Carafate vs. the ring of fire

[ALW]

I want to share my story in hopes that it might help others dealing with the same issue. By day 15 of chemoradiotherapy the ring of fire had me in unimaginable agony (well most of you can probably imagine, but I had no idea what I was in for at the time). I tried everything the doctors were willing to give me, with no luck. Proctofoam, lidocaine, Vicodin. Nothing helped, not even a little bit. I was desperate for relief and quite honestly, I didn't know how I was going to be able to get through the rest of treatment.

Then my surgeon came across a trial that had successfully used Carafate for proctitis. It's an oral drug that is used for stomach ulcers, but she told me to use it as an enema. It was a bit weird because it's hot pink and smells like bubblegum however, within minutes the pain was cut in half and within an hour it was totally gone. A few hours later I had a BM, 100% pain free. For me, the bubblegum enema is giving me the ability to get to the end of radiation.

I really encourage others that are dealing with the ring of fire to talk to their doctors about Carafate!

[CRguy]

THAT is great news !!!

sucralfate (Carafate) actually forms a kind of gel "bandage" over an open ulcerated patch of mucosa .. hence the seal and heal effect for upper GIT ulcers. The enema use is a fantastic variation which western medicine often neglects. In some integrative vet practices ("holistic") we have used herbal enemas to help detoxify liver disease patients who are unable to tolerate the meds orally.

For me, the bubblegum enema is giving me the ability to get to the end of radiation.

... NOW you have to work on not blowing those bubbles so much ....

Best wishes
CR

[Sams wife]

Well. That IS great. I wish we would have heard of it 6 months ago. I sure would have asked about it! I may even go tell the radiation bldg about it.

[SugarBubbie]

wonder if I could use it for radiation proctitis? My doc at MD Anderson has said I'm NED for the anal cancer, but no help for the awful side effect of the radiation treatment. I know it saved my life, butt it sure is painful still. And that's been since 2008