I have a six week treatment with radiation and Cisplatin. The chemo is one dose on day 1, then another in 3 weeks and one the final day. I was sick the day after, not real bad but I had to start on the ant-nausea pills . The sickness is whats really getting to me and I was wondering if it will subside? I've read on here that some folks are getting there chemo in more frequent doses, is there anyone who's had experience with the "every 3 week" doses? I was wondering if the long time span between doses let the crappy feeling wear off or does it just stay with you ?

-thanks for your time, Jody

Jody, your treatments sound very similar to mine. I only got sick the first cisplatin treament, and I got REALLY sick. The next two cisplatins I was given an anti-nausea med to take the night before, as well as some anti-nausea meds in the IV. I also had pills to take at home when I needed them. I did feel pretty crappy, but I didn't have the vomiting that I had with my first dose. The worst problem was that I wasn't getting enough nutrition and had to be hospitalized for a few days after my treatments had ended, so it is really important to get the nutrition and stay hydrated. I had a PEG and hated it, but forced myself to use it.

Many of us, including myself went thru the 3 big doses of cisplatin. I was so sick my third dose was cancelled. Others will get a smaller weekly dose of cisplatin. They seem to handle the smaller doses much easier than the bigger 3 week doses.

Keep up with the anti-nausea meds. Every time you think you are doing ok it will sneak up on you and then its next to impossible to get ahead of it again. Nutrition and hydration are what will make this whole thing much easier to tolerate. Push yourself for every single day to get a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water. If you can do more thats even better.

Hang in there!

Hi - there are anti nauseants that do help, let your dr know how you feel. My doses were the same as yours - the more frequent ones are lesser doses, with the three you get a large dose three times as opposed to 6 smaller doses. Cisplatin is hard on the kidneys up your fluid intake, that may help a bit. Hugs - you'll get through this!

Kevin got pretty sick after the first one, but he also had Taxotere and 5FU at the same time. The reaction to the 2nd and third was not quite as bad.
Just to warn you though...he did lose quite a bit of hearing in his left ear. It is a side effect of Cisplatin, but not one that everyone has.
Kathy

I didn't get very sick on my first treatment...I didn't puke, anyway. My Oncologist has a super duper nausea regime, tho...and he insists we stick to it by the letter for the first 2 days. 7 am, Zophran, 8 am Emend, 10 am Compazine, 1 pm Ativan, 3 pm Zophran, 6 pm Compazine...and Ativan at bedtime. I had a couple bad days during the first 5 days afterwards, where I'd take anti-nausea meds during the day. Sleep played a BIG difference in how I felt, tho...the more sleep the better the nausea would be.

p

Thanks,

Im also wondering what exactly dose the Dexamethasone do?

I took it days 2 through 4 (after) and I still have some left, would it help me feel better if I kept taking it ?

trying to keep up on the food/water....its hard though, everything tastes so bad and my tongue is burned/swollen from radiation. Im averaging around 1500cals a day and have only lost 3 pounds from wednesday. Ben & Jerry's ice cream is helping too.

-Jody

Here is the link for info about Dexamethasone.
http://www.chemocare.com/bio/dexamethasone.asp

Jody, watch your calories and hydration very closely. While 1500 calories may seem like alot, it is not enough. If you have lost 3 pounds in a week, its too much. Right now, you will need to take in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz of water every single day. By taking in this much it will help your body to fight off the cancer and rebuild itself from the treatments.

Jody,
Do you have a feeding tube to fall back on. My husband was determined not to have one but is very thankful he did!! It is five weeks post treatment and he takes almost everything by tube still. Food totally nauseated him but the last 2 weeks he has started very cautiously trying little bites. Try for a lot more calories. He has lost 35 pounds, 25 since radiation and chemo stsrted. Even with taking in over 2500 calories he still dropped 2 pounds last week. Luckily even though food nauseates him he was able to keep the tube feeding down most of the time. Only had trouble when the gagging from the gunk in his throat would eventually cause him to get sick. Hang in there. It will get better, we have finally reached the place last week where things are improving.

Finished chemo & radiation on the 13th. Got down to about 145lbs as of the 26th but I've been able to drink more and more Boost since the 13th. Calories are right around 2200 a day for the last 4 or 5 days so I hope my weight starts to go up.

What are peoples experience with the time frame for the "coughing-up slime" to stop?

Congrats on finishing your treatments! The thick phlegm usually lasts for about 3 - 5 weeks then comes the dry mouth. While it can be irritating, its alot better than the thick gunk. Dry mouth will require you to tote along a water bottle everywhere.

Some members rent a suction machine from their local medical supply company. You will need a prescription from your doc. Keep rinsing with 16 oz warm water, 2 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp salt and or seltzer water. I didnt use the seltzer water but others here have said how good it is at cutting the thick mucous. By rinsing several times per day with the baking soda mixture, it will help stabilize the ph balance in your mouth and clean out the mucous.

Your calories are pretty good, keep up the high calories for at least the next 6 months. You probably will not gain anything for quite a while, even if you take in 3500 or more calories daily. Your body is fighting to rebuild itself which burns up calories at an amazing rate of speed. When I was recovering I would drink chocolate peanut butter milkshakes which had about 2000 calories each, some days I would drink 3 of them and also take in my 2000 calories of formula. I never gained an ounce. Try adding some extra whey protein powder to your Boost to help promote healing. Also watch your water intake and keep taking in at least 48oz daily.

Best wishes with your continued recovery!

About a month or so post rads.

Hi Keith
In london 3 chemos and radiation daily for past 3 weeks. Cannot eat anything due to nausea or pain due to mouth ulcers I love my peg it will keep me going. I realized first time after squrting some food and painrelief in that too much too quickly is hard on the stomache.gunk in throat is beyond disgusting.
[b]Massive improvement [/b]given a Nebulizer with salt water satches improves throat gunk and mouth ulcers better than gargles and pain killers ask for one it lets you speak again.
Away to do my footnote.
stay strong. Inner Peace when will food taste good again???

I am on cisplatin at the start and again at week 3. Nausea meds (same as mentioned by P above) worked very well; used prn compazine a couple times for breakthrough nausea but otherwise had none from the first chemo. More aggressive anti-nausea treatment should be discussed and should help; it helps quite a lot in most cases, though some are very sensitive to nausea. Good luck!