Hello,
I have another question for you all. My husband has a 3rd tumor and we have been told there is nothing more they can do. Two weeks ago he had a traech put in to help him breath when he is lying down. He was in the hospital for a week very nauseated. They tried many drugs (Zofran, REglan, Compusen)and eventually he started feeling better (mainly once we got him home). He was also on iv antibiotics in the hospital and the week following here at home. He felt pretty good for 12 days or so but now the nausea is sort of creeping back. I want as many good days with my husband as I can get. I do not want nausea to be what keeps him down. What have you found or been told is the cause of the nausea at this stage. Is it usually related to an infection, just the tumor, etc...?? He is on the same med's he was on all during chemo/radiation for pain. That has not changed. The antibiotics stopped a few days ago. Oh, we do take Reglan and Zofran currently too.
I'm just curious what the likely cause is of the nausea?
Thank you all for your advice.
Sincerely,
Tamara

Kyle - 44 years old - non smoker/very casual drinker. Father of two little one's. Live in Ventura County, CA.
03/07 - squamous cell in left side of tongue removed. Chemo/Rad followed.
06/08 - tumor removed from part of tongue, base of mouth, left jaw, part of neck area. Chemo/rad followed.
10/08 - Now Petscan shows tumor in front/left part of chin under the flap (base of mouth). Has had fluid draining from this area into his mouth and under his chin.
11/08 - Traech put in. Has tumor fistulas that seemed infected.

Tamara,

First let me say that my heart goes out to you, Kyle and your children. When my sister's cancer returned, and the oncologist stated there was nothing more to be done, she had spent almost a month in the hospital due to the nausea and vomiting. We suspected maybe the radiation and chemo were not effective and the cancer had returned, but didn't know for certain. Not sure if Kyle is on a peg tube, but my sister was, and the fact that she was on pain meds...liquid roxanol (drops under the tongue)for ear pain and Fentanyl patches....it causes constipation, which then leads to nausea caused from illeus. It's when the bowels quit doing what they are suppose to do, eliminate. My sister took 1/2 cup of prune juice twice a day (thru the peg) also SennaGen twice a day and Reglan (4 times a day)also milk of magnesia, it helped a little at the beginning to make her more regular. For the nausea we tried all the drugs she took while under going radiation and chemo. companzine, zofran, ativan and then phenergan (low dose). We even tried medical marajuana (THC)...my sister had never taken the drug before and of course couldn't inhale, she could barely swallow...I got the tincture and applied drops under the tongue. It helped at first and then we went to vaporizing and that helped for awhile. We are a family that came of age during the 60's and 70's but never participated in the drug scene of that time. We were at the point we would try anything to help control the nausea. It all helped, but in the end nausea and vomiting were still an issue. Hopefully you will find something or combination that will give Kyle some relief. I'm so sorry that this is happening to you and especially at this time of year. I hope that you and Kyle will find peace and strength, my thoughts are with you and your family.

Truly,

Nancy

Tamara- my husband is very nauseated at times also. He is on Methotrexate but I think most of the nausea comes from the bowel area. The pain killers can really cause constipation. He takes liquid Senna through his peg tube everyday. He also takes Colace on a daily basis. This was recommended by his nurse. It helps to keep things moving so he is not so bogged down and they are not as strong and addictive as stimulative laxatives.

This truly is a rotten time of the year to have to deal with this. I have three teenagers and i'm trying to stay upbeat for them even though they think I'm crazy for playing Christmas music in the car. But I've always been corny like that and I won't change for this monster called Cancer. Take care and feel free to send me a personal message.

Sue

if there is constipation perhaps miralax would help? it is very gentle ... ask doc and see if this would work to help these problems. my 3 yr old gets constipated so quick and easy and this is what they told me to use with her and said it is safe enough to use daily ... and it has no taste when mixed with other things so this is nice too

for nausea though check in to GRAVOL (this is the name they use in canada) it is over the counter but i would still ask doc due to his condition. the pharmacist here told me that gravol is the same stuff (active ingredient) as what they have in US made motion sickness pills such as dramamine ... so i tried the generic MOTION SICKNESS pills and it worked ... so if other meds are not working for it you may wish to try this ... when i lived in canada and was PG i had nausea very badly and went to ER - they hooked me up to an IV of gravol and i got awesome relief so ever since then this is what i have used for our family for over 20 yrs of nausea relief.

i looked this up and found that the tumor itself can cause nausea - esp if it affects the inner ear, brain or GI tract, - also meds or treatment and dehydration or constipation ...

they suggest trying anti nausea meds, if they do not help then try anti anxiety meds like lorezapam and then try muscle relaxation, accupressure or accupuncture ...

