Very sick from chemo...

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musiclover
musiclover Member Posts: 242
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My friend Mark made it through his first two weeks of his trial (Xeloda, Avastin, Oxy.). First two days he seemed normal then huge naseua (sp), some diarrhea, headaches, eye aches, jaw pain. That subsided then he spent most of the two weeks in bed - very low energy. He did get out and drive to do some errands but that seemed to completely exhaust him.

Still those first two weeks seem great compared to now. He had his second treatment yesterday and suffered severe naseau and diarrhea all night. Back to the hospital for an IV of fluids and anti-naseau meds. He's had no food all day and probably doesn't even weight the 119 lbs. he weighed the other day. Can't get any answers from the nurses whether this is out of the ordinary. They sent him home with Composene (sp) a new anti-naseau drug. The last one was worthless - reglan I believe.

Sorry for the venting. So tired of seeing someone suffer through this and can't stop worrying. He has his first CT in two weeks to see if this is working...

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  • markatger
    markatger Member Posts: 314
    #2
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    So sorry to hear Mark is not doing well. It sounds very rough.

    I took Anzemet for nausea. It was like $80 a pill(which should mostly be covered by insurance)!! But I think it is no problem getting it precribed if he is having a lot of nausea. I got it even though I never had much of a problem with nausea.

    There are several they can try to see what will work for him.

    I'm sending good vibes his way!!! And best wishes for great CT results.

    Maria
  • chynabear
    chynabear Member Posts: 481 Member
    #3
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    I'm so sorry that he is not taking chemo very well.

    For the naseua, I was prescribed a mild anti-nausea med and a heavy med, just in case. The heavy was only to be used when severe naseua and was around $40 for a bottle of like 10 pills after insurance (and we have pretty good coverage). I only had to take maybe two of these the entire six months I was on chemo.

    I know Mark doesn't want to eat. We feel sick, food tastes horrible, and sometimes we are too exhausted to even eat but he needs to get some nutrition. For me, there were days I (and my mother-in-law) had to force myself to eat. The naseua was usually a bit better if I got something on my tummy too even if it was just chicken broth.

    Have you tried any of the suggestions from Dr Quillins book for chemo food?

    Also, each treatment was different for me. I had times where all I wanted to do was sleep for an entire week and generally tired the next week. There were times I would bounce back for the most part after the weekend. There were times I had naseua and times I didn't. Maybe this is just a hard session for him and the next won't be as hard, I hope.

    Don't EVER be sorry for venting. That's one of the main reasons this board is here. I just wish we could shoulder even a small amount of worry for you to make it easier for even one day.

    Here's to praying for easier treatment days and a good CT result.

    *HUGS*

    Tricia
  • pink05
    pink05 Member Posts: 550
    #4
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    I'm sorry that your friend is so sick from chemo. Hopefully the new anti-nausea drug they gave him will work. He is so lucky to have a friend like you to be there for him and support him. I know it must be so hard for you to see him going through this, but try to be strong for him.

    My dad is having his CAT scan in a couple weeks to see how his chemo is working. I'm so scared. I hate when CAT scan time comes around. It seems like we always get bad news. I'll be praying for you both.

    -Lee-
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #5
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    Aw, dearheart, thought that no postings meant everything was going well. Sorry to hear otherwise.
    Exhaustion is VERY normal...so is nausea and diarrhea. He just needs to do nothing more than take VERY good care of his body...I actually used to apologize to mine (I know, I'm totally NUTS) for putting it through so much. During the worst of my days, I would rejoice when I could make 1 ounce (yes, one) stay down.
    For my breast cancer, I was given composine, and that seemed to work the best for me. Also, the day BEFORE chemo started, I started drinking water BIG TIME...had to use the bathroom all day while I was being infused. But, seemed to help.
    Sweetie, hugs to you both...War is He** and this IS WAR!
    I'm sending all my warmest wishes. To BOTH Mark and you!
    Hugs,
    Kathi
  • Jen28
    Jen28 Member Posts: 45
    #6
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    I took Anzemet, which is one of the newest anti-nausea meds for severe nausea. It didn't seem to work for me, and I switched to a combination of Zofran and Decadron, which has been keeping nausea at a low level. Both Anzemet and Zofran are expensive, but I think they are supposed to be better for severe nausea than drugs like ativan and compazine. (My doc has me just use ativan and compazine to supplement the other drugs). For diarrhea, have they tried giving Mark lomotil (lotomil sp?)? I think that's the next step up from the over the counter stuff if it's not working.

    For me, the exhaustion is pretty normal and there's not a whole lot that helps.

    Good luck to you and Mark!
  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #7
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    Kathryn -

    You'll hear it a lot that chemo treats everyone differently. Hopefully Mark is able to get "used" to his. I had nausea early in my regime, but grew out of it. The diarrhea never really went away (to this day! - probably more due to surgery than chemo).

    Drink a lot of water! (Mark, not you.) Being a sailor, I have had some experience with nausea (aka seasickness). Something that I have found weird, but actually worked... try rubbing a couple of drops of white ginger oil (available at most healthfood stores) on the wrists at the point where you would take a pulse. I don't know what the mechanism is, but hey - I won't ask either if it seems to work!

    Try to get him outside into the warm sunshine. Try to keep him up and moving as much as possible. Taking his mind off how lousy he feels and engaged in something positive in an uplifting environment will be helpful, too.

    You're an awesome companion for supporting Mark with all you do.

