If anyone is familiar with cisplatin I wanted to know if nausea was a serous problem and if so did the nausea drugs work. Also did anyone loose their hair due to cisplatin? Thank you, Angel

Lots of folks here had Cisplatin. As with most chemo, nausea is a potential side effect. However, I personally did not have any nausea from the treatment, likely due to the anti-nausea medication.

The only hair I lost (besides my beard and neck hair due to radiation) was at the back of my head at the neckline. Whether this was radiation or Cisplatin, I couldn't say, but believe it was radiation. It was not very noticeable anyway, and grew back quickly. To my knowledge, substantial hair loss is not customarily associated with Cisplatin treatment.

Hi Angel,

I had weekly cisplatin during my treatment and yes, I had trouble for the first couple of weeks with nausea. It generally hit about the second or third day and although I didn't vomit it made eating tough. After the third week, I got a different combination of anti-nausea drugs and I didn't have any further trouble with it. The other significant side effect for me was a terrible metallic taste in my mouth that made food taste really terrible. One way to combat that was to use plastic utensils but like the nausea, it did impact my ability to eat normally.

As far as hair loss, cisplatin shouldn't cause hair loss - it works differently than the drugs that do cause hair loss. That said, like Jeff, I lost hair at the back of my neck from the radiation and I also experienced some thinning overall. Not really noticeable to most people, but I notice it. I don't think anything has grown back yet, but its only been a couple of months.

- Margaret

Jeff and Margaret, Thanks for the info. The 2 med's given to me for nausea are Emend (3 pills costs $350.00) take the day of treatment, 2 day after and 3rd day after chemo, and I also have phenegrin that can be used with the Emend. All I can say is I hope medicare drug coverage pays for it, if not maybe they can change it. That is a little expensive for 3 pills. Angel

Angels,

During your chemo infusions, you will also get bags of drugs other than the Cisplatin...some to help you hydrate, some to offset toxicity to your kidneys, some for nausea.....Bill would go thru 10 bags of solution during each weekly (approx. 6 hour) infusion. The first one was usually benedryl (sp?) so he would be nodding off to la la land very quickly.

Make those chemo nurses your friends...they are usually a special bunch. I know we became fond of them and sometimes they intervened when no one else would.

Sending strength and positive vibes your way as you begin treatment.

Deb

Debandbill, Thank you for the inspiring information. I hope they give me the benedryl first 2 so I can sleep through it. lol, It seems that everyone I have encountered so far has been very nice to me and I really do appreciate everyone here as well. All of you are very special people. Angel

Angels,

I struggled with nausea quite a bit until I got my anti nausea meds in order. I too had emend and that worked on the days I took it, but I also had Zofran ODT. That worked best for me, after I couldn't swallow that well. It's a small tablet that went under my tongue and disolved. I could also mix it with a little water and put it down my PEG tube. I also had daily IV fluids and I'm sure that helped.

My hair loss was mainly due to radiation treatment.

Stay hydrated, make your self swallow even when it hurts the worst, gargle 4 to 5 times daily with baking soda, salt and warm water to keep your mouth clean and stay as active and positive as you can.

Tom

Angels,
I didn't have Chemo, but my last week of RT I had a really bad bout with nausea and was given liquid Zofran (Ondansetron Hydrochloride Oral Solution).

It worked great.

Stoj, I found out my drug coverage didn't cover the Emend so I will have to wait and see what the Dr. replaces it with. Thank you for all the good advice.I hadn't heard about the soda and salt water so I was glad to hear about that. Even now I have trouble swallowing so I am still on a soft/liquid diet. Good info, Thanks, Angel

DonB, I keep reminding mysel that this is only for 7 weeks and then I will be on the road to recovery. I will be glad when I get this dental problem cleared up so I can get this done asap. Thanks a lot, Angel