Bladder and Bowel Preparation for prostate radiation

Posted by upnort @upnort, May 14, 2022

Is there an alternative for a Fleet enema every day before prostate radiation? I an scheduled for 28 radiation treatments, and my oncologist wants to ensure a full bladder (drinking 32 ounzes of water one hour before treatment) and an empty rectum ( a Fleet enema before treatment) in order to increase the accuracy of my treatment and reduce the possibility of side effects from the radiation therapy.
I am on the hormone therapy(4 month Lupron) and also had the SpaceOAR procedure done. I understand the prccaution for the bladder and the rectum, but an enema every day - if a natural bowel movement does't occur each morning - seems like a real hit to the system. Any over the counter alternatives that would be applicable here?

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Tks.

I think the C Diff is going away - primary symptom gone, lingering other gut issues. I asked the doc by message today when I could consider myself no longer contagious. "When the symptoms go away." I had to ask which, because normally I have gut symptoms. Meanwhile, the radiation therapists have to put on their gowns and gloves, and I can't visit my friends for coffee, or go to church, because I might infect someone.

My reading says I'm not infectious. My guess is that the docs sent essentially boiler-plate that works for people without lots of gut issues.

We'll see.

On the probiotics, I'm taking recommended probiotics for this. But ironically, becausse of SIBO, normally I'm supposed to not take them.

Complex. Frustrating. And it means I have to go with a very complex prep for the radiation - one I've been developing by AI suggestions and experience as I go along. It worked well today, and if its repeatable, I'll give kudos to drinking a fair amount of warm herbal tea through the day up until the official start of prep. But I also am eating only one meal a day, with less than 1000 cals and foods chosen for low residue.

I'm tired of this. The radiation stuff doesn't bother me, but getting my gut to where I can have the radiation just frustrating.

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@5galloncan

About 20 years ago my wife had a problem with C-Diff after taking clindamycin that a dentist had prescribed. It got so bad that she was headed for colon surgery if things didn't improve. No antibiotics worked. I did some research and discovered a probiotic called Culturelle(R) I was able to find it in only one pharmacy in downtown Portland, a city where I worked at the time. This turned her around and, in my opinion, saved her life. We have been taking Culturelle ever since, especially when we travel and after dining out. Once in a great while, when Culturelle doesn't quite fix an intestinal "problem," we use Florastor(R), a probiotic known for its ability to combat C-Diff.

Jump to this post

Culturelle is the ONLY probiotic I ever used that actually made my body react in any way.
Phillips Colon Health was also helpful; reasonably priced as well. Most of the expensive health store formulae are a complete waste of $$.
Phil

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From my personal experience, I wouldn't take antibiotics without planning a dose of Culturelle and/or Florastor (depending on the issue being treated) on a regular schedule not to interfere with the antibiotic's effectiveness. Consult your doctor, of course. But I will add that doctors were of zero use 20 years ago when my wife needed a proper probiotic, so there is that. All I can tell you is that for the last 20 years, if any of us in the family or friends had any gut issues, say, after dining out, we would take a Culturelle and the problem is gone within the hour. Our habit now is to pretty much take a Culturelle daily. We don't travel without Culturelle and Florastor. Both can usually be purchased at your big box stores (Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's, etc.). During my proton therapy a year ago, I took Culturelle daily to prevent any unwanted gut issues, which might have affected receiving the daily therapy. It worked. That's my experience. Your mileage may vary.

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