Hiccups

Hi Everybody - sorry to post maybe a low level issue - but had first rad Mon, chemo/rad Tues/ and 3rd rad today - I now have developed hiccups that started this morning and are still going on - I read some of the past threads and posts back in 2009 - and they did experience this and I have read some studies on line from various researchers that men get it predominantly and that it is typically caused by the anti nausea drug they give you during chemo - has anyone experienced this lately at the start of their treatments - a call in to the oncologist and I am supposed to start taking the anti nausea that they have already prescribed and we have filled at the local pharmacy - if there is any humor to attach to this, my wife and I went Christmas shopping and I had to explain to several sales people that I had not been drinking - just to let you know I do have a sense of humor - I imagine it will be tested in the next several weeks -

3 down and 32 to go

Thanks

Steve

 

ps - am I imagining it or are the lymph nodes that have been zapped for only 3 days feeling softer and small already - it looks and feels like it - has anyone expericned this  -

pps  HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL  who have been so helpful and my thoughts and prayers with you and with those who cannot fully enjoy the day

God Bless

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Comments

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147
    Hiccup Follow up

    So quick follow up - took the prescribed anti nausea at 5:15 - at 6:00 the hiccups stopped and feeling better - dose is every 4 hours, but I hope I feel better at 9 tonight and do not need the med -

    Is this what "staying ahead of nausea" means?

    Thanks

    Steve

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    at least it is funny, and hopefully short lived

    Steve,

    Too bad you did not have your PEG, you could have whipped it out for the salesperson (little H&N humor).

    No you are not imagining things, radiation is real, as proof put a hotdog under you mask, it is quite a treat (more H&N humor).

    I have heard that a big surprise can quell hiccups, wait till you see the bill for treatments, we are talking fully loaded Aston Martin.

    I enjoyed many, many meals drinking only smoothies and a few bites.  The world keeps turning, you are just on H&N Island for a few months.

    Just think, you will have Turkey neck like the rest of us next year (gobble, gobble)

    Happy Thanksgiving,

    Matt

  • spector551
    spector551 Member Posts: 109
    Steve

    Yep, hiccups are part of the package for many. I go through some bouts with hiccups, but they usually go away pretty fast.

     

    Staying on top of your nausea means not waiting until you are feeling sick to take the meds. Get on a schedule if you have to... but watch out. Zophran at every 8 hours means serious constipation if you don't manage it correctly and that where I am now. No one told me what I should have been doing to manage constipation.

     

    God Bless,

     

    Jamie

  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    Steve5 said:

    Hiccup Follow up

    So quick follow up - took the prescribed anti nausea at 5:15 - at 6:00 the hiccups stopped and feeling better - dose is every 4 hours, but I hope I feel better at 9 tonight and do not need the med -

    Is this what "staying ahead of nausea" means?

    Thanks

    Steve

    Nausea

    The minute I felt the nausea I needed to take the med, if I waited, I got sick.  It's easier to take the med early than to try to stop the vomitting once it starts.  Never had the hiccup problem (or I slept through it!).

  • dunedintech
    dunedintech Member Posts: 90
    Steve - after my first dose

    Steve - after my first dose of Cisplatin I woke up the following day hiccuping non-stop. Was told this was one of the chemo side effects. I was prescribed tablets to stablise the hiccuping and the worked very well. The hiccups never returned after dose 2 and 3. Weirdly the hiccups were one of the things that sressed me out after the first round! Small things I guess.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and eveyone else in the USA.

    From a rainy (but still warm 30 degrees) Singapore.

    CPC

     

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    Trust me on this...

    do NOT stop taking the anti-nausea meds tonight....get three or four days under your belt before you quit taking them.....staying ahead of nausea means, don't risk getting it....two days after your first chemo is rushing it.  The worst that can happen is you pass the end of the nausea by a few hours, and not even you will know when that was.  There is also something called "breakout nausea"....that's when you're feeling just fine, no nausea, and something will trigger....one minute fine, the next minute rushing for a bathroom (or in my case, the parking lot at a restaurant).....Myself....knowing what I know now? I'd be on those meds till Friday. 

    You are not imagining it.....my nodes started shrinking the first week, and were back to normal by the 4th week....makes a person feel good to be able to actually see the healing taking place.

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147
    CivilMatt said:

    at least it is funny, and hopefully short lived

    Steve,

    Too bad you did not have your PEG, you could have whipped it out for the salesperson (little H&N humor).

