Has anyone had diarrhea with radiation?

Very common.

Just finished 5 Radixact treatments last Friday (4 days ago). No real issues other than prostate irritation and some minor urinary issues until yesterday. Then the 'sharts' started. Just started on Imodium but hasn't done a lot yet. In reading here, it looks like 'Welcome to the club'. Certainly could always be worse, so not really complaining now that I know it is fairly normal. Glad I found this site.

I’m not sure about lymph node basin, but had 44 treatments (26 pelvis, 18 prostate specific) last spring. I still have 3-5 loose stool episodes daily, 7 months later. I take Imodium, and a support group yesterday suggested pre- and pro-biotics. Hoping to calm my system a bit.

I developed proctitis from my radiation treatments, diarrhea and more! I take two probiotics and one prebiotic. Shiff's Intensive bowel support, Lactobacillus reuteri, and FOS. They work slowly at first, but after a week I saw improvement and it keeps getting better.

With IMRT, radiation entry dose, scatter, and exit dose is typical of the radiation (& is often unavoidable).
> Reminds me of the Occam's razor principle.
> How consistently did you maintain the full bladder/empty bowel routine?

It would be useful to know whether or not a hydrogel spacer was inserted before radiation. I'm 2 days post SBRT treatment w/a spacer and have slight diarrhea. It seems less than yesterday but I'll post again in a week or so.

@brianjarvis

I had 44 radiation treatments which caused diarrhea that took up to 6 Imodium's/day to stop. I also got tenesmus which lasted about 4 hours every morning following a normal morning BM. The diarrhea was awful, but the tenesmus was worse. I had to change my radiation treatments to afternoons because I was stuck to the toilet for 4 hours every morning. This all went away within a week of the end of radiation treatments. However, my side effects with Lupron were even worse than the radiation. I continue to have serious 24/7 sweating and headaches with the Lupron even 7 months after stopping my 4-month Lupron shots. Just starting to feel a little better.

@cadaddy
My brother had 5 SBRT treatments, but didn’t use a spacer. He had some urinary issues, but had no diarrhea problems. He was 77 when he had it done.

The results vary considerably I know people that have had exactly what you describe and even worse.

Sounds like it should go away soon.

@pesquallie I think that my radiation oncologist (RO), meducal oncologist (MO), and I spent most of my time coming up with ways to minimize/avoid short/medium/long-term side/after-effects. (Quality of life was of equal priority with successful treatment.) After months of discussion, we came up with this (attached) list.

Then, one-by-one we went through the list and devised a method to (hopefully) avoid that side/after-effect.

Ultimately, I chose 28 sessions of proton radiation (due to its Bragg-Peak characteristics) + SpaceOAR Vue + 6 months (two 3-month injections) of Eligard. My treatments were scheduled at about the same time each day (2:30, 3:00, or 3:30); that made it easier to manage the full bladder/empty bowel routine.

(The proton radiation treatments were relatively uneventful. My wife later told me that if she hadn’t known I was undergoing radiation treatments, she wouldn’t have realized it from any change in me.)

As for the possible Eligard side-effects, my MO advised me about this well ahead of the 1st injection (and I had read about it myself) - to start a robust resistance-training (weightlifting) regimen. So, immediately after each treatment, I would hit the gym for weightlifting and cardio. (As a gym rat, it was easy enough to ramp up my exercise routine during the entire time the ADT was in my system.) Once my testosterone level returned to normal, the few minor side-effects I did have subsided.

If I had it to do over again, I don’t think I’d do anything any differently - except perhaps to use Orgovyx rather than. Casodex & Eligard,

@brianjarvis gett

I had little choice for my treatments. When I pushed for proton treatment, I was told that it was no better than the photon treatment and it would delay my treatment. I felt that I had to do what the urologist suggested or risk getting a dangerous delay. I was concerned about any delay because four years earlier I had a 1.4 PSA and my GP recommended against further PSA testing because I was way over 70 at 78. I had no further tests until 3 years later my GP gave in because I was having intestinal issues. My PSA was 11.1 and my GP recommended a urologist who did a biopsy which revealed 4 out of 12 samples with cancer with the worst a Gleason 4+4. A PET test showed the cancer to be real with it contained to the prostate except for one seminal duct entrance to the prostate. It took 3 months to get to this point, so I felt I had to expedite treatment as recommended by my urologist. I started on Lupron immediately and a month later started 44 photon radiation treatments. I had serious diarrhea and tenesmus issues almost every day and barely managed to finish the radiation treatments and the diarrhea and tenesmus went away. Then the Lupron side effects started, and I had 24/7 heavy sweating, headaches, muscle cramping, brain fog, frequent urination, and pain in fingers and toes. I could not sleep with even a sheet covering me or I would be soaked with sweat from head to toe. After 4 months of Lupron, I refused any more. PSA tests 1 and 4 months after radiation were < 0.1 and my testosterone levels were < 8. Now 7 months after my last 3-month Lupron shot I am just starting to see a reduction in side effects. I am dreading my next PSA in January as I suspect the effects of the Lupron will no longer be suppressing my PSA and I may have a high level. I found your comments very helpful and wish I had been able to get the treatment you did.

Pesqualie