Haven’t posted in a while because I didn’t want to just come on and moan, but I could really do with a bit of cheering up!
Yesterday was the halfway point of my treatment and so I know I should be celebrating, but I just feel so awful! My treatment started on Wednesday just over 2 weeks ago with chemo and radio and I basically started getting terrible nausea straight away. Just kept taking the tablets and planned to bring it up at my review the next Thursday. Well when that came around there was some kind of scheduling issue and no one could see me but by that point after chemo number 2 I was actually vomiting and unable to drink or eat anything.
At my hospital they have an Acute Oncology Service (not sure if they have it everywhere, but it’s a bit like A&E for people with cancer), so I took myself round there and after a bit of a wait they took bloods, set me up with fluids (as I was dehydrated by then) and then gave me a syringe driver with the antisickness medication in (ondansetron and metoclopramide). Since then I have been in AOS every weekday getting the syringe driver refilled/being reviewed, and then district nurses come at the weekend. I have had 3 episodes of non stop vomiting where I havent been able to drink for over 12 hours (including yesterday when I was back in again after chemo 3). They have upped the drugs, but i still feel sick all the time and now I have diarrhoea too which I’m not sure is radiotherapy related but rather from the metoclopramide. I have lost about 3kg and am basically living off rice crispies with oat milk. I keep trying to be positive thinking I have made it halfway but then at my review yesterday the radiotherapist just said that the second half is going to be way worse! It’s my 30th birthday on Sunday too and I’m going to be spending it sitting at home waiting for the D/N and I won’t even be able to sit around stuffing my face with Easter eggs because even the thought of that makes me want to chunder!
Didnt want to read and run. I want to say sorry to hear u r having a hard time so far. I am in my 3rd week of treatment and i have got the poops:-(. Hang in there u r half way done u can do this.:-). Aslo Happy Birthday
keep going back and trying different meds to calm down the sickness. Sometimes it does take awhile before they can find what works for you. Ginger snaps or fresh ginger in hot water with might help. All I could eat was boiled potatoes or white bread. I would make dumplings in chicken broth and put lemon slices in my water. You have to force yourself to drink even when you feel the gagging. It is horrible but try to remember you can do it.
I hope you feel better soon, I celebrated a birthday when I was going through treatment which isn't much of a celebration but think of it like this..... this is a gift of many more birthdays to come.
Just offering sympathy. I started with nausea from the first radiotherapy treatment, i hadn't expected it to kick in so quickly. I tried a few different antisickness drugs, but nothing removed it completely. I think I ended up having side effects from the antisickness drugs and it had become a bit of a merry-go-round. I did find that aniseed balls worked tremendously and later spearmint polos. I couldn't use toothpaste without gagging, until I found a fennel natural health one that I could tolerate. I did get to the end though - albeit dragging myself through the last half - and the sickness left me as soon as treatment stopped. You will get there!
Thanks for the messages! I have been admitted to hospital as I have been 2 days without anything to eat and hardly any fluids. Thankfully they have upped the dose of ondansetron so hopefully that will kick in soon!
Big hugs we all need. To rant at times i have ranted on here so much i lived on coop pops for a few weeks dint fancy anything else hope the hospital get u sorted n hope u get out before ur birthday happy birthday x
I to was very sick during my treatment and tried various meds , I ended up on a syringe driver with cyclizine , haloperidol and the steroid going through ( can't remember the name) as well an an antiemetic patch to wear which was changed weekly. All of this helped somewhat. I ended up Being refereed to the palliative care team about week 3 purely for symptom control as my oncology consultant " didn't know what else to do with me" , the palliative care consultant was brilliant the meds didn't take all of my sickness and nausea away but improved my symptoms a lot.
I hope the increased dose of ondansotron works for you , there are various anti sickness meds out there so keep asking them if you need to , and don't be afraid to keep asking , I know exactly how awful the nausea and vomiting is but there is light at the end of the tunnel and you can do this , and you will get through it .
Ah, sorry you are having such a crap time. I started heaving my guts up in the first week and couldn't keep anything down at all, including the anti sickness mess! its a horrible place to be and I don't envy you that at all.
My Oncology team were excellent, and following detailed discussion between me, them and the Consultant Radiographer, we established it was probably the radiotherapy rather than the chemotherapy that was causing the problem. I had an extended field so the radiotherapy was also zapping my para-aortal node (which they think was the trigger) and I had already figured out that everything was much worse within an hour of radiotherapy treatment whatever time of the day it was, and whatever I did or did not eat or drink. They gave me Ondansetron (known as Charles Dancetron in our house) to take about an hour or so before every radiotherapy treatment, on top of the regular anti sickness meds & the steroids. It made a massive difference. I never lost the funny taste at the back of my throat, or sometimes even the sense that I might actually throw up for n the hour after the treatment, but the sickness did in fact stop and I was able to eat and drink again.
I hope they figure it out for you too, I'm just sorry to hear that you've had to put up with it so long already.
Thanks so much for all your messages! after staying in on Friday night I was let out on Saturday with an increase of medication and although I had a couple more episodes of vomiting on Saturday and Sunday morning since then I haven't been sick once and I'm feeling generally much better. The doctors have said I can just keep the syringe driver until my treatment ends which is a relief! was able to enjoy my birthday on Sunday and had my penultimate chemo yesterday so only 13 days (including today) left!!!