    No you are not imagining things, radiation is real, as proof put a hotdog under you mask, it is quite a treat (more H&N humor).

    I have heard that a big surprise can quell hiccups, wait till you see the bill for treatments, we are talking fully loaded Aston Martin.

    I enjoyed many, many meals drinking only smoothies and a few bites.  The world keeps turning, you are just on H&N Island for a few months.

    Just think, you will have Turkey neck like the rest of us next year (gobble, gobble)

    Happy Thanksgiving,

    Matt

    thanks Matt

    Thanks Matt and others - I appreciate the reply and the humor and all the other help you have sent my way - feeling so much better this AM

    Have a wonderful day

    Steve

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147

    Steve

    Yep, hiccups are part of the package for many. I go through some bouts with hiccups, but they usually go away pretty fast.

     

    Staying on top of your nausea means not waiting until you are feeling sick to take the meds. Get on a schedule if you have to... but watch out. Zophran at every 8 hours means serious constipation if you don't manage it correctly and that where I am now. No one told me what I should have been doing to manage constipation.

     

    God Bless,

     

    Jamie

    Constipation

    Thanks Jamie - again you are paving the road for me - my wife is going to the store this morning for holiday food - but I asked her to get me some grapes, prunes, and canned fruit to stave off this affect before it gets here - and decaf coffee that I put soy milk in that seems to really help and walking which I am just getting back to after the 7 day rest period after having the PEG put in

    Prayers and thoughts your way

    Steve

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147

    Trust me on this...

    do NOT stop taking the anti-nausea meds tonight....get three or four days under your belt before you quit taking them.....staying ahead of nausea means, don't risk getting it....two days after your first chemo is rushing it.  The worst that can happen is you pass the end of the nausea by a few hours, and not even you will know when that was.  There is also something called "breakout nausea"....that's when you're feeling just fine, no nausea, and something will trigger....one minute fine, the next minute rushing for a bathroom (or in my case, the parking lot at a restaurant).....Myself....knowing what I know now? I'd be on those meds till Friday. 

    You are not imagining it.....my nodes started shrinking the first week, and were back to normal by the 4th week....makes a person feel good to be able to actually see the healing taking place.

    Took the med before bed

    Great advice - I took the anti nausea at 5:15 then again at 10 PM and slept through the night !! I ususally always wake up at 5 AM, but slept through until 7:45 AM this morning - and no hiccups now - thanks for the great help - I now know the nausea feeling and of course as soon as a hiccup breaks through after the chemo treatment I will know as well - your the best  - you and everyone on here -

    Happy holiday

    Steve

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147

    Steve - after my first dose

    Steve - after my first dose of Cisplatin I woke up the following day hiccuping non-stop. Was told this was one of the chemo side effects. I was prescribed tablets to stablise the hiccuping and the worked very well. The hiccups never returned after dose 2 and 3. Weirdly the hiccups were one of the things that sressed me out after the first round! Small things I guess.

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and eveyone else in the USA.

    From a rainy (but still warm 30 degrees) Singapore.

    CPC

     

    same here

    CPC - same here - the very next day - I took the prescribed anti nausea after we called in about the hiccups - and for this morning gone - feel so much better

    Hope I get the same results and they stay away but if not I know what to go to - again thanks - Have a great holiday - I noticed the username can be broken down to Do NED in TECH - I am just a newbie here who is a wanna be becacuse I want to be NED like the others I have read - so just wondering if you chose that with NED in mind.

     

    Have a great day

    Steve

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147
    KTeacher said:

    Nausea

    The minute I felt the nausea I needed to take the med, if I waited, I got sick.  It's easier to take the med early than to try to stop the vomitting once it starts.  Never had the hiccup problem (or I slept through it!).

    Thanks

    Thanks KTeacher - I will heed the advice - stay ahead of nausea, stay ahead of pain, hydrate hydrate hydrate -

    Have a wonderful day

    Steve

  • lornal
    lornal Member Posts: 428
    Steve5 said:

    Constipation

    Thanks Jamie - again you are paving the road for me - my wife is going to the store this morning for holiday food - but I asked her to get me some grapes, prunes, and canned fruit to stave off this affect before it gets here - and decaf coffee that I put soy milk in that seems to really help and walking which I am just getting back to after the 7 day rest period after having the PEG put in

    Prayers and thoughts your way

    Steve

    stay away from canned food

    You might have more luck "tasting" fruit that is a jar instead of a can.  I even avoided silverware and used plastic!

