Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

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Rock_Robster
Posts: 1027
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2018 5:27 am
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby Rock_Robster » Sun Aug 11, 2019 11:27 pm

Hi TinaFish, no worries - yes I don’t know a lot about the drug your onc mentioned but it does appear different. Buscopan should be a lot more mild, but as a rule I’d always suggesting telling your onc anything you’re taking as well for safety’s sake.

Good luck,
Rob
41M Australia
2018 Dx RC
G2 EMVI LVI, 4 liver mets
pT3N1aM1a Stage IVa MSS NRAS G13R
CEA 14>2>32>16>19>30>140>70
11/18 FOLFOX
3/19 Liver resection
5/19 Pelvic IMRT
7/19 ULAR
8/19 Liver met
8/19 FOLFOX, FOLFOXIRI, FOLFIRI
12/19 Liver resection
NED 2 years
11/21 Liver met, PALN, lung nodules
3/22 PVE, lymphadenectomy, liver SBRT
10/22 PALN SBRT
11/22 Liver mets, peri nodule. Xeloda+Bev
4/23 XELIRI+Bev
9/23 ATRIUM trial
12/23 Modified FOLFIRI+Bev
3/24 VAXINIA (CF33 + hNIS) trial

boxhill
Posts: 789
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:40 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby boxhill » Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:03 am

TinaFish, you certainly are having more of a reaction than I did. I have an ongoing issue with diarrhea because of metformin, and there is no doubt it was worse when I was on chemo, but not nearly as bad as yours, and I though *I* was the Queen of loose stools. :D And I had no cramping.

So no, I don't think you are being a big baby.

If you were having a kind of cleaning out every morning, after which things calmed down, that would be one thing. And often has to do with drinking coffee. But it sounds as if you are going 24/7.

I'd try taking the immodium as instructed, except ignoring the daily limits. Take two after a loose stool. If you have another loose stool soon after, take another. And so on. See if you can achieve some periods of bowel peace. With the caveat that the colon removes liquid, and it is to be expected that when you have less of it, stools will be looser. But you can tell the difference between that and diarrhea.

I would also pay attention to what you are eating. I found that if I ate a salad the lettuce would appear in tiny recognizable pieces within 2 hours. Same thing with blueberries, for example. Beans, OMG. You may need to go easy on fiber for a while.

I would be inclined to avoid dosing myself with a bunch of different things at once. You don't want to find yourself rebounding between constipation and diarrhea.

Good luck.
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:36 am

boxhill wrote:TinaFish, you certainly are having more of a reaction than I did. I have an ongoing issue with diarrhea because of metformin, and there is no doubt it was worse when I was on chemo, but not nearly as bad as yours, and I though *I* was the Queen of loose stools. :D And I had no cramping.

So no, I don't think you are being a big baby.

If you were having a kind of cleaning out every morning, after which things calmed down, that would be one thing. And often has to do with drinking coffee. But it sounds as if you are going 24/7.

I'd try taking the immodium as instructed, except ignoring the daily limits. Take two after a loose stool. If you have another loose stool soon after, take another. And so on. See if you can achieve some periods of bowel peace. With the caveat that the colon removes liquid, and it is to be expected that when you have less of it, stools will be looser. But you can tell the difference between that and diarrhea.

I would also pay attention to what you are eating. I found that if I ate a salad the lettuce would appear in tiny recognizable pieces within 2 hours. Same thing with blueberries, for example. Beans, OMG. You may need to go easy on fiber for a while.

I would be inclined to avoid dosing myself with a bunch of different things at once. You don't want to find yourself rebounding between constipation and diarrhea.

Good luck.


I'm on Metformin too. I didn't know it caused diarrhea! Although the past few days, I've only been taking my Xeloda and no other pills/supplements. Well, I tried to take additional pills this morning, and I threw them up. It's been very rough. I ate blueberries yesterday too. I thought that was a good choice! What do I know??

After eating a banana for breakfast today, I decided I didn't want to eat any more food today. Just clear liquids. Give my whole digestive system a break. And now, two hours after taking my Xeloda pills, there's a hard area when I press nearby my belly button. And I feel like there's no more poop left in my body, but I still have the urge to sit on the toilet and push. UGH I HARE THIS!!
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:37 am

boxhill wrote:TinaFish, you certainly are having more of a reaction than I did. I have an ongoing issue with diarrhea because of metformin, and there is no doubt it was worse when I was on chemo, but not nearly as bad as yours, and I though *I* was the Queen of loose stools. :D And I had no cramping.

