hi all! I seem to have posted a lot this week - apologies!
mum starts frontline chemo on Monday and is really worried about vomiting while she’s still so sore from surgery. Does anyone have any words of advice on this? And did you have anti nausea meds etc?
We have really pushed to the doctor that mum is prone to vomiting - and she reacted with vomiting when she had chemo for breast cancer a number of years ago - but they haven’t really said much. (I’m sure they’ve got it all under control but mum had asked for a port to be booked in before chemo 1 which hasn’t happened so think we’re all feeling a bit unheard!)
thank you in advance xxx
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georgiageorgia182
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I was also worried about nausea and vomiting, but they are much better at keeping things under control - I agree with SuffolkJen, take all the medication on offer, whether or not you feel you need it. I got anti-sickness tablets to take on the day off chemo, plus a different one for the days afterwards. (If I forgot to take it then they would add it into pre-chemo meds.) You get some steroid just before the infusion and usually some to bring home for the first few days which also help with nausea.
I never vomited and only occasionally felt a bit nauseous. Eating something also helps! Toast or biscuits were my go to.
Firstly, how are you? Just wanted to say you are such a wonderful daughter caring for your mum like this. It's not easy is it, but I am sure she really appreciates it 🤗
Time goes so fast, now your mum is back on chemo! O do hope she is recovering well from the surgery & hope all the post surgery tips helped in one way or another!
Re sickness, I found I had more stomach acid after surgery, but it wasn't obvious, I just felt more sick than usual. It was trial and error with additional sickness meds, but in the end, its was increasing my anti acid meds that helped, now taking 30mg Lanzoprazole before breakfast has made a big difference. So my advice is to take sickness meds from the start everyday regardless & speak to your nurse or hotline about possible stomach acid, it is always worth asking about. Keep pushing for a port, I have to chase things alot! Emailing your nurse is a good idea so you have a record, and copy in another nurse incase they are on leave.
Hi Kazzh! How are you doing? I think you may have had your last chemo by now - how are you feeling? 😀 and thank you so much for your kind words about me looking after mum! It means a lot.
All of the post surgery tips were immensely helpful, so thank you - and it was so reassuring just to hear the experience of others who'd been through it. I think the main thing just ended up being time! Mums feeling much better from that now and we made it to chair yoga the other day which was great! Have you been swimming much?
Its really useful to hear about stomach acid, I'll keep an eye out for that if the anti nausea meds don't help - thank you! On the port, was it your CNS who ended up sorting it? I'll get mum to start emailing now - imagine you may well have the same nurse!
Hi GeorgiaAhh so pleased to hear from you, its such a great place for support on here isn't it, & glad your mum has benefitted, but yes, at the end of the day its time with all these things. I'm now 14 weeks post surgery and still get a few tummy issues, pains here and there and feeling a bit sick so I guess it will take quite some time to completely settle, if ever.
Don't think my body has felt atall like it used to since I started treatment, its a weird feeling with the chemo. Had my 6th one 3 weeks ago and jad a rescan. Blood tests tomorrow. Then I'm away this weekend with a friend (can't wait to have a break!) then back to Guildford Tuesday to see if I'm clear of cancer 🙏
I'm not stressing about it though, it is was it is, meantime I'm swimmimg more, enjoying the sunshine & loving my life 🥰
Btw I email my gynae nurses, not sure their title, I have Fiona and Sarah.
I didn't have a port but have emailed my nurses many times for other things & followed up phone conversations confirming things to keep a record.
Have a lovely break Kazzh - you deserve it!! And I'm not surprised your body is still feeling different - its still such relatively early days Will be thinking of you on Tuesday!
(And Mum's nurse is also Fiona - we've just had some useful responses over email so thanks for the nudge) Lots of love xxx
Sorry that your mum is feeling unheard . I have had chemotherapy 3x for ovarian cancer and never vomited or felt nauseous. The anti sickness tablets they give you before treatment and to take after are very good. My advice is to take them as advised even if feeling OK.best to prevent than wait until feeling sick. Only side effect I was told was anti sickness tablets can cause constipation Tell her to try to eat little and often no matter how she is feeling.
I hope she gets through this treatment with no real side effect.