  • dunedintech
    dunedintech Member Posts: 90
    Steve5 said:

    same here

    CPC - same here - the very next day - I took the prescribed anti nausea after we called in about the hiccups - and for this morning gone - feel so much better

    Hope I get the same results and they stay away but if not I know what to go to - again thanks - Have a great holiday - I noticed the username can be broken down to Do NED in TECH - I am just a newbie here who is a wanna be becacuse I want to be NED like the others I have read - so just wondering if you chose that with NED in mind.

     

    Have a great day

    Steve

    Ha

    Hi Steve - thanks for pointing that out! It never occured to me. I am orginally from Dunedin, NZ. Tech was my old footbal club thus the username. Hey, stoked to read the hiccups are under control. Yep, I am now 8 months post treatment. Still a few bumps on the road but on the whole tracking ok. Hope you managed to eat some turkey!

    CPC

     

  • spector551
    spector551 Member Posts: 109
    Steve5 said:

    Took the med before bed

    Great advice - I took the anti nausea at 5:15 then again at 10 PM and slept through the night !! I ususally always wake up at 5 AM, but slept through until 7:45 AM this morning - and no hiccups now - thanks for the great help - I now know the nausea feeling and of course as soon as a hiccup breaks through after the chemo treatment I will know as well - your the best  - you and everyone on here -

    Happy holiday

    Steve

    Steve

    I am set to begin week five next Monday (off for Thanksgiving weekend, Thank You God). Here, at the end of my fourth week, my nodes have grown so small that i am fairly sure they may be unnoticable by the end of next week. Between week 3 dr visit and week 4 dr visit the combined length and width of the two nodes together went from 5.5 x 3.5 to 4 x 2.5. In the last two days, they shrank so much that I was literally in the bathroom thanking God with tears today. They are probably around 3 x 1.5. I remember that during my biopsy, over two months ago, the largest node by itself was a little over 3 cm alone.

     

    God bless,

    Jamie

     

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147
    lornal said:

    stay away from canned food

    You might have more luck "tasting" fruit that is a jar instead of a can.  I even avoided silverware and used plastic!

    canned fruit

    Thanks lornal - I have already noticed a decrease in taste of food from last night - I will see about the jar fruit instead - have a great day

    steve

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147

    Steve

    I am set to begin week five next Monday (off for Thanksgiving weekend, Thank You God). Here, at the end of my fourth week, my nodes have grown so small that i am fairly sure they may be unnoticable by the end of next week. Between week 3 dr visit and week 4 dr visit the combined length and width of the two nodes together went from 5.5 x 3.5 to 4 x 2.5. In the last two days, they shrank so much that I was literally in the bathroom thanking God with tears today. They are probably around 3 x 1.5. I remember that during my biopsy, over two months ago, the largest node by itself was a little over 3 cm alone.

     

    God bless,

    Jamie

     

    Thinking of you

    Jamie - thinking of you these past few days - I pray for you to have a speedy weeks 5-7 - such good news about the nodes shrinking - I will continue to keep you in my thoughts - hope you have a restful weekend with the short time off - all my best

    Steve

  • spector551
    spector551 Member Posts: 109
    Steve5 said:

    Thinking of you

    Jamie - thinking of you these past few days - I pray for you to have a speedy weeks 5-7 - such good news about the nodes shrinking - I will continue to keep you in my thoughts - hope you have a restful weekend with the short time off - all my best

    Steve

    Thanks, Buddy!

    I appreciate your prayers, deep in my heart. May the Lord keep you well and heal you on a daily basis.

     

    One thing I have learned at this point is that conditions change daily. Things you could taste one day is gone the next. The way your throat feels is one way one day, something different the next. Plan accordingly, lol.

     

    I have been holding up well to the radiation. The Dr actually said that my throat and skin were in fairly remarkable condition. I have no throat pain or mouth sores going into week 5 and as long as I can tolerate the taste, I can eat whatever I want. My tough times have been inflicted by the "low dose" cisplatin. That stuff has wrecked my veins, my stomach (have to take Zophran every 8 hrs like clockwork along with wearing a Sancuso patch), the meds for chemo have had me constipated for 9 days now, and I'm losing the hair from all over my head (not just the halo around my ears from radiation) - which I'm pretty sure is caused by the chemo (which I was told was not going to happen on the low dose chemo). So, we all still have our crosses to bear. Over all, I am very thankful to God for the mercy he has shown me and I'm believing that He and the doctors will get some of the other issues adjusted.