So no, I don't think you are being a big baby.

If you were having a kind of cleaning out every morning, after which things calmed down, that would be one thing. And often has to do with drinking coffee. But it sounds as if you are going 24/7.

I'd try taking the immodium as instructed, except ignoring the daily limits. Take two after a loose stool. If you have another loose stool soon after, take another. And so on. See if you can achieve some periods of bowel peace. With the caveat that the colon removes liquid, and it is to be expected that when you have less of it, stools will be looser. But you can tell the difference between that and diarrhea.

I would also pay attention to what you are eating. I found that if I ate a salad the lettuce would appear in tiny recognizable pieces within 2 hours. Same thing with blueberries, for example. Beans, OMG. You may need to go easy on fiber for a while.

I would be inclined to avoid dosing myself with a bunch of different things at once. You don't want to find yourself rebounding between constipation and diarrhea.

Good luck.


I'm on Metformin too. I didn't know it caused diarrhea! Although the past few days, I've only been taking my Xeloda and no other pills/supplements. Well, I tried to take additional pills this morning, and I threw them up. It's been very rough. I ate blueberries yesterday too. I thought that was a good choice! What do I know??

After eating a banana for breakfast today, I decided I didn't want to eat any more food today. Just clear liquids. Give my whole digestive system a break. And now, two hours after taking my Xeloda pills, there's a hard area when I press nearby my belly button. And I feel like there's no more poop left in my body, but I still have the urge to sit on the toilet and push. UGH I HARE THIS!!
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

Pyro
Posts: 305
Joined: Mon Oct 12, 2015 7:40 pm
Location: Tucson, AZ

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby Pyro » Tue Aug 13, 2019 3:35 am

TinaFish wrote:Still dealing with this. Yesterday and today consisted of being on the toilet every 30 minutes so that a small amount of poop/diarrhea could come out. The stomach cramps are horrible and today I finally got the courage to take some Imodium and some Pepto pills. I don't know if I can stop the cramping, but it would be nice to not be on the toilet so often. By some miracle, I slept through the night last night instead of being kept awake by this horrible condition.

Does anyone else have advice? Is this a common reaction to chemo??


I have something similar, I think it’s the premeds for the chemo, it’s always worse a couple days after infusions. I usually feel better after a good bowel movement, miralax and senna are my go to, magnesium citrate if it’s been 3 days with no movement.
Aug 2015- Stage 4 CC with liver Mets(38/m)
Sep 2015- Avastin/Folfox/Iron
Dec 2015-Not liver surgery candidate
Jan 2016- Erbitux/Folfiri, 2nd opinion at MDA in TX
Feb 2016 -MDA liver surgery
Mar 2016 -30% of left lobe rem, PVE
May 2016 - 70% of liver rem
Jun 2016-Rad
Jan 2017-perm colost @MDA
Jul 2017-Erb/FOLFURI
Nov 2017 -Lung & Liver ablations@MDA
Jan 2018 -Xeloda & Avastin mx
Jul 2018-Avast/FOLFURI
Sep 2018-Rad
Mar 2019 - Keytruda fail
Jun 2019 - FOLFURI
Aug 2019 - No more, quality time!

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Tue Aug 13, 2019 8:36 am

Pyro wrote:
TinaFish wrote:Still dealing with this. Yesterday and today consisted of being on the toilet every 30 minutes so that a small amount of poop/diarrhea could come out. The stomach cramps are horrible and today I finally got the courage to take some Imodium and some Pepto pills. I don't know if I can stop the cramping, but it would be nice to not be on the toilet so often. By some miracle, I slept through the night last night instead of being kept awake by this horrible condition.

Does anyone else have advice? Is this a common reaction to chemo??


I have something similar, I think it’s the premeds for the chemo, it’s always worse a couple days after infusions. I usually feel better after a good bowel movement, miralax and senna are my go to, magnesium citrate if it’s been 3 days with no movement.


