nausea on chemo

[keepcouchfresh]

Hey everybody, since I've lasted posted I've started my 1st round of BEP, even though I haven't thrown-up yet I still have the nausea very strong each day and can eat very little because of it.......can somebody offer suggestions?.......I try to start eating and think about how hungry I am but then the nausea comes on so strong I have to stop

[sldl1106]

What type of anti-nausea meds are you on? Were you given meds to take home with you and take every 4-6 hours? My husband was given Reglen and Ativan to take at home on an as-needed basis, as well as being given Decadron, Reglen and Emend while treatment was administered.

I'm so sorry you are having nausea problems, it must make eating very difficult. Maybe small things more frequently than trying to sit and eat a meal a few times a day could help.

A friend who went through this said very briny things and sour things helped stave off the nausea - lemons and pickles (not together!!).

[keepcouchfresh]

i have compazine which I took maybe 7 hours ago, they also gave me anzemet which i can take every 24 hours but i have bleo tomorrow morning so I figured I'd get that in my iv bag

i took emend the first 3 days of treatment but then hiccups went on for 2 days straight so next cycle they suggest I don't take them again

I figure something must be working because I haven't actually thrown-up yet

[Savin16]

Hi there,
For my brother, he would take Ativan, which would relax him as well as help with the nausea, compazine and zofran. He did the Emend too, and he also had the hiccups that lasted for days. Then lastly he tried Marinol, but he didn't like the way it made him feel. I will suggest takin the drugs as directed, if they say every 4-6 hours, do that, even if you don't feel sick, that was my brothers mistake and we didn't figure it out til the end. I'm sure everyone is different in what works for them. Also, my brother could only eat fruit, mainly watermelon, he said everything had a metal taste. Some suggestions for him were to try to add extra spices to things, but that didn't work. Oh ya soup he ate a lot of too.

Best of luck with your treatment.

[mstlyn]

i have compazine which I took maybe 7 hours ago, they also gave me anzemet which i can take every 24 hours but i have bleo tomorrow morning so I figured I'd get that in my iv bag

i took emend the first 3 days of treatment but then hiccups went on for 2 days straight so next cycle they suggest I don't take them again

I figure something must be working because I haven't actually thrown-up yet

My son Anthony took had zofran and decadron in his chemo. At home he took compazine every few hours to prevent problems, and then for the first few days off chemo he took zofran and decadron twice a day (12 hrs apart) and compazine every 4 to 6 hrs in between. During the last 2 courses of chemo he took ativan too.

Aside from the meds, I made sure he drank a lot of fluids. Mostly water, gatorade, and juice; BEFORE chemo, DURING chemo, and AFTER chemo each day. He also ate breakfast before chemo.. Even if you don't feel you can eat breakfast, at least try to eat something light, like toast, crackers, or something like that.

These things worked really well for my son. He dealt with very little nausea and most of what he did have came during his 3rd and 4th cycles, but was very controllable, and passed quickly.

[Russell's Mom]

Russell had a good deal of nausea and vomiting. The oncolgy pharmacist was great. He kept working different combinations with the changing symptoms. Sounds like you are on it!! Sharon

[spinsta]

Obviously aside from all possible medications (Zofran, etc.) one thing that helped me a lot was eating popsicles - I ate homemade grape or cherry popsicles just about every day during chemo. My pregnant sister also swears by them to combat nausea. Totally weird, I know, but something about having that cool taste roll down your throat...

[Margaret]

If you take Ativan with the compezine it will make it more effective.

Also, Kytril is a very strong anti-nausea meds that maybe you can ask about.

I hope you feel better soon. One day at a time, you will get through this!

[Vinny]

I took ativan, compazine, kytril (iv), decadron (iv) and emend. I made it until round four before breaking the seal.

The key with the meds is to stay ahead of the nausea - if you wait to take the meds until you feel bad, the battle is already lost. So on your chemo days, take an ativan and compazine in the morning when you get up, and then eat small snacks to keep food on your stomach. And then keep up with the med schedule. Remember that you can put Ativan under your tongue and it will start to dissolve and work very quickly.

Other suggestions from the non Rx world:

- ginger (candied or added to fruit juice)
- oil of peppermint or spearmint (put some on a cotton ball and use like smelling salts)
- ginger beer or ginger ale

As in all things chemo, YMMV.

For me the worst was the gag reflex when bending over to spit (like when brushing my teeth).

[keepcouchfresh]

thanks for the advice everyone

earlier this week I was taking Kytril and Compazine, I still had the nausea but it allowed me to eat fairly close to normal

when they weighed me on Monday I had lost 10 pounds in 1 week so I need to really work on this

yesterday at 11:30 i had a compazine but i stopped taking medication after that because I seem to have a reaction from it......I can't seem to sit still, suprisingly I could sleep but I couldn't sit still long enough to work and concentrate on anything......my initial suspsicision is that this is the compazine causing my uneasiness, when I woke up this morning and it had been several hours since my last dose the feelings went away, it also inhibits my driving because when I tried driving yesterday it was as if I couldn't focus on the road so that was scary

but since I stopped the meds so far now the nausea has come back strong today so at 3pm a few minutes ago I took an Anzemet, I'm hoping that it was in fact the compazine causing my uneasiness

the Emend gave me hiccups for 2 days and blurred my vision so that one's out

I don't think the compazine was even helping with the nausea because when i was only taking compazine the nausea was very strong

it's possible the uneasiness is from the anzemet or kytril, I'll find out for sure about the anzemet today

[TCLEFT]

thanks for the advice everyone

earlier this week I was taking Kytril and Compazine, I still had the nausea but it allowed me to eat fairly close to normal

when they weighed me on Monday I had lost 10 pounds in 1 week so I need to really work on this

yesterday at 11:30 i had a compazine but i stopped taking medication after that because I seem to have a reaction from it......I can't seem to sit still, suprisingly I could sleep but I couldn't sit still long enough to work and concentrate on anything......my initial suspsicision is that this is the compazine causing my uneasiness, when I woke up this morning and it had been several hours since my last dose the feelings went away, it also inhibits my driving because when I tried driving yesterday it was as if I couldn't focus on the road so that was scary

but since I stopped the meds so far now the nausea has come back strong today so at 3pm a few minutes ago I took an Anzemet, I'm hoping that it was in fact the compazine causing my uneasiness

the Emend gave me hiccups for 2 days and blurred my vision so that one's out

I don't think the compazine was even helping with the nausea because when i was only taking compazine the nausea was very strong

it's possible the uneasiness is from the anzemet or kytril, I'll find out for sure about the anzemet today

If you're not getting relief ask about Cessamet or Marinol. They tend to prescribe those last since they're a marijuana derivitive. When I was on my TIP protocol, that was the only thing that came close to working. Best of luck.
Mark

[Savin16]

You should ask about Ativan, it helps relax you and also helps with the nausea

[Karen]

Not-fer-nuthin' , but between nausea and follow up anxiety we should get a group discount on ativan .

KCF,
The ativan may help with the restlessness you feel as well, and put it under your tongue for quick action.

There are many things out there to help with nausea, so make sure the doc and nurses know you 're having problems and try other meds. Your nutrition is important so your body can bounce back....eat whatever appeals to you, drink Ensure for extra calories. Hang in there...this will pass in time...although right now you may not see it that way.

[petep]

here is a thread that may address some chenmo side effects, including nausea...

http://www.tc-cancer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3699

pete