    Be strong, Brother, and God bless,

    Jamie

  • alligatorpointer
    alligatorpointer Member Posts: 131
    Constipation

    Saw that some of the comments in this thread mentioned constipation. Pain meds also cause constipation so don't wait until it happens. Please do yourself a favor and take a stool softener like Colace to keep it from happening.   If you do become constipated, call your oncology team and get their advice on what to do about it.  Becoming impacted is a serious problem.

  • Steve5
    Steve5 Member Posts: 147

    Thanks, Buddy!

    I appreciate your prayers, deep in my heart. May the Lord keep you well and heal you on a daily basis.

     

    One thing I have learned at this point is that conditions change daily. Things you could taste one day is gone the next. The way your throat feels is one way one day, something different the next. Plan accordingly, lol.

     

    I have been holding up well to the radiation. The Dr actually said that my throat and skin were in fairly remarkable condition. I have no throat pain or mouth sores going into week 5 and as long as I can tolerate the taste, I can eat whatever I want. My tough times have been inflicted by the "low dose" cisplatin. That stuff has wrecked my veins, my stomach (have to take Zophran every 8 hrs like clockwork along with wearing a Sancuso patch), the meds for chemo have had me constipated for 9 days now, and I'm losing the hair from all over my head (not just the halo around my ears from radiation) - which I'm pretty sure is caused by the chemo (which I was told was not going to happen on the low dose chemo). So, we all still have our crosses to bear. Over all, I am very thankful to God for the mercy he has shown me and I'm believing that He and the doctors will get some of the other issues adjusted.

    Be strong, Brother, and God bless,

    Jamie

    Nutritionist for Constipation Question

    Hey Jamie and others - I talked with a nutritionist this morning about constipation - she told me caused by the anti nausea drugs you get with the chemo - I told her I was using plums, prunes, meta mucil and lots and lots of water - she said all this was fine except when pain meds are used down the road no meta mucil because it acts in reverse  - she recommended to me that I could look into Sennokot or Mirilax if I need them some time in the future treatments - I also asked about coffee and soy milk which seemed to be a potion for regular movements and she agreed that this was good as well as long as I could tolerate the taste again some weeks down the line - so just wanted to pass this along to you for any possible help - I am only 4 down and 31 to go for rads and 6 chemos left - but thanks to you and others I am keeping on a regular schedule of teeth cleaning, hydrating 24/7 wtih a water bottle, and eating plums and drinking soy milk - and trying to think postive about the mask each morning - the techs are wonderful help - again talking me through it just by letting me know the stage at each step of the treatment -

     

    Thoughts and Prayers to you Jamie and everyone here -

    Steve

  • spector551
    spector551 Member Posts: 109
    Steve5 said:

    Nutritionist for Constipation Question

    Hey Jamie and others - I talked with a nutritionist this morning about constipation - she told me caused by the anti nausea drugs you get with the chemo - I told her I was using plums, prunes, meta mucil and lots and lots of water - she said all this was fine except when pain meds are used down the road no meta mucil because it acts in reverse  - she recommended to me that I could look into Sennokot or Mirilax if I need them some time in the future treatments - I also asked about coffee and soy milk which seemed to be a potion for regular movements and she agreed that this was good as well as long as I could tolerate the taste again some weeks down the line - so just wanted to pass this along to you for any possible help - I am only 4 down and 31 to go for rads and 6 chemos left - but thanks to you and others I am keeping on a regular schedule of teeth cleaning, hydrating 24/7 wtih a water bottle, and eating plums and drinking soy milk - and trying to think postive about the mask each morning - the techs are wonderful help - again talking me through it just by letting me know the stage at each step of the treatment -

     

    Thoughts and Prayers to you Jamie and everyone here -

    Steve

    Coffee...

    Buddy, if you can get coffee in you during week 5, you are a true pro! lol

    The thought of putting coffee in me almost sends me to the sink.

    Steve, I have 2.5 more weeks left of treatment... then I don't have to friggin go back into that place anymore. I know that post-treament carries with it its own set of challenges, but at least you don't have to go in and face that doggone machine anymore or have anymore of that friggin poison pumped into your veins. I'm excited about that.

    So far, the best thing I get down for nutrition is Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials. Much easier to drink than the Boost drinks, just have to drink more of them.

    God has been good to me, so I will limit my complaining. 

    God bless,

    Jamie