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Radiation Proctitis - Medication HELP Needed!

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Posted 7/21/2019 3:51 PM (GMT 0)
For almost seven years I have had blood in my stool, normally consisting of mere streaks of red. Exactly six years ago, had a Flex. Sig., and was advised cause of blood was radiation proctitus and roids. I did have Brachytherapy back in 2010 so that apparently was my source of radiation. My blood counts have been rather low recently so I recently asked for a Colonoscopy which I had last month. Was discovered to have a malignant mass in my descending colon. Had a conference with a well known (local area) Colorectal Surgeon just yesterday and I now have a surgical appointment for August 30th and this Doc prefers Robotic surgery. I have no idea how long this monster has been “eating away” on my colon but since this one is not real aggressive, the August 30th will have to work for me. Now. If anyone has blood in their stool for what ever reason, I am convinced a colonoscopy is definitely in order. Don’t put it off and please be advised that the prep is not as bad as it was just years ago. Finally, this coming Tuesday I have Labs and hopefully my PSA is still in the zero category. Oh, I neglected to mention that in the last nine years, I have had Prostate cancer, Kidney cancer, Bladder cancer and now hit the jackpot with Colon Cancer.
Posted 7/21/2019 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
I had a couple of instances of blood "on the tissue" about 2 or 2 1/2 years after SBRT. It sort of shocked me, but the last time was the big shock. It occurred when my RO was performing a DRE. She was ready to do the usual hem-occult stool test for blood, but instead she exclaimed "We have blood!" The test slide was a major splotch of blood. She then said that she didn't feel that it was anything serious, could be radiation proctitis or an aggravated hemorrhoid, but that she really felt that it was time for a colonoscopy. (Note that at age 71, I had never had one. Too many contra-indications with other medical conditions.) What sealed the deal? After I left the RO's office, I had to use the rest room. It felt a bit more "urgent" than usual. When I looked into the bowl, it looked like a cheap 1970's slasher movie. Yes, children, just a couple of drops of blood looks mucho scary in a toilet bowl.

So, I visited my gastro doc to set it up. He agreed, and suggested also doing an endoscopy of my esophagus to check for any issues there, as I have had GERD for some years.

As mentioned, the prep is not as bad as the old way, but it still tastes bad. I described it as "tasting like some sort of industrial solvent with a couple of spoons of grape Kool-aid mixed in. Also, it required drinking 1.5 quarts of this stuff the night before and the morning of the procedure. I was not even sure I could gag down that much of any liquid, much less this drek. As my idol, Snoopy, says, "Bleccch!"

As doc promised, the test was "nothing" to me. I was out completely until afterward. In my case, we found that the bleeding was caused by the combo of some radiation proctitis and a couple of hemorrhoids that bled when abraded. All of these were visited by the laser wand, and so far, no more bleeding.

So, to make my long story short, I also advise the men who experience bleeding after RT to have a diagnostic colonoscopy. Yes, it "could" be cancer, but usually is not. We just need to know the cause of any unexpected bleeding, and if possible, we need to treat it to minimize recurrence.

I'll keep an eye on it, but at the moment, it was never "that" bad, and seems to be under control.
Posted 8/1/2019 10:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for the suggestions and comments. I would like to give some update on my treatment with sucralfate enama. Doctor asked me to take 2 enama daily (morning and night) for 4 weeks (or stop using it after no bleeding for one week). I have blood (fresh red blood or dark blood clots) "on" my stool daily for the past 9 months, sometimes more, sometimes less. It really bothers me. After taking the sucralfate enama for 2 days, the amount of blood on stool is significant less than before. It is about 90% less! I am very very happy about it. I have been using it for 12 days now. It does not fully stop bleeding yet (still see few drops of blood sometimes), but the bleeding is much less and well controlled. I plan to use another 9 days, hopefully my bleeding will be fully stop. BTW, I start taking some Vitamin E to help the "healing" process few days ago. Overall, I am happy for the treatment so far.
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