I was just reading up on on ChrisS's posts to see how my experience was matching up. I started out this week still having horrible problems with nausea but this time clearly from the Amifostine. I made it through rad each time but had violent vomiting before or after (Monday it was afterwards in the changing room and my husband was knocking on the door saying "are you ok?", "answer me! Open the door!" and both of those two things were wildly impossible at the time as it was a big changing room and the trash can I had found to barf in was on the far side from the door. I mean OBVIOUSLY I was BUSY! What did he think HE would do anyway? (the waiting room for fmaily memebers is across the hall and I guess he'd heard me wooorfing from there)

I was doing what the nurse said to prevent the nausea, taking an ativan and a compazine ebfore coming in for the Amifost. and they did NO good. But they did lower my blood pressure, which Amifostine does too, and mine is on the low end anyway. So by Wednesday, I took a compazine suppository, thinking it would do the trick and at least keep me from barfing (and it didn't) and my B.P. was kind of frighteningly low, I slept all day with the chills half the time after rad was over, and I vomited anyway from the Amifostine and I said to the nurse "why am I taking this if it isn;t working?".

So Thursday, I took the ativan but skipped the comapzine ahead of time, intending to demand some other attempt at solving this. But I didn't need to demand because the chemo nurses had come to the same conclusion. I got a steriod (decadron), a new anti-emitic (Fenugren), no compazine. This might have been because they had weighed me the day before at radiation medicine and I've lost 6 pds in the first week and 1/2. No big surprise since I was sick all day from the chemo for two days last week and then have been drowsy and nauseated from the comapzine and amifostine for the first half of the second week.

I had great hopes for the new regime but... still violently ill from the Amifostine Thursday. This time before I could even get up from the chair or they could unhook my port. Nonetheless, I still got through rad after the seeming obligatory 2 minutes of retching, and actually had *appetite* for the rest of the day, which was good because the mouth sores have started and so I have had to get half my nutrition through the peg (the other is milkshakes and soy milk and cream soups). But at least I was hungry enough to care about doing that. And I really felt some energy and life for the first time since all this nausea/compazine cycle began, and no nausea after that one bad reaction to the Amifostine.

Today, even better. The end of week 2. They gave me the ativan, the decadonr and a new mystery hold it under your tongue and it dissolves drug that's on those kind of dissolvable films --they said it was something new "Pro-something" I think?"

Anyway, Magic. NO nausea from the amifostine. NONE. Appetite all day. No vomiting. I think the magic combo has been found.

Of course I now have mouth sores to deal with but meds for that from several sources. From the medical oncologists' office I have "Carafate" which is a solution sometimes used for stomahc ulcers but I'm supposed to swish it in my mouth or put directly on the sore spots seeral times a day. I have a couple of blistered looking spits right in the lower inner lip where my teeth seem to rub when my mouth is dry. Just using carafate twice today seems to have helped a lot. From my ENT, who I saw this week, and who will help with the mouth stuff and be more available than the raidation oncologist who is sometimes here and soemtimes in Buffalo can be, I got a bottle that says "HC & TTC IN NYST & DIPH SYR". I'm suypposed to rinse and swallow 2 teaspoons 4 times a day. I haven't been using it that often because the pain has been intermittent. Can anyone tell me what it IS? Is this a form of "magic mouthwash"?

From radiation medicine, I finally got a tube of "radiagel" for my outer skin, which I've noticed staying pink a little longer after each treatment.

So anyway, all is feeling manageable right now for the first time in a while. Though I know these two weeks are the easiest time and I have much harder times ahead.

Any and all advice/hints/ feedback welcome.