The Colon Club

Hey everyone,

I know diarrhoea have been discussed to great lengths here but I thought I’d ask again because my husband’s pattern seem very strange. The diarrhoea only comes at night, severe and it’s interrupting his sleep till the point they have to now temporarily stop oral chemo (capecitabine) so that his bowels can recover.

He’s tried taking Imodium, Buscopan and Mebeverine. It helps with pain and reduced frequency but when night falls, it doesn’t work.

Our nurse told us not to take any probiotics when we suggested to to her. Our oncologist said it doesn’t help cause chemo is going to kill it anyway.

Any other tips? Thanks so much!

Siti

If Immodium doesn't fix it, then it is really tough indeed.

There have been nights with LARS where I woke up every two hours to go to the bathroom (I set an alarm on a phone or tablet to wake myself up). Sometimes it's a lot more frequent than that (I wake up without an alarm). Is this only after the infusion?

I always recommend potatoes or sweet potatoes as those soak up a lot of water in the intestines. That may help.

How about only eating in the morning? Would that make things better at night?

Sorry he has to go through this. The treatment is indeed rough.

NHMike wrote: How about only eating in the morning? Would that make things better at night?

That’s a good idea. Maybe we should stop solids at night and just have clear broth. I’ll try that for him tonight. He had soup and sweet potato last night and was up all night with bad diarrhoea. It really doesn’t matter what he eats, the trigger is at night.

Strangely during the infusion week — he seems to have the best stool then (maybe cause Oxi suppose to cause constipation?)

I don't have any advice, just wanted to tell you I've been thinking about you and sending you lots of positive thoughts for a continued great response!

Jesper had some diarrhea recently but he's not on chemo at the moment. He takes probiotics and I think it's getting better. But I guess probiotics don't help when you're on chemo.

I hope the clear broth idea works! Sounds smart.

Hugs!

AlexandraZ wrote:I don't have any advice, just wanted to tell you I've been thinking about you and sending you lots of positive thoughts for a continued great response!

Jesper had some diarrhea recently but he's not on chemo at the moment. He takes probiotics and I think it's getting better. But I guess probiotics don't help when you're on chemo.

I hope the clear broth idea works! Sounds smart.

Hugs!

Thanks Alexandra! Really appreciate your support and likewise, I think about you and Jesper almost every day!

I have been doing chia seed “porridge’s” and that helps me combat the bad diarrhea. I used to avoid chai seeds before because it would cause constipation then a few weeks ago diarrhea was so bad it occurred to me to try the chia seeds and it has been helping...

Vana3 wrote:I have been doing chia seed “porridge’s” and that helps me combat the bad diarrhea. I used to avoid chai seeds before because it would cause constipation then a few weeks ago diarrhea was so bad it occurred to me to try the chia seeds and it has been helping...

I just read your signature, I am so sorry you’re going through this. I really do hope we’ll find a cure soon!

Thanks for the tip on chia seeds, I never heard of that remedy before. Will certainly give it a go

Siti wrote:

Vana3 wrote:I have been doing chia seed “porridge’s” and that helps me combat the bad diarrhea. I used to avoid chai seeds before because it would cause constipation then a few weeks ago diarrhea was so bad it occurred to me to try the chia seeds and it has been helping...

I just read your signature, I am so sorry you’re going through this. I really do hope we’ll find a cure soon!

Thanks for the tip on chia seeds, I never heard of that remedy before. Will certainly give it a go

Chia is great! The seeds actually absorb water and become like a gel as they move through your digestive system, helping regulate stool formation and potentially relieve both diarrhea and constipation. They’re also super calorie-dense too, so handy if you have trouble retaining/gaining weight. Just ease into them a bit as you don’t want to go too hard too fast... https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-chia ... on-1944829

Rock_Robster wrote:

Siti wrote:

Vana3 wrote:I have been doing chia seed “porridge’s” and that helps me combat the bad diarrhea. I used to avoid chai seeds before because it would cause constipation then a few weeks ago diarrhea was so bad it occurred to me to try the chia seeds and it has been helping...

I just read your signature, I am so sorry you’re going through this. I really do hope we’ll find a cure soon!

Thanks for the tip on chia seeds, I never heard of that remedy before. Will certainly give it a go

Chia is great! The seeds actually absorb water and become like a gel as they move through your digestive system, helping regulate stool formation and potentially relieve both diarrhea and constipation. They’re also super calorie-dense too, so handy if you have trouble retaining/gaining weight. Just ease into them a bit as you don’t want to go too hard too fast... https://www.verywellhealth.com/can-chia ... on-1944829

Thanks Rob ) I just made some chia seeds pudding. Let’s hope it’ll work, or at least help a little.

Something else that helps regulate stools is psyllium. You can buy a jar of plain psyllium husk and just have it in a glass of water.

Thank you Siti, I wish none of us were going thru this...

I am hoping that the chia helps for you guys!

boxhill wrote:Something else that helps regulate stools is psyllium. You can buy a jar of plain psyllium husk and just have it in a glass of water.

Thank you! I’ll try to buy some soon. Does it taste awful? My husband is already a fussy eater before diagnosis and he’s even worse now :/

Siti wrote:

boxhill wrote:Something else that helps regulate stools is psyllium. You can buy a jar of plain psyllium husk and just have it in a glass of water.

Thank you! I’ll try to buy some soon. Does it taste awful? My husband is already a fussy eater before diagnosis and he’s even worse now :/

Eh, they don’t taste like much by themselves to be honest, but not great and I wouldn’t eat them dry. I usually add a tablespoon or two to things that already taste interesting - smoothies, muesli, porridge, yoghurt etc., on a salad,
or add to the mix if you’re making things like muffins or slices.

edit: sorry this is in relation to chia seeds; I replied to the wrong post.

Rock_Robster wrote:edit: sorry this is in relation to chia seeds; I replied to the wrong post.

No worries Rob! Thanks for the tip

Is it getting any better Siti?