Constipation

Once the IV is plugged in, the chemo session lasts for three hours.  The first drug, Cisplatin, only takes thirty minutes, while the second drug, Etopside, takes one hour to drip.  For the other ninety minutes, they are flushing my system with saline and some additional medications to help with the side effects of the chemo drugs.  One of those additional meds is an anti-nausea fluid, but a common side effect is constipation.  Attention, the rest of this blog will deal with constipation and its ultimate relief.  If you are still reading, please consider yourself sufficiently warned…

Last chance to stop reading.  Seriously, I am going to talk about poop, the lack thereof and the eventual resolution…

Each night, I take a stool softener and a vegetable laxative.  I believe the anticipated results of these medicines are fairly self-explanatory.  Monday morning, before my first chemo treatment, I had a very nice bowel movement around my normal time of 6:30 AM.  However, no such luck on Tuesday morning or at any point on Tuesday.  I was so excited for the prospect of a bowel movement on Tuesday afternoon that, when my Mom and I went to lunch, I intentionally ordered the baked ziti – a meal that I fully enjoy, but that is very heavy on the cheese content, and thus sends me to the throne for some thinking.  Anyway, the baked ziti didn’t help the situation.  And when I had my delicious chicken pot pie for dinner on Tuesday night, still no luck.  It was like waiting outside Target on Black Friday at 3:55 AM when the store doesn’t open until 4:00 AM.  Everyone wants to keep moving forward, they’re all pushing on the doors desperate to buy that door buster “deal”, but the doors just won’t open…

Anyway, Wednesday morning brought a swift reversal from Tuesday’s lack of festivities.  Four movements in four hours.  Relief, you know how to spell it!