three enemas in one day - ive had three days of feeling like I've got a red hot poker up my butt. You have to e carful, you can overdo it and make yourself quite unwell.