Am I the only with Nausea??

strongmom37

I just had treatment 3, AC yesterday. I am so nauseous this morning I don't know what to do. I took my 80mg of emend and am now trying to eat some plain toast and of course drink my nasty water. Does anyone have any good advise? I read a lot of these posts and it seems like there is a lot of you out there not experiencing such bad SE...I am jealous! I have to go back in for my neulasta shot this afternoon. It is about a 35 minute drive. Hopefully I can feel better by then. Thanks for letting me rant....blah

LibraGirl

Hi Strongmom,

You are not alone, but you should not have to feel this bad.

My own experience was better than I expected but not nausea-free.  I finished AC chemo in Aug. and although I never had severe nauseau and never actually vomitted, I pretty much always had a low level nausea.  I was on Emend and dexamethasone for 3 days and ondondestron (sp?) for 1. The zofran I was given for breathrough naseau had no effect for me. 

However, I know several women (through a BC exercise group) who had more trouble with nausea than I did, and Emend, even tho it is often hailed as a wonder drug, did not work for everyone.  Some women on dose dense AC in particular.  Whenever one of us was having bad SE, our trainer would push us to go back to the nurses or our onc and demand different drugs - that with all the anti-nauseants available today, no one should suffer through severe nausea.  We all react differently to different drugs, so if Emend isn't working for you you should ask to try something else.Don't be afraid to go back to your onc and ask if there is anything else you can try.

Hope your drive was okay.  Can you get someone else to drive you to apptmts.? 

Hang in there and good luck.

Alwayssearching

I justed started my chemo Monday and I feel quite sick in my belly - no vomiting yet.  The way my nurse explained it to me is that Emend is supposed to prevent the vomiting.  Once it starts you need a different drug for the vomitting. 

my doc gave me prochlorperazine for nausea if the emend fails.

you are certainly not alone!!!!! 

strongmom37

Well I did get some zofran and decodron yesterday when I went in for my neulasta. I guess it helped a little. I never vomited but just don't want to take anything in. I am sure I am dehydrated at this point which doesn't help the matter. I am trying to drink a little at a time, water, ginger ale (which i find so sweet) I am not much of a tea drinker but I guess I could try that. Thanks for posting your comments and suggestions. I am just feeling so negative right now and want this fase to be over. Only one more AC to go then on to 12 weeks of Taxol and Herceptin.

cdccpa

 I had a bad time with nausea and some vomiting during AC too.  I took the Emend for the two days after and it helped some.  I also had Zofran, but I felt like it didn't do anything but give me a headache.  They also gave me Phenegren and I avoided taking it at first because it totally knocks me out...but I finally figured out on AC #3 to take the Phenegren as soon as I got home from treatment and that was enough that I didn't have the really bad nausea or vomiting...just went to sleep and when I woke up most of it had passed.

I totally feel for you though because I also felt like I was one of the few having such a rough time.  I really didn't eat or drink much of anything for the first 4 - 5 days after each AC.  My sense of smell was super sensitive and nothing tasted right even after the nausea calmed down.  I can tell you thought that the 12 weekly Taxol/Herceptin is SO MUCH better.  I just had #10 this week and it has been a breeze compared to AC.  So far I've had zero nausea (and sadly, have gained weight as proof of that!)  I've really had no major side effects at all outside of some achiness.  Hope this helps!!  You are almost done with the hardest part.

 Carolyn

Ixia

Hi Strongmom,

Ouch, I'm sorry! I recognize those problems you are having! Drinking plain water became impossible when I was on AC, I could not even stand hearing the word.

Seltzer with flavoring, but no sugar, worked for me. (think Poland Spring w. Lime, as an example.) Also lemon water: Cut a lemon in half, squeeze juice into a tall glass, drop lemon in and add ice-water or hot water.

Both the fresh, citrusy smell and the tart flavor really helped! 

Try finding foods that don't turn you off - cold, tart foods worked best for me - I ate a lot of  plain, unsweetened yoghurt with frozen raspberries and bananas mixed in.

Be well! 

Ixia 

spar2

I suffered from a lot of nausea also, I did take 3 or 4 nausea meds and was still nauseated.  I did love those frozen strawberry fruit popsicles and cheese and crackers.  could only eat certain things.  I made myself drink ice water even though it didn't taste good.  Hope you get better.  So sorry you are going through all this.  hugs, sherry

LibraGirl

Hi Strongmom,

Gald you were able to get something else.  One thing I would recommend, even tho it sounds difficult, is to eat a little bit as often as possible.  I had a hard time getting myself to eat, but once I ate something my stomach usually felt better for awhile.  The trick is finding things you want to eat.  I could not eat bread, anything salty, most vegetables except tomatoes, coffee. I am vegetarian, so this left me with eggs (sometimes), fruit, yogurt, cereal, black tea.  Unfortunately, I only ate at mealtiimes, which meant I ended up losing weight (which for me was not a good thing) and becoming weak and anemic.  I would have done so much better off if I had eaten more frequently.

Have you tried gatorade? This got me through chemo day and the days right after when it is especially important to drink water (for the C part of AC).  Keep experimenting until you find something you want to drink.

Hope the next cycle is better for you.  You are getting there.  Don't despair.  You will get through it.

Hugs

Anonymous

If it's any help Strongmom, they say for most people, the third tx of AC is the worst one.

Nancy101

Hi Strongmom,

    You are not alone.  I finished AC in May 2006, but I can still remember the severe nausea I had.  I was on three or four different anti-nausea meds and I still had it, even vomited a couple of times.  I ended up losing 10 pounds while on AC chemo.  It took me two years to gain it back.  I am now at my official pre-chemo weight. 

    The best things that worked for me was fruit smoothies and soups.  Plain water aggrevated the nausea for me.  So, I would sip the clear broth from certain soups, drink a fruit smoothies when I could, and ate plain chicken breast.  Exercise also helps...try to go for a walk if possible.

    I wish you the best.  You will get through this.  The last couple of treatments are the worst.  Hang in there!  Hugs....

    Nancy

SandyAust

Hi Strongmom,

 I am coming in a bit late here, but your post caught my eye.  I am in Australia.  I had EC which is very similar to AC.  My chemo has been finished for four years but I still remember the terrible nausea and the dehydration because I couldn't face water or any other liquid for that matter.  The chemo nurses told me to steer clear of juice because it was too acidic on the stomach.  However I discovered after a friend brought me around a bottle of freshly squeezed orange juice with a touch of grapefruit juice that it was the only thing I could face.  It was heaven!  I really enjoyed that bottle of juice and I will never forget the kindness of the dear friend who gave it to me. 

 I hope the juice will work for you. 

 For my final dose, after I finally told my onc how bad things were, she put me in hospital on a drip for fluids overnight.  Not sure if I would recommend that or not.  It was good to be hydrated but I didn't like being couped up in hospital. Although in the end they gave me some pretty heavy duty meds and I got a really good nights sleep.

I am really sorry you feel so sick.  It is the absolute pits.  I also wondered why I was suffering so badly when others seemed to get by with limited SE. 

 Take care,

 Sandy