Thank you for the replies. Kyle really doesn't have a constipation problem at the moment. He does has something go on with his left ear so maybe it is connected to that or just the tumor. Does anyone know if infection can cause nausea? Our home nurse as well as the Dr's at the hospital we got our 2nd opinion both stated that my husband really should have seen an infectious disease Dr. while in the hospital. If this tumor fistula that keeps draining down his throat is an infection they both feel that is the type of Dr. you should be seeing. We are currently seeing a local ENT surgeon (put in the traech). We are going to speak to him about this tomorrow at our appt. What Dr's do you use during Paliative care? Oncologist, pain mngt dr, ENT...... I just sort of feel the special surgeon we had is not really much help at this point.
Thanks again and please continue to give any other ideas. I feel lost at the moment.
Sincerely,
Tamara

hey he is the patient and you are his wife, caregiver and advocate. you can ask to see any kind of doctor you wish to get to the bottom of the best care for Kyle. Ask to see one for the infection possibility - this may bring a lot of help with his care and treatment, we do not know until we try.

both the ear and the tumor can cause nausea so not sure which it may be with him - maybe a bit of both i would ask doc and keep asking if he doesn't get good relief because there are so many different things for them to try ... if he isn't responding well to one - try try again till they get it right. suffering from nausea is not fun.

We saw a new pain mgt Dr. and he switched a few things around and added two new things. Last night I tried these two drugs about an hour apart. The first was Marinol to help with the nausea. The next was Xanax to help with the anxiety my husband has been feeling (the Marinol seemed to make the anxiety a little worse). Anyway, about 30 min's after the 2nd drug the nausea stopped but he started getting a terrible face/headache. The left side of his face always hurts due to the surgery/cancer. This pain was his entire face area. He said it was like a bad headache in his face. So, the nausea stopped and the terrible headache kept him up all night. Now this morning the headache is a bit better and he's throwing up again. I realize I should have given the drugs further apart to tell which is causing what and may need to do that in a minute. Has anyone had this reaction to either of these drugs? He is also on Neurontin, Percocet and Celebrex.
Thank you for any advice.

Marinol is supposed to act like marijuana, at least that's what I was told so I thought cool, I'll get a little buzz and the munchies both of which would have been a great boost at the time they prescribed it for me.. Not so with me. It didn't have any affect on me, either way. In fact it's probably still in my refrigerator as I was told the pills had to be kept there. Expensive too as I remember.

Xanax does not, to the best of my knowledge - cause nausea. It is a fast acting but short lived anti-anxiety med.

Donna

Hello All,
I just wanted to give an update since we may have found something that is helping with the nausea at the moment. We switched my husband to hospice care Monday morning. The nurse that came put him on a suppository that is a mix of like 4-5 different anti-nausea drugs (some are the one's we have been trying). Either it's done the trick or the nausea just ran it's course again and went away. Since yesterday morning Kyle has not felt nauseated at all. Another pointer she told us was to never feed him during the night while he's sleeping (I was doing slow drip with the machine). We got 3 whole cans of food in him today and hope for 4-5 tomorrow. He's lost so much weight again this week. We saw an infectious disease Dr. today who is putting him on another antibiotic as well as an anti fungal type mouth rinse.
I hope he feels o.k. through the holidays.
I hope you all feel o.k. through the holidays. Bless you all.
Love, Tammy

Oh what wonderful news. I am sure it is the suppository helping and that is wonderful.

I too pray you are all able to enjoy this holiday together.

Stay strong and stay in touch. We are thinking of you.

Tammy- Hang in there. I always knew that gettting through the holidays this year would be a bonus. Try to enjoy as best you can-making lasting and happy memories.