I have been told I need to eat a low fibre diet to keep my bowels empty during chemorads. It has made me realise how much fibre I usually eat! The team are keen to get my treatment started as I had lymph node involvement they hadn't expected and unclear margins on my RH. I am aware that I still need to heal from the op and don't want to resort to eating junk that won't help with this. Does anyone have any ideas of nutritious food which fits the low fibre diet (I hate soup!)
Rufus, I had a surgery right before treatment too, not a hysterectomy but a 5 slit laparoscopic lymph node surgery.they took lymph nodes from my paraaorta region my sides and pelvic region . I was sore for quite awhile, my sides still feel sore at times. Make sure when your on the radiation table to ask for a hand getting up , u don't want to strain yourself. As far as food went I was so nervous about what I was supposed to be eating that it just stressed me out more, then a nurse kind of just said eat what u want . The first two weeks I could eat what I wanted but after that I had to be a bit more careful, some days I had a little constipation and towards the end I had loose stool, so I kind of had to rotate how I ate depending on the day. But slowly u kind of learn how your body reacts to certain meals. I stayed away from all fruits and vegetables and spicy food just to be safe. I also got stool softener pills , loperamide and gasx meds. Drink lots of water. Hope you're healing well and be easy on yourself. I wish you a well chemo rads , if u ever have any questions feel free to ask.
My oncology consultant advised to take a daily multi vitamin/mineral supplement and I had regular appointments with a dietitian during my chemo-radio. I was advised to eat what I wanted and when I wanted but if I got problems from eating a certain food then obviously best to leave that alone - broccoli was mentioned as a possible no no. I remember milk jelly being on the dietitian's list - milk is nutritious and I did eat a good deal of icecream e.g. choc ices. I also found a small piece of cheddar cheese helped to reduce my feelings of nausea. My appetite increasingly diminished as treatment progressed and towards the end I could only stomach mashed potato and cooked tomatoes including tomato ketchup. I did start to go underweight (my starting bmi was only about 19) and was prescribed nutritional drinks which are calorie/nutrient dense and don't require much effort to consume.
I found the following info for a low fibre diet which specifically mentions pelvic radiotherapy:
I had mega diarrhoea and had to reach for the loperamide fairly often; at one point I was on the max recommended dose.
As always everyone's a bit different and one of the ladies who was going through treatment at the same time as me regularly got the munchies - cream crackers was one of them. She normally has a good appetite whereas I tend to go off food if I get stressed.
There are so many contradictory bits of information out there! Hospitals are struggling with covid right now but the lack of advice, information and support is shocking. I will ask to see a dietitian as it's probably something else they assume I have information about. Stay safe
Yes dieticians really help, I didn't get in to see my dietician till the last week of my treatment because it took awhile for her to have a appointment available, so not much help during treatment. But she really helped me in the end to try to calm my stomach down and her tips worked. So it's best to ask for one asap
I have been having poo explosions since week 2 and I've just finished all treatment and I'm still suffering. I've been told to stay away from all fibre, most veg and fruit. Its trial and error. Somedays I get it regardless. Beige is my new friend. Saying that I've had a terrible tummy all day and have just eaten a massive kabab and salad with red cabbage, onions and tomatoes. I enjoyed every mouthful and I will probably be suffering tonight and tomorrow but it was the first meal I've enjoyed and felt normal in a month so... I'll be seeing it on the other side!
It is so weird being told no fruit and veg. I guess once I get to the poo explosion stage it will be easier to understand why! Well done for getting to the end. Xx
I was really lucky during Chemorads not to have any real symptoms, the chemo, steroids, antisickness drugs gave me constipation really badly so I think this was counterbalanced by the radiotherapy and I was pretty normal all the way through lol
I made loads of ready meals high in protein and froze them just in case there were days that I couldn't be bothered, and I quit caffeine and alcohol but other than that I carried on as normal. I think it affects us all so differently that it's hard to plan for. I had snacks for chemo days and I drank a ridiculous amount of water for 6 weeks, there were a lot of foods I normally love that couldn't even think about eating without feeling sick and my consultant said to not worry so much about what I was eating as long as I was eating. I had loads of fruity teas and a marshmallow tea that is supposed to help with digestion.
Like emmz I avoided caffeine and alcohol and upped the herbal teas. My teeth can't handle fruity teas but peppermint and lemongrass with ginger were helpful for me.
