Robert has had a very tough week. He seems to be getting nauseated the day after chemo and this last 2-4 days, he feels a little better for 2 days and then chemo on Monday (cisplatin) and it all starts again, this is week 3 of this,this past week was bad. He received fluid twice at the office, and we considered a peg ,however he does not have any mouth sores or throat pain after 3 weeks of radiation.We had iv fluids delivered to the house today.We have attempted all meds Ativan, Zofran,Phenergan,Kytral,Reglan Decadron and yet this nightmare continues. He can not drink anything . I should also mention that he is on Ethyol sub Q daily, and he had a severe rash yesterday that I think that he may be having a reaction to the Etyhol,also having severe abdominal cramping. The Nurse at the RO acted like I was out of my mind when I questioned if the rash was from etyhol.The RO was out of the office and the nurse did decide to hold the ethyol. He has lost 10 pounds in 4 days.If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. Other than the nausea/vomiting he would be doing great.

Nancy, since we are about to start chemo, my question to you[rather than having an answer for you] is this: Do you have a feeling that the problems Robert is having are chemo related, or from the combination of rad and chemo? Amy

Hi Nancy,
I also suffered from nausea during the treatment and was told that it was mostly related to chemo rather than radiation. I had Cisplatin for 4 times on a weekly basis. I had the shot on Thursday and the doctor would prescribe enough anti-nausea drugs for me to take before meals. Friday and Saturday were the worst when I wanted to throw up all the time. Then on Sunday onwards, I felt better until my next shot. The drugs worked well on me and I remember vomiting twice only throughout the whole treatment. Of course my appetite was seriously affected but I forced myself to eat whatever I could.
As for the rash, I had similar experience when I was hospitalised for a morphine drip. The whole body was full of rash overnight and my oncologist thought that it was my reaction to the drug ( sorry I am not sure what drug was given to me through the tube other than the morphine). So he gave me a few shots of antibiotics,which helped get rid of the rash. Such situation lasted about 3 to 4 days, which made me very frustrated because the rash made me very itchy but I couldn't scratch.
If your husband doesn't have mouth sores, he should try to eat more now because most patients suffer from throat and mouth pain sooner or later.

Karen

You mean Amofostine? I don't recall anyone here yet being able to tolerate the whole treatment. It can cause extreme nausea as well.

I too had extreme nausea issues with Cisplatin. Usually within the first week after the infusion. I ended up having to use compazine suppositories because I couldn't keep anything down. The nausea got worse with each treatment. You just have to ride it out. I know it's very hard to watch a loved one go through this. Keep after the docs for nausea control - there are other things to try.

He MUST stay hydrated! Cisplatin is very hard on the kidneys and must be flushed out. If it is allowed to concentrate it can cause permanent kidney and possible liver damage. He will feel much better after hydration. If he can't swallow or keep anything down then make an appointment in infusion for rehydration. He should be taking in 2-3 liters of water daily.

Nancy, I went in daily to my MO's office for several days after each chemo for rehydration through an IV in my port because the nausea and vomiting was so bad I was getting dehydrated. Gary is right that it's really essential to stay on top of this(hydration). I also ended up having to use compazine suppositories, even though I hated how compazine made me feel, because I couldn't keep anything down. Like Robert, I was also taking ethyol --up until the second chemo infusion, at that point I decided I just couldn't handle it and the chemo nausea together so I skipped it for a few days. Then I went back to taking it every other day, at my rad oncologist's recommendation.

I do have some saliva at this point (8 mos after rad), when I get a mouth massage I get a lot more--which leaves me hopeful that in another year my mouth might be at a decent level of moisture all by itself (obviously the glands can make more saliva than they're making regularly)--I'm not sure how much of this is due to putting up with the ethyol, which was awful, and how much due to IMRT saving part of my right parotid gland. I do think it's worth doing everything you can to try to keep your saliva--incuding the godawful amifostine. But it seems most folks can't tolerate it all the way through and I think it's expecting superhuman strenght to think he can take it regularly if he has bad chemo nausea too.