So the chemo constipates you. I know that chemo can cause either diarrhea or constipstion, but can it cause both? At the same time? Honestly, I think that's the key to my struggle: answering the question - do I have diarrhea, or constipation, or both at the same time? I know I have diarrhea because I see it on the toilet paper every time I wipe. But the bloating and cramping... aren't those symptoms of constipation? And although it hasn't been difficult to push the poop out, I regularly (but only once in the past 6 days, since chemo) notice "normal" poop (but on the small side) in the toilet. And then when I wipe, there's diarrhea.

So it sounds like I have diarrhea and constipation at the same time, right? FFS, what kind of medication can you take in a situation like that? Maybe you don't? Maybe you just choose whichever symptoms are more difficult to deal with, and take meds for those? Maybe you just fast for a day or two and that way, you don't have to deal with any of it?
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby NHMike » Tue Aug 13, 2019 9:43 am

I had both during Chemo and Radiation and I assume that one caused one and the other caused the other.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

boxhill
Posts: 789
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:40 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby boxhill » Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:56 pm

If you are having frequent loose stools where you have to dash to the toilet and it just pours out, you definitely have diarrhea and may need immodimum.

If you feel bloated and gassy and what comes out is more or less normal, or harder, but what you see on the paper is loosish or mucousy, then you may be constipated. IMHO, what appears on the paper is unimportant compared to what appears in the bowl. I would cut out the immodium, take a GeriKot (natural senna laxative same as Sennocot) and a Ducosate sodium (same as Golace) stool softener, drink a lot of water, and wait.

Meanwhile, keep your diet on the bland side for a few days so that--one hopes--you can get things kind of evened out. If you get constipated, you are likely to suffer some degree of what they call rebound diarrhea.

A lot of people have constipation right after an infusion because the premeds tend to cause it. Some people find that taking the GeriKot and Ducosate that night, and maybe the next night, helps ward it off. You should be drinking a lot of fluid whole on the pump anyway.
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Tue Aug 13, 2019 4:27 pm

boxhill wrote:If you are having frequent loose stools where you have to dash to the toilet and it just pours out, you definitely have diarrhea and may need immodimum.

If you feel bloated and gassy and what comes out is more or less normal, or harder, but what you see on the paper is loosish or mucousy, then you may be constipated. IMHO, what appears on the paper is unimportant compared to what appears in the bowl. I would cut out the immodium, take a GeriKot (natural senna laxative same as Sennocot) and a Ducosate sodium (same as Golace) stool softener, drink a lot of water, and wait.

Meanwhile, keep your diet on the bland side for a few days so that--one hopes--you can get things kind of evened out. If you get constipated, you are likely to suffer some degree of what they call rebound diarrhea.

A lot of people have constipation right after an infusion because the premeds tend to cause it. Some people find that taking the GeriKot and Ducosate that night, and maybe the next night, helps ward it off. You should be drinking a lot of fluid whole on the pump anyway.


I was definitely having "frequent loose stools" after my 2nd round of chemo. The diarrhea had a mind of its own. I was literally changing my underpants every 15 minutes. So this last round of chemo (3rd round), I tried to prevent all of that, proactively. I guess too much Bentyl and Lomotil caused constipation, even though there was still diarrhea on the toilet paper when I wiped.

Assuming that my upcoming (4th) round of chemo will give me bad diarrhea again, I think I'll just fast instead of taking Bentyl and Lomotil. Or maybe take those meds, but only after the diarrhea happens.

I just ate for the first time since yesterday morning. I felt like an egg/bacon/cheese burrito would taste great... it tasted like cardboard. I forced it down, for the calories. I've been nauseous since yesterday too. I took two 4mg Zofran (one in the morning and one now) and it doesn't seem to have made any difference. I honestly feel like I can't deal with all of these side effects. Like, the chemo is so terrible, maybe I'm not physically or mentally strong enough to tolerate it. Having a super depressed day today...
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

User avatar
Jacques
Posts: 678
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 10:38 am
Location: Occitanie

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby Jacques » Wed Aug 14, 2019 5:23 am

boxhill wrote:... drink a lot of water, and wait.
... You should be drinking a lot of fluid ...

If you are losing a lot of fluid by diarrhea, then it is very, very important to drink a lot of fluids in order to maintain proper electrolyte balance. You may even need to supplement drinking water with oral rehydration salts in order to replenish the lost electrolytes.

