Die with one condition, live with other(s)

@brianjarvis I don't think the GI believes my case is that severe, yet. Yes, a SpaceOar gel was inserted about 3 weeks before I started radiation. IMRT tends to blast through everything, and my body has a bent toward over-achieving. According to the biopsy report and Gleason score, the likelihood of my having lymph node involvement was about 3%. I've been treated as high risk based on the PSMA PET scan report, so had the maximum radiation. Being retired is a great advantage, but I have to be careful with my schedule and easy bathroom access.

@jime51 I had 25 sessions of EBRT 15 months ago and have annoying Radiation Proctitis. Cauterization stopped the severe bleeding but was up to at least 8 bowel movements per day and most were before noon. Mesalamine has tempered it somewhat and some days are better than others. On days where I know I am going to be out and about or traveling I take Imodium which helps. I don't want to use it every day so that it will be effective when I need it. Also just not eating helps too but that isn't sustainable. Adding fiber has helped some, but planning helps even more. Hope you can get it resolved and sounds like you are figuring out what works for you. Congratulations on your treatment.

@nikolai57 Thank you! Flatulence has been awful, so I’ll try backing off the probiotic. How long do you use Mesalamine daily for flare ups? I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit but not prunes. I appreciate your sharing. Looks like you take Mesalamine until symptoms subside.

@jime51 I start Mesalamine as soon as I see blood in my stool. I continue for a day or two after it has subsided. I try to avoid flare-ups by keeping stool soft and avoiding constipation. If I do become constipated, I do my best not to strain. Pulling the stomach up and in without pushing down can help move the bowels without straining.

Not all probiotics are equal. I've been taking two probiotics and one pre-biotic for five years. I have radiation proctitis and pc. My proctitis has been treated with about 16 months of enemas. I have been mostly symptom free since having 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments (aka "dives"). BTW I was able to self-administer enemas with a syringe with a rounded catheter tip. I can send you details if desired.

Not all probiotics are equal. I've been taking two probiotics and one pre-biotic for five years. I have radiation proctitis and pc. My proctitis has been treated with about 16 months of enemas. I have been mostly symptom free since having 30 hyperbaric oxygen treatments (aka "dives"). BTW I was able to self-administer enemas with a syringe with a rounded catheter tip. I can send you details if desired.

@ededed At an Ancan support group online session yesterday evening, someone said that hyperbaric treatments can last 60-90 minutes. What was your experience and time frame for the 30 treatments? When I had IMRT, it was every weekday for almost nine weeks.

@jime51
My treatment lasted about 2 hours. I had sessions every weekday for six weeks. Missed sessions were added after the six weeks. Each session had 3, 30 minute courses of 100% oxygen with a 5 minute break in between to prevent oxygen poisoning while remaining in the multi-person compression chamber. During each session we watched a movie. It was common for us to miss the beginning or end of the movie, occasionally both the beginning and end were missed! The types of patients I met having the treatment with me included individuals who had toes amputated due to diabetes, pc patients with bladder radiation damage, and radiation proctitis.