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Looking for tips on managing Radiation-induced proctitis
Looking for tips from anyone who has experienced bowel incontinence caused by radiation induced proctitis. My husband was diagnosed with radiation induced proctitis 2 years post-radiation therapy. He had a bleeding rectal ulcer that was treated with twice daily sucralfate enemas for 8 weeks. The bleeding has stopped but he still has occasional fecal incontinence.
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My husband's radiation proctitis developed approximately 2 years after he completed treatment. The bleeding got worse after he was treated by APC (argon plasma coagulation) during a routine colonoscopy. The APC caused a bleeding rectal ulcer and explosive diarrhea. We did twice a day medicated (sucralfate) enemas for about three months. The bleeding stopped almost immediately after starting the enemas but we had to keep treating until the ulcer had totally healed.
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3 ReactionsDiarrhea started during my 44 weekday IMRT treatments in March, 2025 and lasted until December when a support group pointed me to daily Psyllium husks and probiotic capsules. The diarrhea stopped but I still have 3-5 loose bowel movements daily. I was diagnosed with radiation proctitis through a colonoscopy in January, 2026 and have recently completed four weeks of twice daily sucralfate enemas. I had slight bleeding which stopped early in the enemas series, but no change in bowel frequency. I have sent a message to my gastroenterologist about trying Mesalamine, which someone in this forum mentioned as giving significant relief. Best wishes!
@jime51 I'm a month in on Mesalamine and it is slowly getting better. Down from 6-8 BM's a day to 3 and consider that a win. 3 month treatment. Scoped and lased which helped with bleeding. Still occasional spotting.
@chippydoo Thanks for the information! My insurance covers 1000mg Mesalamine suppositories, and I have suggested this to my gastroenterologist. What dosage and form are you taking?
That was early attempt at treatment and must work for someone. For me no. In fact seemed to get worse. The course included suppositories, anti biotics vitamins, APC, hyperbaric, and finally APC by a very knowledgeable GI Doctor. That did help but needed second procedure using Formeldin (sp) in a different part of colon/rectal area. Apparantly important to use each in its correct area and not interchangable. The success with him made me believe he knew.
For me, was always the bleeding. Down to 7.0 hemoglobin but with APC and formeldin back to normal. GI doctor warned me that may never get back to "normal" and apt to be at "live with it" result. But obviously varied levels of severity and some problems may resolve with less sophisticated treatments or procedures.