If your electrolytes become very unbalanced it can then lead to kidney problems, like painful kidney stones or bladder stones.

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Wed Aug 14, 2019 9:50 am

Jacques wrote:
boxhill wrote:... drink a lot of water, and wait.
... You should be drinking a lot of fluid ...

If you are losing a lot of fluid by diarrhea, then it is very, very important to drink a lot of fluids in order to maintain proper electrolyte balance. You may even need to supplement drinking water with oral rehydration salts in order to replenish the lost electrolytes.

If your electrolytes become very unbalanced it can then lead to kidney problems, like painful kidney stones or bladder stones.


Yes, the grocery store had a special on Gatorade. Every day, I drink one 32oz bottle of Gatorade, then fill it with water once it's empty, then drink the water. How weird is it that all my life, I have never had to drink that much? My best guess is that on a typical day, I drank maybe 16 oz. That's all! And it wasn't water that I was drinking; it was Pepsi! Lol!
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

NHMike
Posts: 2555
Joined: Fri Jul 21, 2017 3:43 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby NHMike » Wed Aug 14, 2019 9:56 am

TinaFish wrote:
Jacques wrote:
boxhill wrote:... drink a lot of water, and wait.
... You should be drinking a lot of fluid ...

If you are losing a lot of fluid by diarrhea, then it is very, very important to drink a lot of fluids in order to maintain proper electrolyte balance. You may even need to supplement drinking water with oral rehydration salts in order to replenish the lost electrolytes.

If your electrolytes become very unbalanced it can then lead to kidney problems, like painful kidney stones or bladder stones.


Yes, the grocery store had a special on Gatorade. Every day, I drink one 32oz bottle of Gatorade, then fill it with water once it's empty, then drink the water. How weird is it that all my life, I have never had to drink that much? My best guess is that on a typical day, I drank maybe 16 oz. That's all! And it wasn't water that I was drinking; it was Pepsi! Lol!


I use Nuun tablets - these are electrolyte tablets that you dissolve in water. The downside of Gatorade (outside of the calorie-free versions) is the sugars and calories.
6/17: ER rectal bleeding; Colonoscopy
7/17: 3B rectal. T3N1bM0. 5.2 4.5 4.3 cm. Lymphs: 6 x 4 mm, 8 x 6, 5 x 5
7/17-9/17: Xeloda radiation
7/5: CEA 2.7; 8/16: 1.9; 11/30: 0.6; 12/20 1.4; 1/10 1.8; 1/31 2.2; 2/28 2.6; 4/10 2.8; 5/1 2.8; 5/29 3.2; 7/13 4.5; 8/9 2.8, 2/12 1.2
MSS, KRAS G12D
10/17: 2.7 2.2 1.6 cm (-90%). Lymphs: 3 x 3 mm (-62.5%), 4 x 3 (-75%), 5 x 3 (-40%). 5.1 CM from AV
10/17: LAR, Temp Ileostomy, Path Complete Response
CapeOx (8) 12/17-6/18
7/18: Reversal, Port Removal
2/19: Clean CT

TinaFish
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:11 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby TinaFish » Wed Aug 14, 2019 10:09 am

NHMike wrote:
TinaFish wrote:
Jacques wrote:If you are losing a lot of fluid by diarrhea, then it is very, very important to drink a lot of fluids in order to maintain proper electrolyte balance. You may even need to supplement drinking water with oral rehydration salts in order to replenish the lost electrolytes.

If your electrolytes become very unbalanced it can then lead to kidney problems, like painful kidney stones or bladder stones.


Yes, the grocery store had a special on Gatorade. Every day, I drink one 32oz bottle of Gatorade, then fill it with water once it's empty, then drink the water. How weird is it that all my life, I have never had to drink that much? My best guess is that on a typical day, I drank maybe 16 oz. That's all! And it wasn't water that I was drinking; it was Pepsi! Lol!


I use Nuun tablets - these are electrolyte tablets that you dissolve in water. The downside of Gatorade (outside of the calorie-free versions) is the sugars and calories.


