Nausea and Headaches

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mark1965
mark1965 Member Posts: 6
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
My mother (73) was just diagnosed with Ovarian cancer ... it was a huge shock for all of us, this first week after the diagnosis has been rough. She went into the hospital with severe bronchitis (that we thought turned into pneumonia) and learned she was at stage 4, with no previous symptoms. Her treatment will be 3 rounds of chemo (Carboplatin and Gemzar) then debulking surgery, then 3 final rounds of chemo. She has a great oncologist and a gynocolgic oncologist that will do the surgery, and I know that is encouraging! She had her first round of chemo on Friday, and is having a rough time. First, she has been 'sick' with flu like symptoms for the past 2 weeks, not to mention she is exhausted but can't sleep. She had a lot of fluid in her pleural cavity and her legs were very swollen. They drained several liters in the hospital, but there is still some fluid remaining. She is on oxygen at home, and can't sleep lying down and gets out of breath easily. Second, her nausea is terrible. She was given anti nausea drugs with her first chemo dose, and zofran to take at home, but it doesn't seem to be helping. Third, she has been dealing with debilitating headaches, almost migrane-like. Has anyone else had to deal with all these symptoms all at once, and will they get better? We are trying everything to help with the nausea such as crackers, gingerale, toast, bananas etc. She's taking advil and tylenol for the headache but it doesn't help...a cold wet towel on her neck gave minimal relief. We aren't sure if this is just what to expect and to try and have her ride it out, or if we should be more aggressive with the medical staff. I'm concerned that she is so exhausted that she can't catch a break. Should we ask for a sedative for her?

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  • BonnieR
    BonnieR Member Posts: 1,526 Member
    #2
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    I am so sorry to hear of your mom's diagnosis. It sounds like she has a great medical team. Is your mom getting Zofran for nausea? It took us a long time to figure out my migraine like headaches were from the zofran and we switched to aloxi during treatment and a couple others I could take at home and the headaches went away.

    Sending lots of prayers your way, for your mom and you.

    Hugs N Prayers BonnieRose
  • mark1965
    mark1965 Member Posts: 6
    #3
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    BonnieR said:

    I am so sorry to hear of your mom's diagnosis. It sounds like she has a great medical team. Is your mom getting Zofran for nausea? It took us a long time to figure out my migraine like headaches were from the zofran and we switched to aloxi during treatment and a couple others I could take at home and the headaches went away.

    Sending lots of prayers your way, for your mom and you.

    Hugs N Prayers BonnieRose

    Thanks Bonnie, yes she is taking zofran. My mother's cousin, a colon cancer survivor, just told her about aloxi last night, so I will be sure to check with the dr. this morning about this option. Thanks so much for the advice and well wishes.
  • floridajo
    floridajo Member Posts: 480
    #4
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    Hi,
    I'm sorry to hear about your Mom,but you are at the right site and will find lots of love and advice here. It sounds like your Mom is holding alot of fluid, which will cause a rise in her blood pressure. The symptoms of high b-p are headaches, and a red face. Also could be from the Zolfran. I was on Aloxi and Emend and can tell you they are really good. I had compazine also at home for breakthrough nausea and it helps alot. The flu-like sx are normal and the sleeplessness is from the steriods, but it should get better. As far as all the fluid ask her Onc about lasix...maybe that will help. I was on Gemzar as a single agent and it was rough on my blood counts,I'm sure they will be watching her very closely. Good luck and keep us posted...Joanne
  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #5
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    Hello:
    So sorry to hear your Mom is going through so much. It's wonderful that you are there for her, and especially wonderful that you've come to the discussion board to get more input. You definitely will get that and more, as you can already see by the previous posts.

    Your Mom has a lot going on, and everyone is different. But we've all been there, or been caregivers for those who have been there and can offer lots of suggestions. Bonnie and JoAnn have already been helpful, and I would agree with them. Zofran can cause headaches. Difficulty breathing, dizziness, pressure in my head, nausea are some things that I experienced due to (believe it or not) low blood pressure. Of course each drug comes with it's own gammut of side affects. And there are ways to minimize all of them and to make life easier. Make a list of everything, maybe even when she finds these symptoms most noticeable such as after medication, chemo, etc. Her doctor should be able to help provide some relief.
    My best to you and your Mom. You are in good company here.
    Hugs and Prayers,
    Monika
    P.S. I always keep altoids by my bed and in my purse. Letting them dissolve in my mouth slowly helps the nausea a great deal and is actually very calming before bed!
  • mark1965
    mark1965 Member Posts: 6
    #6
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    floridajo said:

    Hi,
    I'm sorry to hear about your Mom,but you are at the right site and will find lots of love and advice here. It sounds like your Mom is holding alot of fluid, which will cause a rise in her blood pressure. The symptoms of high b-p are headaches, and a red face. Also could be from the Zolfran. I was on Aloxi and Emend and can tell you they are really good. I had compazine also at home for breakthrough nausea and it helps alot. The flu-like sx are normal and the sleeplessness is from the steriods, but it should get better. As far as all the fluid ask her Onc about lasix...maybe that will help. I was on Gemzar as a single agent and it was rough on my blood counts,I'm sure they will be watching her very closely. Good luck and keep us posted...Joanne

    Thanks for the feedback Joanne. My dad went to the onc office today and had a talk with the staff. They replaced the Zofran with Kytril (sp?), and also gave him a 3 dose pack of Emend to begin taking when she goes to her next chemo session on Friday. The onc said no lasix because he expects the chemo to significantly reduce the fluids...in fact her leg swelling has started to go down. Her chemo regimen is Carboplatin with a Gemzar chaser, so I hope this dosing will not wreak havoc on her blood counts...we will find out on Friday. They also got the results of the pelvic CT, and will be talking to her and my dad about it on Friday. I hope what they are seeing on the CT will not cause a setback to her state of mind for dealing with this. The worse news today was that the doc would only offer motrin for her headache, the best news is that he prescribed a sedative so that she could sleep tonight. I keep suggesting that my mom try and work through the headache by keeping the room dark, listen to quiet music, try and drink a lot of water/ginger ale, and maybe try some ice packs on her neck and temples. I'm back home and at work this week (I live an hour away) but my brothers and dad are providing excellent round the clock care. I told my mom on the phone tonight that she should make herself get up and take a shower tomorrow, go downstairs (even for just 30 minutes), so that she can get herself moving and work through the side effects. I hope I'm not being too hard or insensitive.
  • mark1965
    mark1965 Member Posts: 6
    #7
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    mopar said:

    Hello:
    So sorry to hear your Mom is going through so much. It's wonderful that you are there for her, and especially wonderful that you've come to the discussion board to get more input. You definitely will get that and more, as you can already see by the previous posts.

    Your Mom has a lot going on, and everyone is different. But we've all been there, or been caregivers for those who have been there and can offer lots of suggestions. Bonnie and JoAnn have already been helpful, and I would agree with them. Zofran can cause headaches. Difficulty breathing, dizziness, pressure in my head, nausea are some things that I experienced due to (believe it or not) low blood pressure. Of course each drug comes with it's own gammut of side affects. And there are ways to minimize all of them and to make life easier. Make a list of everything, maybe even when she finds these symptoms most noticeable such as after medication, chemo, etc. Her doctor should be able to help provide some relief.
    My best to you and your Mom. You are in good company here.
    Hugs and Prayers,
    Monika
    P.S. I always keep altoids by my bed and in my purse. Letting them dissolve in my mouth slowly helps the nausea a great deal and is actually very calming before bed!

