On Mar 09, 2012 7:41 PM TwoTwo wrote:
Thanks, Annie. Yes, I keep my knees bent a lot and it does help. I have been eating bananas, toast, applesauce, etc. I though potatoes would be ok. Are they not? I haven't had any bouts with diarrhea in several days, knock on wood...
How long have your cramps been bothering you? Will they ever go away?
Potatoes are supposed to be okay, especially if they're mashed potatoes. I have just noticed that they give me severe gas--maybe because I like them and eat too much at a time.
I have been having abdominal spasms since my chemotherapy ended in 2008. They kept getting worse, and my gastroenterologist thought they were caused by a bad gall bladder. However, all the tests showed the gall bladder was normal. In December 2008, I had very severe spasms for about 4 hours non-stop, and then again every few weeks. I went to the emergency room twice and told them my doctor thought it was my gall bladder (a big mistake!), so they didn't perform any tests--just gave me morphine for the pain and told me to stay on a clear-liquid diet for a few days. Finally, in January 2009, after yet another gall bladder test and more severe spasms, my husband took me to the doctor's office, without an appointment. At that point, I was no longer having diarrhea, but was not eating anything and only drinking broth and water. After I vomitted in the doctor's office, he admitted me to the hospital next door, and they did a CT scan. The scan showed my bowels were inflamed and blocked, which is a life-threatening situation. I had emergency surgery to remove the blockage, which was a foot of dead small bowel, so no food was getting through. It took 9 days after the surgery for me to have a tiny BM before they would release me. They didn't give me a special diet, so I ate normally for a few days, but then I started to have diarrhea, and it kept getting worse. My doctor gave me pills that didn't work, so I asked my oncologist to refer me to the M.D. Anderson cancer center in Houston. They did lots of tests on me to make sure the two places where my intestines had been cut (one in the colon and rectum and one in the small bowel) were not leaking. Then they looked at every inch of the small bowel and told me it was completely damaged by radiation, with chronic inflammation and lesions throughout. They told me this was because I had surgery first and radiation second. After the surgery, the small bowel shifted and became wedged between my pelvic bones, where the radiation was targeted. Instead of radiating my rectal and lower colon area where the cancerous tumor had been, they radiated my previously healthy small bowel. They told me the damage would never heal and gave me a diet to follow. My gastroenterologist at M.D. Anderson told me I could try taking tincture of opium to stop the diarrhea, and I used it with success for a few months. However, I then started to feel like I was getting another blockage. I got a new doctor, a colorectal surgeon, who said that was a dangerous drug, so he switched me to lomotil. That worked for a while, but eventually I felt like I was having some blockage, with intermittent diarrhea. So now, I just try to get by with Immodium and liquid diarrhea medicine, but I only take it after I have bad diarrhea, because I'm afraid of getting another blockage. Of course, by the time the diarrhea is bad, my bottom is raw and my hemorrhoids bleeding, which brings up another set of problems and pain. I use Desitin for diaper rash, and it helps, but I have to keep putting it on after each bout of diarrhea.
So, after that long story, the answer is yes, I still have abdominal pain. If I didn't eat, I wouldn't have pain, but then I would be very hungry all the time. My appetite has not diminished, so I eat. If I eat too much, too often or the wrong thing, I pay for it. I lose a few pounds each year, because I'm starting to avoid more and more foods after each bad bout with diarrhea. I hope eventually I will be able to have more will power to eat less and less. The longer I stay without putting food into my body, the longer I delay the inevitable pain and diarrhea.
By the way, the only pain medicine that helps control the pain is oxycodone, but because it is a narcotic, it causes constipation. Sometimes it actually helps control the diarrhea, but I still use it very sparingly, maybe one pill per week, when the pain is at its worst.
On the plus side, if I can control my eating, I can have a good day or two in a row.
I wish you the best and hope you can get some relief soon.
Annie