Yep, after losing 15 lbs in the past couple months, I got scared. I figured I could use the calories. Of course we all know sugar is bad, my oncologist said it doesn't matter what you eat when it comes to cancer. Of course we've all heard "sugar feeds cancer" and a lot of the cancer websites say that's not really true; that everything turns into sugar in the long run (except protein). IDK, it's just so difficult for me to figure out any kind of diet plan right now, when I struggle just to force myself to eat every day. Eating used to be such a joy for me. Nowadays, I struggle to think of something to eat that doesn't turn me off. And after I do eat it, I worry how it will effect my digestive system. If I can get a good 1500 calories a day into myself from any kind of sustenance, then I'm lucky.
F 45, single mother to son, 7 and daughter, 3
DX: stage 4 Rectal Cancer June 2019
Tumor Location: ? cm above anal verge
Tumor type: Adenocarcinoma
Tumor size: 5 cm
Tumor grade: ?
TNM code: ?
Stage : Stage IV-B
# of cancerous lymph nodes: ?
Mets: Numerous mets to liver, lungs
CEA: 22 in July; 11 as of August 15, 7 as of Sept 20
MSI status: MSS
KRAS/BRAF status: KRAS mutation
surgery: TBD
Ostomy surgery: TBD
Radiation therapy: TBD
Chemotherapy : CAPEOX+Avastin, 6 cycles, with CT scans after 3rd and 6th cycle.

boxhill
Posts: 789
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 11:40 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby boxhill » Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:38 pm

I don't know what you are taking metformin for, but if you could reduce your dose that might help reduce diarrhea. Also, if you split your dose between morning and evening with the larger dose in the evening it might help.

Meantime, I'm not familiar with the anti-diarrhea drugs you are taking, but with immodium it is clear that you don't take the opening dose until you have had one loose stool, then you take one more if you have another loose stool, and so forth.
F, 64 at DX CRC Stage IV
3/17/18 blockage, r hemi
11 of 25 LN,5 mesentery nodes
5mm liver met
pT3 pN2b pM1
BRAF wild, KRAS G12D
dMMR, MSI-H
5/18 FOLFOX
7/18 and 11/18 CT NED
12/18 MRI 5mm liver mass, 2 LNs in porta hepatis
12/31/18 Keytruda
6/19 Multiphasic CT LNs normal, Liver stable
6/28/19 Pause Key, predisone for joint pain
7/31/19 Restart Key
9/19 CT stable
Pain: all fails but Celebrex
12/23/19 CT stable
5/20 MRI stable/NED
6/20 Stop Key
All MRIs NED

User avatar
ginabeewell
Posts: 565
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:30 am

Re: Diarrhea and bloating and gas, oh my!

Postby ginabeewell » Thu Aug 15, 2019 9:22 pm

TinaFish wrote:
Yep, after losing 15 lbs in the past couple months, I got scared. I figured I could use the calories. Of course we all know sugar is bad, my oncologist said it doesn't matter what you eat when it comes to cancer. Of course we've all heard "sugar feeds cancer" and a lot of the cancer websites say that's not really true; that everything turns into sugar in the long run (except protein). IDK, it's just so difficult for me to figure out any kind of diet plan right now, when I struggle just to force myself to eat every day. Eating used to be such a joy for me. Nowadays, I struggle to think of something to eat that doesn't turn me off. And after I do eat it, I worry how it will effect my digestive system. If I can get a good 1500 calories a day into myself from any kind of sustenance, then I'm lucky.


Have you tried medical marijuana yet? I’ve had good luck with mints that have high THC content. One mint won’t make me high (at all) and won’t give me the munchies, but will usually make the prospect of eating tolerable to somewhat appealing, depending on the day. Last night I came home not hungry, had one, and 90 minutes later was eating a huge amount of Asian food. It’s not quite always that effective, but I have come to find that it reliably gets me to eat more than I otherwise would.

I’ve also read that people have luck with Rick Simpson oil slowing down their system (and hence diarrhea). That’s much stronger and it does make me high, so if I take it, I do so right before bed. It does give good sleep too!
49 YO mom of twins (11) lucky stepmom of 16/19 year olds
9/17/18 DX stage 4 CRC w inoperable liver mets CEA 931
Currently NED!

Join me on a lookback of my journey via my Strive for Five on Substack here:
https://ginajacobson.substack.com

All treatment details here:
https://www.weareallmadeofstars.net/col ... nt-journey

My favorite posts here:
https://weareallmadeofstars.net/favorite-posts


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