    Monika, thanks for the support! This site has been a great place for me to explore, read, and get to know others out there. As soon as my mom feels better, we are going to try and get her to check this out and send along her own questions and concerns. You have all been so helpful, I know that she will benefit greatly from your collective wisdom and experience. My mom has been keeping a record of how she has been feeling...not sure if she kept up with it today, but I will make a point to ask her tomorrow and encourage her to keep it up. Note regarding the altoids, great tip! I mentioned that to her tonight, and she didn't sound enthused, but I will slip a container next to her chair this weekend to see if this might help out. Thanks for the helpful tips!!
  • saundra
    saundra Member Posts: 1,370 Member
    #8
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    Hi, Mark and welcome to the site. I was diagnosed with stage IV on March 2 of this year at age 68. I was told that I had too many large tumors to do the surgery without shrinking them first and started a period of taxol+carboplatin every three weeks. My cancer had spread to my liver and everywhere in between and my CA-125 was 2988. After two treatments my CA-125 cancer marker blood test was 288 and by the forth it was down to 35 so the chemicals really worked on my cancer cells and I was scheduled for debulking surgery and radio frequency ablation of the three liver tumors which had gone from 2.5 cm to 0.5 cm. Therefore, tell your Mother that the pain and aggravation of the chemo was worth it. I stayed on the couch for about 5 days each time I took these doses. The shock of the diagnosis kept me from sleeping and I was given a low dose anti-depressant/anti anxiety prescription. After the successful surgery (they got everything over 0.5 cm) I was scheduled for four more chemo treatment. These doses were not as hard as the first four and I had few side effects, mainly numbness and tingling in my feet and left hand. But they brought my CA-125 down to 6 which is low normal. (Normal is 0 to 35) Now, I am on a low dose maintenance dose of taxol every 4 weeks for a year and feel good. Your mother can e-mail me if she has certain questions by clicking on the envelope under my response. My husband and sons, Brian and Mark, printed the post to me while I was in the hospital but I was on too much morphine to remember much. Someone should always go to the dr. appt. with her to take notes. There is a lot to learn in a short time. (((Hugs))) and prayer for your whole family.
  • mark1965
    mark1965 Member Posts: 6
    #9
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    saundra said:

    Hi, Mark and welcome to the site. I was diagnosed with stage IV on March 2 of this year at age 68. I was told that I had too many large tumors to do the surgery without shrinking them first and started a period of taxol+carboplatin every three weeks. My cancer had spread to my liver and everywhere in between and my CA-125 was 2988. After two treatments my CA-125 cancer marker blood test was 288 and by the forth it was down to 35 so the chemicals really worked on my cancer cells and I was scheduled for debulking surgery and radio frequency ablation of the three liver tumors which had gone from 2.5 cm to 0.5 cm. Therefore, tell your Mother that the pain and aggravation of the chemo was worth it. I stayed on the couch for about 5 days each time I took these doses. The shock of the diagnosis kept me from sleeping and I was given a low dose anti-depressant/anti anxiety prescription. After the successful surgery (they got everything over 0.5 cm) I was scheduled for four more chemo treatment. These doses were not as hard as the first four and I had few side effects, mainly numbness and tingling in my feet and left hand. But they brought my CA-125 down to 6 which is low normal. (Normal is 0 to 35) Now, I am on a low dose maintenance dose of taxol every 4 weeks for a year and feel good. Your mother can e-mail me if she has certain questions by clicking on the envelope under my response. My husband and sons, Brian and Mark, printed the post to me while I was in the hospital but I was on too much morphine to remember much. Someone should always go to the dr. appt. with her to take notes. There is a lot to learn in a short time. (((Hugs))) and prayer for your whole family.

    Saundra, thanks for the response, and I am glad that you are doing well. Your experience is sounding very similar to what my mom is going through. There has been a small improvement today...the nausea seems to be abating, and the headache is lessening due to some much needed vicadin as well as a mild sedative last night (and again tonight i am sure!). My dad visited the dr. today and carried a note from my mom outlining how she was feeling. She's going into the clinic to get some iv fluids tomorrow, since she is clearly very dehydrated, which may be another cause of the headache. Our medical team has stepped up and made themselves available and are clearly concerned about her well-being as she goes through the chemo...this has been great. Tomorrow she will be able to address the medical team herself, which I think will be empowering for her as well. I just hope that she can get a few good days in before her next treatment on Friday. Great idea to print these posts for her...I've been waiting until she feels better to try and get her to communicate with you all, but printing out all the great supportive messages from all of you might be a great motivator to get in here and chat and make some excellent friends. Thanks for your help. M
  • Susan523
    Susan523 Member Posts: 231 Member
    #10
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    Hello, Mark,
    Sorry to meet you under these circumstances...
    I know the shock your mother is feeling, as well as the chemo side-effects! I am stage 3C.
    I just have 1 suggestion for the nausea. My Dr. gave me Compazine + Ativan for nausea, and I also tried Ginger-Ale. The Ginger-Ale didn't work, and then someone suggested Club Soda + Bitters. This has worked for me better than anything... sometimes I can do just the Club/Bitters with no compazine, and my nausea is better. The Bitters has a little alcohol in it, so check the medications she's on, but it's worth a try. Hang in there, and know that she'll get past this soon. I'm so glad to hear of all the support she has surrounding her. She's very lucky to have that. ((Hugs)) ~Susan

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