Please help me - I am miserable
Posted: Sun May 24, 2020 7:31 pm
Female, 46 years old. I was diagnosed with rectal cancer about a year ago. After my chemo sessions, I went through radiation therapy in March. Five weeks into my six-week radiation course, I could no longer stand it. The diarrhea was so intense, I couldn't leave the house. The radiation doctor said he'd never seen such a severe case of radiation sickness. My oncologist told me to stay home, stay hydrated, and just try to get better. We all thought it was radiation sickness!
I must have dealt with it for at least 4-5 weeks. The diarrhea became more urgent and violent, I had to hire an in-home nurse to give me fluids. I passed out on the bathroom floor one day. Finally, I woke up one morning totally jaundiced, and the oncologist said to go to the hospital.
The hospital suspected c-diff, and they were right. I was sent home with vancomycin. But a week later, I was jaundiced again! I went back to the hospital, and I was diagnosed with sepsis!! Thank god for the jaundice, right? They treated my sepsis, and I was sent home.
It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I finished the course of vancomycin, and although I am feeling much better, I still have toothpaste-consistency diarrhea, and the worst thing is that my stomach becomes distended whenever I eat anything. It's uncomfortable and takes hours to go away.
My question is: does this mean that my colon may never get better? Might I deal with this distention indefinitely? Might I need surgery to get rid of damaged parts of the colon? My oncologist keeps telling me that my colon has been through a lot, and it will take a while for it to settle down, but the longer this goes on, the more worried I become.
I must have dealt with it for at least 4-5 weeks. The diarrhea became more urgent and violent, I had to hire an in-home nurse to give me fluids. I passed out on the bathroom floor one day. Finally, I woke up one morning totally jaundiced, and the oncologist said to go to the hospital.
The hospital suspected c-diff, and they were right. I was sent home with vancomycin. But a week later, I was jaundiced again! I went back to the hospital, and I was diagnosed with sepsis!! Thank god for the jaundice, right? They treated my sepsis, and I was sent home.
It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since I finished the course of vancomycin, and although I am feeling much better, I still have toothpaste-consistency diarrhea, and the worst thing is that my stomach becomes distended whenever I eat anything. It's uncomfortable and takes hours to go away.
My question is: does this mean that my colon may never get better? Might I deal with this distention indefinitely? Might I need surgery to get rid of damaged parts of the colon? My oncologist keeps telling me that my colon has been through a lot, and it will take a while for it to settle down, but the longer this goes on, the more worried I become.