proctitis

Well, what I thought was hemorrhoids aggravated by mild proctitis now turns out to be a strong case of proctitis causing all the pain during bowel movements. I saw my primary care doctor instead of the radiation doc because I thought it was just hemorrhoids. But after an exam that tested my naval vocabulary, the doctor assured me the problem was radiation proctitis, and that we needed to get on it right away. So I'm taking prednisone orally for a few days, and if the inflammation doesn't go down dramatically, he gave me a prescription for Proctofoam, which seems to be a pretty standard treatment.

Still, I'm not too badly affected throughout the day. More frequent BMs, but not diarrhea right now. It's just that when I go, I have to bite down on a towel or something for a few seconds.
I'm glad I saw my doctor. Now I have to explain to the radiation oncologist why I didn't report this to HIM. Actually, I'd get on the phone Monday and tell him, but things have to cool down in the bowel before anyone else does and exam down there.

I don't want this to scare anyone away from IMRT as salvage after prostatectomy. If you need it, you need it.