Constant Nausea, all foods

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susilv
susilv Member Posts: 4
edited September 2017 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

I have finally completed the chemo portion of m treatment. (triple negative, 4 cm tumor. Taxol/AC regimen. Started in March of 2017, last AC in August). I have had several side effects that are "not common" but "not unheard of" which has made for an interesting few months. I have had 3rd degree chemo burns on my hands and feet. And the week after my last AC I went septic and came very close to not making it. After 3 weeks, I am home, and my blood levels are good. I have a blood clot, so now i'm on blood thinners as well. They say I'm getting better each day. I have my surgery late September.

But I can't eat. Anything, even the smell of it makes me sick to my stomach. If I take a zofran first, I can eat a little, but it still makes me feel bit queasy, and I spend the next couple of hours in and out of the bathroom. I don't know how I'm supposed to build up my energy if I can't eat anything! I can't be the first person to have this problem, right? Any help? I don't want to end up back in the hospital.

susilv

Diag March 2017/chemo March-August 2017/Stage2 ductile carcinoma, triple negative/upcoming surgery Sept 2017

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  • Legomaster225
    Legomaster225 Member Posts: 672
    edited September 2017

    Sorry Susilv. You are not alone! While I did not have any nausea during chemo I did lose weight that I could not afford to lose. I ordered super high calorie Boost from Amazon to help me keep it from getting worse. I could not find this version in any store. It has 500 calories and tastes like a melted milkshake. Only comes in vanilla.I drink it very cold, with a big straw right before bed. I don't know if you can could stomach that but it's worth a try.

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  • NotVeryBrave
    NotVeryBrave Member Posts: 1,287
    edited September 2017

    Different people respond to medications differently. If I were you - I'd ask for some other options for the nausea. I was given Compazine - a much older medication than Zofran - and it worked well for me. I'm sure that there are some other ones.

    You do need to recover better before your surgery so you might consider seeing a nutritionist for advice on getting in calories that count. They may also advise on supplements - both for calories as well as vitamins and minerals.

    Congratulations on finishing the chemo! I was also one that got the "well, it could be a side effect but we don't really see that" all the time. Gets old really quick.


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  • PauletteK
    PauletteK Member Posts: 2,205
    edited September 2017

    Another way might try is get the protein power add to your drink so you can get extra protein. Good luck and I pray for you.

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  • VL22
    VL22 Member Posts: 851
    edited September 2017

    So sorry you are going through this. My MO mentioned that if the usual oral medications don't work for nausea, the next step can be a patch that he says tends to do the trick.

    Best of luck

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  • Italychick
    Italychick Member Posts: 2,343
    edited September 2017

    My MO gave me zofran and compazine both to alternate if I got nausea, but my primary care doctor said if zofran gave me headaches to just use the compazine. The patch for nausea is called the Sancuso patch I believe.


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  • badger
    badger Member Posts: 34,614
    edited September 2017

    susilv, good advice above about trying a different nausea med. Zofran was OK for me but there were other options. Maybe something would work better for you.

    I still had some nausea, though, and couldn't tolerate an empty stomach. Had many tiny meals/snacks. Ate a lot of bland foods like saltines, mashed potatoes, bananas, rice, applesauce & toast. My taste buds changed from day to day but weak tea with milk & honey was always soothing. Was lucky in that water tasted good as it's important to stay hydrated.

    Best wishes and gentle ((hugs)).

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

    susilv,

    We're so sorry you're experiencing this terrible side effect of treatment! You've received some great advice above, but we wanted to point out these pages from the main Breastcancer.org site's section on How and What to Eat When You Have Treatment-Related Side Effects:

    We hope this helps, and that you start to feel better soon! Please keep us posted if you find something that works.

    --The Mods

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  • susilv
    susilv Member Posts: 4
    edited September 2017

    Thank you all so much for your help. I have also been wearing the 3-day patch. I will check on the companzine,and look for a protein powder or supplement. I am unable to eat bread or crackers. It seems to stick in my throat. I have another med that helps, but it puts me to sleep for several hours. If I didn't have a 2 week "deadline" so to speak, (that's when surgery is) I would relax and sleep through most of this, and hope it will get better the farther I am away from chemo.

    Thanx again! It helps just knowing others have had this problem and there are other options. Gives me hope! And gets me of ff the couch.

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  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited September 2017

    Oh susilv, I am sorry. I had bad problems with nausea during chemo and ended up using (in addition to the ones given right around the time of chemo) ondansetron (Zofran), compazine, and lorazepam (Ativan). Lorazepam is a "benzodiazepine" which is usually thought of as a type of sedative, but they can have some anti-nausea effects. They can be habit forming so are down the line of things to try.

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