Anyone have rectal pain after radiation? What helps?

No, I’m sure it wasn’t but maybe now your RO can make some suggestions for a better outcome?
Diarrhea is a VERY common SE with radiation but usually occurs toward the latter stages of treatment. Yours is unusual for sure…
Phil

The only comment I heard was on Google AI. It was everybody’s different. The RO wants my urologist to see if he knows of anything, I have to wait until July. I’m sure he’ll mention the gel spacer. So we’ll see I guess. I’d like to be cured and not on ADT, then again I’m 77 not in great shape, I love what little bit of a life I have. I’ve been in chronic pain for over 20 years. I have chronic prostatitis, peripheral neuropathy, proctalgia fugax, gastroparesis, back problems, spinal stenosis. I try not to take too much pain meds only tramadol and Tylenol. Sorry for telling you my sob stories but that’s my life, some good days, some bad days and cancer topped the list. Thanks again for listening.

Not a sob story - YOUR story - And I feel for you to have to go thru this with all your other problems.
Speaking of which, proctalgia fugax is a very nasty syndrome and did anyone think to link the sudden diarrhea to this? Has it ever happened before radiation?
I’ve never experienced it myself but I do know that it is related to spasms in the anal musculature. I came across it when I was researching ‘anismus’ - the inability to have a BM not caused by constipation - following prostate surgery. Suffered with it for almost 6 years.
Oddly enough, since completing 25 sessions of salvage radiation my bowel habits are VERY MUCH improved! So whatever the hell made me ‘normal’ again has given you diarrhea…go figure.
Mention this to your RO and you’ll get an eyeroll or ‘that look’. Most of my docs -, GI, RO, Uro all think I’m crazy and think I don’t know the difference between constipation and a total inability to move my bowels after 70 yrs of life. But just finding the medical term (anismus) for what was ailing me proved that I was not insane…It was real.
I am sorry to say that I don’t think the drs will be much help. They’re not trained in the weird or the rare exceptions. If you do get the gel spacer it might help 🤞but there’s only one way to find out…Best of luck and please keep us posted on your progress.
Phil

I’ve had this proctalgia fugax for over 20 years, never caused diarrhea but it has caused constipation. I’ve been diagnosed by three colorectal surgeons. No cure just treatments that never helped. I had a colonoscopy before radiation no problems. I’ve been reading on here about the gel spacer and they don’t sound too promising. Thanks for your help and interest. 😊🙏

The spacer is mostly used for SBRT - Cyberknife type 5 dose treatment. Used to protect the rectum since they are high dose treatments. I guess your type of PCa or other conditions preclude your consideration for this?
It would be quicker but possibly worse symptomatically. They do, however, sometimes space these 5 visits farther apart; instead of every other day, perhaps each one a week or 10 days apart? Ask your RO about this, OK? As I said, radiation is cumulative so it adds up over time. 40 smaller doses and 5 larger ones may deliver the same total amount of radiation - the PCa cells can’t tell the difference.
You might have a reaction each time, but also time to recover from each visit. Lomotil is more effective for diarrhea than regular preparations; it contains a low dose, non addicting opioid that controls the gut spasms more effectively. Best,
Phil

My Pca is on the outside of the prostate and that makes me not qualify for Cyber Knife. Thanks for the info on the spacer. Have a good holiday. Just as an aside I have a good life seen 2 daughters get masters degrees and professions and married. Every one of my friends I grew up with, we all served in the military during Vietnam and got married all around the same time. The 4 best friends I had all have passed 3 at about 70 years old. I’m still here, have a great wife of 53 years, together for 55. I’m not whining I beat a lot of odds. I consider myself happy and lucky. At 77 there are not that many years ahead of me. Hopefully things will work out well for me and I wish everyone on here a good long life. When I read 55 yr old guys with this cancer that really saddens me.
Good luck to all,
Mike

I do sitz baths and use "Proctol" ointment---really helps

What kind of radiation treatment? I've had HDR brachytherapy, where they insert hollow needles (that block radiation) into your prostate and push through radioactive material for a short period of time (minutes) and then remove the radiation. That limits radiation exposure to other healthy tissue since radiation destroys cancer cells first. No rectal pain problems for me. It's been about two years. I've heard of other external radiation methods that promise no excess exposure. I don't know how they can shoot a radiation beam at a body but only have it "radioactive" AFTER it gets into the body where it needs to be and then stop being radioactive as the beam passes beyond the parts with the cancer, but I trust that these folks know the science of how to do that (Cyber knife, etc.). I've learned that the key or any major health procedure is the skill of the health team. I now only have serious work done at Mayo Rochester.

I have the gel spacer - but for low dose per session proton beam therapy. I find it a bit annoying (feeling of rectal fullness), especially now that I'm done with radiation. But it is supposed to dissolve in a few months.

In my case, radiation was 70Gy over 28 fractions - so low does per session, but they still went with the spacer.

Regarding the radiation beam stopping in your body: proton radiation does just that. It is used because, unlike Xrays, the radiation in concentrated in a relatively short area along the path of the proton beam - the rate of energy deposition increases rapidly as the proton slows down, and ultimately, the proton just stops.

But, for various reason, there is spillover - just not as much as photon (Xray) radiation. Hence the SpaceOAR.

Absolutely YES. I did the cyberknife, 5 treatments in 10 days. Had a spacer. Ended up getting proctitis. Burns when urinating. The other end was just miserable with inflammation & swelling, bleeding, and mucus. Miserable for 3 weeks. Feeling better now.