What is radiation/chemo treatment actually like?

[Ulendon]

Currently sitting on the bathroom floor.

I've had a mild stomach ache for the last week. I mentioned it to the nurses and my oncologist and they reccomended peppermint tea.

I woke up about an hour ago because of the discomfort and it increased a bunch. Really high abdominal pain along with back pain to match. Feeling super bloated like an over inflated basketball.

Got up and stretched and moves around to try and get comfortable. Took some chewable gas pills, burped some. Then vomited a few times. It seems to have eased the pressure some but not complete. Really strange. I've never vomited before without feeling nauseated before.

I go for treatment in the morning and will talk to the doctor about it. Currently worried about making it through the night. I'm alone. Well, I have the dogs, they are worried lol.

[NHMike]

This sounds like constipation or a blockage. I don't recall getting nauseous while on chemo-radiation but I have been from small-bowel obstructions (those were a result of surgery, not the chemo/radiation). I went to the ER after throwing up several times when I had it - it's kind of a judgement call on that. If you're going to see them in a few hours, then it might be easier to just ask them at the appointment.

[JJH]

This sounds like constipation or a blockage... --- small-bowel obstructions (those were a result of surgery, not the chemo/radiation). .

There have been some past discussions here on Small Bowel Obstructions (SBOs), but they were focused mainly on adhesions and other surgery after-effects, not on chemo/radiation.
https://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=59661&p=473940#p473940

[Ulendon]

This sounds like constipation or a blockage. I don't recall getting nauseous while on chemo-radiation but I have been from small-bowel obstructions (those were a result of surgery, not the chemo/radiation). I went to the ER after throwing up several times when I had it - it's kind of a judgement call on that. If you're going to see them in a few hours, then it might be easier to just ask them at the appointment.

I haven't had surgery yet. Also I'm still pooping fine. Getting ready to head in now and I'll talk to the doctor. I was up till about 4. Puked like 4 times. Finally the pressure eased a bit and I had some peppermint tea. The upper back pain along with the upper abdominal pain was pretty severe. Still feeling bloated this morning and a bit tender.

[NHMike]

I haven't had surgery yet. Also I'm still pooping fine. Getting ready to head in now and I'll talk to the doctor. I was up till about 4. Puked like 4 times. Finally the pressure eased a bit and I had some peppermint tea. The upper back pain along with the upper abdominal pain was pretty severe. Still feeling bloated this morning and a bit tender.

I've seen many that have had constipation and or diarrhea problems on chemo/radiation and have had both myself. The radiation nurse/doctor always recommended Miralax or Senekot. I often wanted to take Magnesium Citrate which they discouraged.

The GI tract has a lot of pieces. Small bowel to large and then to rectum. So you could have things working at lower levels but problems higher up. I hope that your doctors can help you out this morning.

[Ulendon]

Prilosec, gasex, Tylenol for the pain. Not particularly encouraging. I'm a bit afraid to eat now.

[NHMike]

Prilosec, gasex, Tylenol for the pain. Not particularly encouraging. I'm a bit afraid to eat now.

Yup. It always seemed like what they offered would provide much relief.

I did a lot of food fasting - less in means less out. It was for a known quantity of time - so set a goal and you know when it ends.

Hopefully you have a calendar and you are marking off the days until it's over.

[roadrunner]

Ulendon:

I just finished chemoradiation treatments (60 Gy, 33 fractions, IMRT) 10 days ago, so I thought I'd offer some observations based on my experience.

Given your description of the symptoms -- pain, bloating, + vomiting but no constipation -- and the meds your drs. appear to have suggested, it may be a gas problem caused by the chemo, the radiation, or a combination of the two. I also had tremendous gas during treatment. I recall noticing it around week 5, but it could have been building earlier. It is still there to some extent, but appears to have eased somewhat. I took Xeloda two weeks prior to initiating treatment and am continuing two weeks after the conclusion of radiation therapy, so that may have affected the timing of things. The gas was no fun -- it generally built up in the evenings after dinner and lasted several hours, though sometimes a bit into the next morning. I did experience some mild nausea and bloating, but no real pain. I think, though, that the absence of pain may have been because I was generally able to pass the gas in copious amounts. It was truly amazing. Fortunately, my family is pretty tough and not very prim and proper! I have also read that women, especially of smaller stature, often have more constrained, twisting bowels than men (I'm male, 6' 2"). That might, I suppose, increase the risks of problems from that much gas and make it harder to pass freely.

I did not take meds for it (I was already taking one Lomotil a day to try to control and limit bowel movements (due to other unpleasant side effects you seem to have missed out on -- "hot lava" and "shards of glass" are the poetic descriptions I've read)). Avoiding gas-causing foods seemed to help -- noodle soups, such as Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) seemed to be best, but the usual suspects (beans, spicy food, pizza, etc. definitely had to go). I tried the fasting too, but that led to other issues and I wanted to keep protein up, so I gave up on that approach. Small, regular meals made things better. Finally, exercise also seemed to help with the gas. I walked or jogged (much less running as time went on, though I'll blame that on the cold ; ) 1.5 -- 1.7 miles a day, and this seemed to alleviate/manage the gas somewhat, as did other physical activity. Of course, that may be tough if you're in pain or significant discomfort, or are fatigued.

One other note: I would consider avoiding the Prilosec if at all possible. There are recent studies indicating that PPIs interfere with the therapeutic effects of Capecitabine. I even seem to recall some threads about this on this board.

Anyway, hope that helps! The good news is that the treatment will be over soon.

[Ulendon]

I got the prilosec, gasx, and some lactaid (I read something about chemo causing you not to be able to produce lactase?) and I'm thinking liquid diet or maybe brat. I have a phone appointment with my oncologist tomorrow afternoon and I did some labs today.

I was really disappointed with the input from the doctor today. He wasn't one I've met before. He said I could have gone to the emergency room but then said, but I don't know what they would have done for you. There wasn't really any reassurance and the suggested that I should take Tylenol for that level of pain was pretty disheartening particularly since I was vomiting.

I've still got that mild stomach ache and pressure I'm just really hoping that I don't have a reacurance of last night. I need to get back in to work.

[Ulendon]

4 more treatments to go. My blood work is fine, some of the numbers in my WBC test are a bit outside of normal ranges but not by much.

I've had some intermittent diarrhea over the last couple of days but nothing terrible. Lady bits aren't too bad, a bit scorched feeling. My skin is all in good shape. There is some internal burning when I poop but again not too bad.

I still have a mild stomach ache and bloat going on and that is what has bothered me the most during this process. That and the extra 2 hours of driving a day!

I have a phone appointment with the surgeon to discuss surgery dates and stuff and a scan scheduled in about a month. I have to wait almost three weeks for this and I really wish it was sooner as I need to plan both for coverage at work and for some events that require preregistration.

[Ulendon]

2 more treatments to go. No new side effects. Today they said they were boosting my treatment. Not 100 percent sure what that means but hopefully I don't notice any difference.!

[CRguy]

Check with the Docs... BUTT...
generally they will increase the final 2-3 treatments "radiation dosage" to complete the full radiation cycle.

Nothing new, I had it back in 2007 and the actual treatments those days were no different to me.

Cheers and best wishes
CRguy on the Journey !

[Ulendon]

Last treatment complete, they say I should start noticing the super powers in a few weeks (I'm hoping for She-Hulk powers). Last chemo pills tonight and then I get to recover for a bit. I've started watching surgery videos...