Your Mum will get through this. As others have said, take the meds. Your Mum will get steroids and anti sickness meds prior to chemo. It helps to stay rehydrated and to eat as well as you can. Eating little and often can be helpful. Many people find ginger (ginger biscuits) useful. Adding flavouring (a little juice or rehydration tablets) to water can help if your Mum isn’t used to tap water.
Remind your Mum to take something to keep her occupied during chemo. Bizarrely, many women quite enjoy chemo as it can be sociable.
I have vomit phobia and my Oncologist put me on a cocktail pf 3 anti-sickness meds from the start so I didn't have any nausea. They were Odansetron, Metoclopramide and Aprepitant.
hello, I would just add to the helpful comments of the other ladies on here. I was terrified of nausea before I started chemo because I am also prone to nausea for everything. However, I have just finished six cycles of chemo and haven’t felt sick once. Your mum’s pre meds may be different but in case helpful, my chemo cycles included pre meds of a steroid infusion, an antihistamine, an anti sickness tablet (Aprepitant) which you take before chemo and then at the same time two days afterwards. Plus another anti-sickness tablet called Ondansetron, which again I took for three days afterwards. I was also given metoclopramide, but I did find after a few cycles. I didn’t even need this and I had a good appetite (apart from metal taste in mouth). I would take all the medicine on offer and I hope your mother will be totally fine. Honestly, I was so surprised at how well the anti-sickness tablets worked for me given my history of feeling sick for everything. I’ve even eaten a full meal during each chemo infusion which I would have never ever imagined would be possible given my history of feeling sick for everything. I really hope your mother is fine and the medication works for her 🤞🏻
My mum is currently on her 3rd cycle of chemo (carboplatin) and has not had much vomiting at all, just some light nausea. We were both worried about vomiting and she got super anxious about it as we approached her first cycle. We asked lots of questions about this and although the doctors answered the questions, they were quite general as they just can’t predict if it will occur and how bad it would be - medication is given before and after each cycle and from there on it’s a bit like a trial and error approach to what medications are tolerated best, there are lots of options.
In my mum’s case, she was initially given Ondansetron anti sickness to take for the first 5 days following chemo. She did experience some vomiting even with this so from the second cycle they switched to Aprepitant to take for 2 days following chemo, with domperidone alongside this for 5 days - this prevented any vomiting but she has had a bit of nausea which eventually passes after the first few days. Mum has also had some constipation during the first few days, which made the nausea a little worse, but again on discussing this with her oncologist she prescribed a stool softener and also a laxative. Similar to the way anti sickness tablets work, they recommended to take take before you experience as it’s easier to treat this way. Worth asking about this also.
If she has been assigned to a specialist nurse you could try reaching out to them. We were so anxious in the beginning but there really are lots of medications that they can offer and they will make sure to prescribe alternatives where necessary - it’s just so daunting at the beginning, completely appreciate where you are coming from!
Happy to chat further if you like.
Wishing you and your mum strength and courage, hope she has a smooth chemo journey.
Hello wonderful daughter (or son). You are doing a great job. I've just started chemo again today & feeling ok. As said above, the steroids and anti sickness tabs (or infusions) they give you are pretty good at controlling nausea/vomiting but if your mum is still worried, then she should discuss this further with Onco nurses. My concern is always with constipation. Coloxyl and movicol help but I find prune juice is good too. Also using a "poo stool" is good & yoga for constipation.
Sending big hugs xxxx
PS. Definitely push for the port. (I'm 72 & I'm totally over cannulas). It's my best friend. 😊
Re. Nausea, I would take Zofran (ondansetron) when I experienced any nausea, and it really helped to get rid of it. And I agree, you should push for a Chest Port , it’s the best decision I ever made regarding getting infusions. Best of luck to your mom.
Thank you so much everyone who took the time to reply to this! I have sent mum a link to this and all your positive responses really helped ease her anxiety - so thank you it really means a lot. Mum had chemo yesterday and has been loaded with various anti nausea tablets that seem to be working so far (Dexmethasone, Domperidone and Ondansetron). Fingers crossed but sounds like Aperitant has been good for people so I'll keep that in the back pocket if this combo doesn't work xxxx
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