    - SB
  • jerseysue
    jerseysue Member Posts: 624 Member
    #8
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    I was tired a few days after chemo but never got the naseua or diarrhea. Sending really good thoughts to both you and Mark.
  • Moesimo
    Moesimo Member Posts: 1,072 Member
    #9
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    I am sorry your friend is so sick. If he can't eat, at least he should try to drink. I lived on gatorade when I was so sick

    Maureen
  • DK2006
    DK2006 Member Posts: 126
    #10
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    Hi,
    I'm sorry that Mark is having such a difficult time. I'm doing acupuncture and I think that it really helps. Best wishes to both of you. Donna
  • musiclover
    musiclover Member Posts: 242
    #11
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    DK2006 said:

    Hi,
    I'm sorry that Mark is having such a difficult time. I'm doing acupuncture and I think that it really helps. Best wishes to both of you. Donna

    Thanks so much to all of you!! Mark is back at home and as of this morning is no longer naseaus (that is a hard word to spell!). Having access to this board keeps me from going completely crazy and I always have something to print and take to him that will ease his panic. This past couple days have been so stressful and a big setback in the weight gain process. The true test today is if he can eat and take the Xeloda without getting sick AND if this new anti-nas. medicine works. I'll keep ya'll posted. Hoping to add those extra pounds on fast. Thanks again!
    Kathryn
  • NanD
    NanD Member Posts: 58
    #12
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    I was given Kytrel IV before the chemo, then home with zofran. Later switched to anzemet. Those last two are expensive but very effective for me and insurance covered it. Hope this helps you too!
  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #13
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    You might ask the Dr to reduce the dose. Often they try the maximum dose allowable by body weight. He could be getting too much of any one of these drugs. I had severe side effects, and the only thing that worked for me was ativan. Bud
  • Kanort
    Kanort Member Posts: 1,272 Member
    #14
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    Hi Kathryn,

    I was glad to read that Mark is feeling better. I hope by now food is more appealing and tasting a bit better to him. Sugar free lemon drops and peppermint sometimes helped me get through the nauseated period if it wasn't too severe. I also was able to down a few graham crackers when I couldn't tolerate much of anything else.

    Mark is blessed so have you by his side.

    Hugs,

    Kay
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    #15
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    musiclover said:

    Thanks so much to all of you!! Mark is back at home and as of this morning is no longer naseaus (that is a hard word to spell!). Having access to this board keeps me from going completely crazy and I always have something to print and take to him that will ease his panic. This past couple days have been so stressful and a big setback in the weight gain process. The true test today is if he can eat and take the Xeloda without getting sick AND if this new anti-nas. medicine works. I'll keep ya'll posted. Hoping to add those extra pounds on fast. Thanks again!
    Kathryn

    Hi Kathryn -

    I am so sorry that Mark has had such a tough time.

    I was given Kytril IV at the time of chemo. I also had prescriptions for Compazine and Ativan - try Compazine first - then Ativan if needed. My first cycle I got a three day sample of Anzemet - very expensive. I had some nausea my first cycle and actually vomited 5 days into my first cycle, but that was it. After that cycle I only used Compazine and occasionally Ativan to control what I called "low level nausea" - kind of niggling there in the background.

    I hope Mark is at least trying Immodium for diarrhea, but if that does not work, as someone else mentioned, the prescription Lomotil is a step up from that and will probably help. In my case, lowering Xeloda dose also eventually helped with diarrhea.

    Good luck. Chemo is tough and I am so sorry Mark is having trouble. Being tired is pretty normal - I pretty much flopped on the couch for a week. However, two weeks in bed? Maybe there is some depression going on also, so you might want to think abou that.

    Best wishes to both you and Mark. Just let him know that many of us have been through this and are doing well. Hopefully he can soon be one of those who are doing well.

    Be good and take care,

    Betsy
  • jenalynet
    jenalynet Member Posts: 361 Member
    #16
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    I'm sorry that Mark is having a tough time with the chemo..hopefully it will get better for him. You are a dear friend to him..Audrey
  • terril
    terril Member Posts: 296
    #17
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    My heart just aches when I hear what Mark is going through. Check for some anti nausesa drugs. The fatigue is a big factor with chemo. The chemo knocks me on my butt about 48 hours after I get it. I slowly come out of this "chemo funk" a couple of days later. Hang in there, Mark!!! You have so many people pulling for you!!! By the way, you are such an incredible support for your friend. My prayers and thoughts are with you and Mark. Terri
  • kangatoo
    kangatoo Member Posts: 2,105 Member
    #18
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    terril said:

    My heart just aches when I hear what Mark is going through. Check for some anti nausesa drugs. The fatigue is a big factor with chemo. The chemo knocks me on my butt about 48 hours after I get it. I slowly come out of this "chemo funk" a couple of days later. Hang in there, Mark!!! You have so many people pulling for you!!! By the way, you are such an incredible support for your friend. My prayers and thoughts are with you and Mark. Terri

    Kathryn....you NEVER need to apologise for postin. There is absolutely NO question too trivial here to warrant an apology! As for nausea my Jen takes a herbal remedy. It is called "slippery elm"...a bark derivative from an elm tree. You may find it available here in the states in "natural" health stores. It is in powder form and is mixed with water to make a broth. Jen swears by it(Jen suffers IBS) As with anything "natural" it is still recommended you ask Marks onc/doc. if it is ok to take while on chemo.
    You are a wonderfull tower of support for Mark gal, our luv and huggs, Ross n Jen
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #19
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    Late in the day with reply, but better late than never. I am so very sorry to hear that your friend is having such a tough time with chemo. My husband Bert, for the most part, took chemo very well. However, there was a time about four months into his treatment that he too had unbelievable nausea and diarrhea, directly related to the chemo. No oral medications helped so it came down to injections, that I administered three times a day into the abdomen. That did it!!!! Ask your friends oncologist about this route.

    Monika

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