Nelie

Nelie

It is a shame that Cannabis Indica/Sativa is against federal law. It is the BEST treament for nausea and also aids appetite. There are so many positives for cancer patients, but yet it remains illegal.
Now that I am back in treatment again I got some feelers out for Indica.
Darrell

Nancy, we heard a lot of people getting cisplatin describe a similar scenario -- just about when they were over the nausea (despite various drugs) it was time to get another infusion! Some of them were helped by acupuncture; Hopkins now has acupuncture for intractable nausea and pain associated with cancer or its treatment. It also is not 100% but helps some people -- maybe ask about this. Gary is right, it is absolutely essential that Robert stay hydrated -- not only can cisplatin cause renal damage but Robert also needs to take 20-24 oz. of liquid before the Ethyol to avoid reactions, which can include blood pressure drop.

Serious rash is one of the possible bad side effects of Ethyol (amifostine) and it should not be given if a generalized rash develops (that is, one not confined just to the area around the injection site). Medimmune suggests using oral antihistamines to reduce chance of this but our RO nurse said she never thought they were very effective. However, might be worth trying. If rash is confined just to injection site, hydrocortisone cream can help. But our RO nurse said that this was usually a precursor of a more extensive reaction to come -- she was always careful to check for the least little red spot before giving Barry his injection.

Barry did take Ethyol all the way through (though not on chemo days) but he was getting the far less nasty carboplatin and also, the anti-nausea drugs seemed to work well for him. But he says the Ethyol was still the hardest part --

Gail

Hi everyone. I was re-reading this post because my husband has been having a hard time with nausea. The med oncologist acts like the drugs he is getting to fight the nausea should be taking care of the problem. When we asked the RO if radiation causes nausea, he said no, that it might if he were treating some other area than head/neck. However, the med oncologist said there are cases of radiation induced nausea. Does anyone know if radiation for oral cancer typically causes nausea? My husband has had 16 RT's so far. He did his second round of Cisplatin yesterday. It is challenging trying to keep him hydrated and nourished at home. Also, is there any rule of thumb as far as when taking meds orally, then vomiting afterwards, how long the meds would have to be in your system before they come back up? Thanks.
Michele

Michele, when I had Cisplatin and felt urpy, I used oil of peppermint under my nose and that helped a great deal. I know this doesn't work for everyone, but it is an inexpensive fix if it does. Available in the baking section of most stores.

I am pretty sure it was the chemo that upset me, and not the rad. None of the other rad patients who I got to know during my 37 treatments, most not on chemo, had any nausea.

Thanks for the suggestion Joanna. At this point, we will try anything. Hopefully this will work, because I think all the meds are just making it worse.

Michele

Michele, can any of his meds be dissolved in water beore he takes them? That would get them into his system faster.Amy

Michele
We ended up using suppositories( compounded at small local pharmacy) for Pete`s nausea. This after trying every oral anti-nausea drug known!
Talk to your Doc before he gets too dehyrated.
Marica

We haven't actually tried dissolving them in water but will give it a shot, although I'm not sure if that will help because even taking them in tablet form doesn't seem to help even after waiting. The only thing accomplished is that he gets drowsy but when he wakes up, he is still nauseated. We haven't thought about suppositories, although I have seen Compazine suppositories mentioned on this forum - he has tried compazine tablets - would the suppositories be more effective? He is not necessarily throwing up a lot, just sometimes, as a matter of fact, he says he wishes he could throw up because he feels that would relieve the nausea for awhile.
Thanks everyone.
Michele

Michelle, My husband just got a prescription for Zofran that dissolves under the tongue or just in the mouth. Maybe this form would help?

NAN P,

I hope your husband did not continue with the ethyol. My wife had also a severe rush after the initial few injections. The RO gave in continuing with the Ethyol injections and she had ended in the hospital after that because of a severe rection to the Ethyol (Amiphostine).

Regarding the nausea and vomiting we have become to accept that as a fact of life and there is not much that can be done to control it.

My wife is 8 months out from end of chemoradiation and still has severe nausea and vomiting.