Six days since Cisplatin and I'm still pretty queasy. I'm out of meds except Compazine. I got an IV yesterday, which really helped. Is this normal? Should I keep requesting IV's?

Clint

I responded best to zofran. Have you tried it? They have a form that you allow to melt on your tongue. That worked best for me.

I too responded best to Zofran. My 1st cisplat treatment was fine but my 2nd left me nauseated a week later. The under the tongue Zofran did the trick for me.

Tim Stoj

Yup--another vote for Zofran here! When you say you "got an IV" what did you get in the IV? compazine? something else?

Also voting for Zofran (ODT to dissovle in your mouth if you are having trouble swallowing pills) and taken on a daily basis throughout your treatments to prevent nausea. Compazine is good for breathrough nausea but it's not a very effective first line medication for chemo side effects. I would ask for zofran and just be prepared that the doctor's office needs to get that precertified in most insurance plans. That's why it's good to do that so you have it on hand. Are you getting 3 days of Emend when you get your chemo?

Hydration IV's do help decrease nausea, so does Ativan for some reason. If you have a PEG tube you can run water through it in a gravity drip bag to keep the rate slow (helps decrease nausea) and get in a larger amount than 60 cc - which is only 2 oz. If you can still swallow you should keep doing that as well.

Remember that cisplatin has cumulative effects. You will tend to feel worse nausea at the later cycles. Jack found that at 72 hours post chemo he had some increased nausea that lasted a few more days so he made sure to use his drugs to cover that period. Also the side effects tend to peak at around 10-14 days so that's normal if you have low white or red counts and they will be watching for that.

Let us know how you're doing.
Regards JoAnne

According to the manufacturer Zofran is effective about 60% of the time. It worked for me at first but then wasn't very effective. It is also only to be used for 3-5 days then you must switch to another anti-emetic, at least for a while before going back to Zofran again.

If the infusion "really helped" then you are not taking in enough fluids. If you can't drink 2-3 liters of water a day (which is absolutely essential) then infusions are a good idea to protect your kidneys especially. It's faster to be re-hydrated in infusion rather than the ER.

If you are forced to use compazine suppositories, you can insert an ativan into the tip of it and it will be absorbed in that manner as well.

Cisplatin also does a number on the stomach lining so antiacids are a necessity as well. I had a script for Famatodine (Pepcid AC) and that helped as well.

Constipation (which is a consequence of just about any narcotic) can also be a source of nausea, especially when homeostasis is interrupted. Talk to your nutritionist.

I couldn't get Zofran because I had it in the IV post-chemo. She game me Phenergan, which wasn't so hot yesterday but worked OK today. I was even able to eat some cheeseburger for lunch & keep it down.

I started taking pepcid, which helped also.

Thanks for all the help!!

Clint

Clint,
that doesn't make sense. They gave me Zofran IV during my chemo and Zofran tablets for afterwards. I believe that that's what they did for most here who had Zofran as their primary anti-emetic. It's really expensive stuff (like 700 bucks a bottle)- maybe your insurance company was moaning about it.

No. I told them I'd pay cash if necessary. I'll check back if I get sick again.

Emend was the magic pill for me - very expensive, but it arrested the nausea/vomiting immediately.