Association

PS -

Sometimes chemo can affect your vision, which might be an answer as to why reading the board makes you nauseus - if your eyes are not acting "normally", it can have a direct correlation with your balance sensors.

Either that or you're getting nauseus reading Rodney and Kanga's jokes... That affliction strikes many of us, but we just chalk it up as a hazard of reading the board.

- SB

Hi Charelaine,

I agree with SB. It might be stress related too. You should talk to your onc. I was just saying to a friend I get anxious and feel sick when my next treatment is going to start. Maybe you need something to help the stress. I know for the food problem that I will be hungry for something and then when I get it the smell just makes me sick. Unfortunately I think this comes with the territory. I just had my 5th treatment and the symptoms are getting worse. Try to have easy foods in the house like pretzels to calm your stomach. Sometimes after you get some food in your stomach you are up to eating more. Don't let this get so bad that you are not eating or drinking. I can now understand how people get dehydrated and malnutritioned when doing chemo. Sometimes your will to eat is just null and you have to make yourself do it because you know you should. Take care and sending good vibes your way.

Lisa

Hi Charelaine,
Boy, can I relate to your symptoms; I didn't think of posting the question at the time, so good for you! I have always been very sensitive to and aware of smells (sure makes being a nurse tough at times!).
I used to get nauseous at the smell in the elevator on the way to chemo; luckily I changed to another (closer) office, so didn't have to deal with it for the entire 6 months. The branch office closed, however, and I will now have future followup appts back at the first place; makes me queasy just thinking about it! Sponge Bob sounds right on the money (he knows a lot about a lot of things!). If you can develop some self calming techniques, that should help. I tried both a relaxation tape/self guided imagery (your onc's office may know someone who teaches relaxation/self hypnosis) and I used a touch of Ativan before going to chemo (don't drive yourself if you choose to use meds to help). I think the important thing is to recognize that you are not too crazy or wierd and that you CAN learn ways to deal with it. (My grandma would advise "Don't work yourself into a state".) Sometimes just saying out loud that you expect that the trigger will make you nauseous may be enough to put your mind over matter. Using ginger can also be a natural way to combat nausea.
I regularly get motion sick/nauseous from scrolling around on the computer, my eyes can't adjust. Try slowing down the speed at which you scroll around or switch screens and fiddle around with the contrast/brightness settings to find a less jarring combination.
I like tyhe suggestion about not falling back on all your favorite foods; I sought out cream soda and pumpkin pie when I was on chemo; now I don't touch either!
Lots of good comments here; hope they help break the anxiety cycles for you; keep us posted. Judy

the mind is a powerful thing, and so is chemo..put them together, and you can get sick even years later by association. The feeling I get everytime I simply get near a cancer center is extremely depressing. That dejavu (SP) was revisited recently when at MD Anderson..(esp the small child patients )I can identify a cancer patient-(on chemo) by the blank stare, etc. The key is to disassociate..(easier said) but if you force the good thoughts and attitudes, the bad ones can't get in..once you reflect the positive,
people will respond in kind.. Bud

No youaren't going crazy (a professional opinion!)- it is a well recognised component to all of this. Is called classical conditioning by psychologists and is due to associations. Similar to old Pavlov's dogs- food causes salivation so pair food and a bellringing and in time just the bell causes salivation. In our situation the chemo causes nausea and in time things associated with chemo- the place, the bloods, the trip there, teh food we ate before or during it get associated with nausea and can trigger that nausea themselves. it is simply our braining learning which is usually helpful (helps us to predict siutations in our life) but in this instance is counterproductive.
RElaxation etc can be useful and is definitely worth trying as teh other cause in these circumstances is anxiety which makes teh association stronger. Meds have little role unless there is significant anxiety as a component eg you feel tense and get other physical symptoms- if this is the case prozac like drugs or intermittent use of sedatives can help (though never regular sedatives like ativan or diazepam). in time the association is unlearnt by 'extinction' and can be sped up by having exposure to the stimulus eg food/ place without the chemo. Trying not to develop the association in teh first place by not exposing oyurself to things you value while feeling nauseous with chemo is helpful.
In my case was a bit of a nightmare as teh chemo clinic became a cause of nausea and I work in the bloody hospital! A year on now it has faded to almost nothing but I avoided that end of the hospital for a while.

Gosh, soup did it for me...could not think of having it for months. But, with a great soup (I am in the restaurant biz) the memories of junky soups during chemo fade quite eaily.
Good things replace bad...just trust yourself and make an effort to understand yourself and all will work for you.
It is the same with a former boyfriend - if one can even call it that...the junky one during chemo was quite pleasantly replaced...again, good trumps bad; but more importantly, all works out the way it should...
Take care - Maura