Intractable vomiting after mastectomy

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cse70
cse70 Member Posts: 43
edited March 2017 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Finally home after UMX. I had to stay an extra day due to continuous vomiting. Anybody else go through this? They tried Zofran, phenergan and pepcid with no results. Thanks for your input!


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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2017

    cse70, we're so sorry you're dealing with this awful side effect! Is the vomiting due to anesthesia?

    You may find some tips to help you manage on the main Breastcancer.org site's side effect page on Vomiting.

    We hope this helps and that you feel better soon!

    --The Mods

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited March 2017

    PONV...Post Op Nausea and Vomiting is a recognized occurrence for some people. Women are more prone to it, and it occurs more after surgeries of the breast/chest.

    If this was your first surgery under general anesthesia, you should make sure your PONV is noted in your chart, and should you ever have additional need for surgery under a general anes...make sure to discuss this problem with your surgeon and anesthetist.

    It's horrible...I've been there. Hope you are feeling better now.

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2017

    If you need additional surgery you may be able to request a scopolamine patch to be applied the night before surgery - it works for 72 hours and can help prevent nausea and vomiting, chasing it after it happens is much harder than preventing it from the outset. I never had issues with nausea or vomiting post-surgically until well into my reconstruction experience - now I do. The combo of preventive scopolamine and IV meds seems to control it for me, although Zofran is totally ineffective for me too. I agree with nihahi - PONV is an issue for a number of people and it is miserable, be sure to reconfirm your experience if you need any additional surgery so they are prepared, and you can usually request a consult with the anesthesia department prior to surgery and fully discuss how to deal with this going forward if you require surgery in the future - good luck!

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  • cse70
    cse70 Member Posts: 43
    edited March 2017

    Nihahi, you are correct! It's horrible. The Mx site was tolerable but the PONV was awful! Definitely will talk to MD if future surgery needed.

    SpecialK, I heard a nurse mention scopolamine but wasn't even sure they made it anymore.


    Thanks for your advice

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  • Hopeful82014
    Hopeful82014 Member Posts: 3,480
    edited March 2017

    cse - went through that after a relatively minor surgery years ago. It really was awful. In my case, I finally gave up on any pain medications and lived on 7-Up (not diet 7-Up) for about 3 days. I think it was the 7-Up that solved the problem but that's just a guess. I hope you get over it quickly - I can't imagine how miserable that must be after mx. :(

    PS - the bright spot was losing about 10 pounds ;) I did NOT mind that.


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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2017

    cse - yes, scopolamine is still around - I used it last November for a surgery, it is a round Band-Aid like disk you stick behind your ear. My PS wrote a prescription for it and I filled it in advance and put it on the night before. You just have to remember not to touch the patch and then touch your eyes - it can cause some blurry vision.

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  • cse70
    cse70 Member Posts: 43
    edited March 2017

    hopeful82014,

    I agree with you, sometimes pain meds cause more problems! After each surgery, I got back on Advil within 3 days. And yeah, I think I am down about 5 pounds. Yay

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