Cisplastin?

Matt29
Matt29 Member Posts: 62
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
HI everybody i'm getting ready to start chemo and they are doing this drug every 3 weeks first one starting on radiation day i just wanted to see if there are any tips on how to keep from being sick and what your thoughts are on this thank you.

Comments

  • francma
    francma Member Posts: 69 Member
    #2
    cisplastin
    Your doctor would write you up Rxs for anti-nausea and pain to help with the discomfort. Some people recommend marijuana and I know my doctor wrote up a pill similar to it. I never did use it tho. Ginger is suppose to help with the nausea too. I am a very small person and had a very difficult time. Every one is different. I pray things go better for you. My oncologist decided on giving me 2 courses of cisplastin instead of 3. He researched and found that I didn't need more, in fact he said it would have "probably kill me." Have faith in your doctor and God and believe!!

    Fran~
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #3
    francma said:

    cisplastin
    Your doctor would write you up Rxs for anti-nausea and pain to help with the discomfort. Some people recommend marijuana and I know my doctor wrote up a pill similar to it. I never did use it tho. Ginger is suppose to help with the nausea too. I am a very small person and had a very difficult time. Every one is different. I pray things go better for you. My oncologist decided on giving me 2 courses of cisplastin instead of 3. He researched and found that I didn't need more, in fact he said it would have "probably kill me." Have faith in your doctor and God and believe!!

    Fran~

    It's the current gold standard
    I did 3 rounds of it every 21 days. It's pure poison, and there is just no other way to describe it. It works to kill this cancer in most people when combined with radiation, it needs the synergistic combo. It comes in different strengths, like industrial vs. raid. It can be administered every day, twice a day or every 21 days. The doses are adjusted accordingly, a little toxicity per day or all at one time. It's a platinum based drug and is usually infused into the body. They will monitor your kidney function while dispensing it to make sure it doesn't kill you. It causes a ton of side effects in some people, neuropathology of the hands and feet, hearing loss, memory loss, hair loss, nausea, kidney damage, and god knows what else. It cures a hell of a lot of folks. You don't have to finish all three doses in order to get benefit and delaying in between doses doesn't diminish it's effects too much. It's really nasty stuff and at the moment the best we got other than Erbitux.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #4
    I've had one treatment so far....
    with my second coming next Tues. I followed the Dr.'s explicit instructions for taking anti-nausea meds...He'd prescribed Zophran, Compazine, Emend, and Antivan....all to be taken at certain times of the day until bedtime....and I was told to follow the schedule implicitely.

    I felt somewhat nauseated (on and off) for the next 4 or 5 days, but I never vomited. I also used ginger and Nux Vomica between meds....I just felt puny for those few days. I was also getting Amifostine everyday, and that didn't help how I felt.

    p
  • Irishgypsie
    Irishgypsie Member Posts: 333
    #5
    phrannie51 said:

    I've had one treatment so far....
    with my second coming next Tues. I followed the Dr.'s explicit instructions for taking anti-nausea meds...He'd prescribed Zophran, Compazine, Emend, and Antivan....all to be taken at certain times of the day until bedtime....and I was told to follow the schedule implicitely.

    I felt somewhat nauseated (on and off) for the next 4 or 5 days, but I never vomited. I also used ginger and Nux Vomica between meds....I just felt puny for those few days. I was also getting Amifostine everyday, and that didn't help how I felt.

    p

    Hydration!
    Emend is the main nausea medication that you should get! YOU NEED TO REALLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE STAYING HYDRATED; INFACT OVER HYDRATED. YOU NEED TO DO THIS TO PROTECT YOUR KIDNEYS! The nurses at the hospital should be giving extra iv fluid during the infusions!!!

    Good luck!!

    Charles
  • ditto1
    ditto1 Member Posts: 660
    #6
    Irishgypsie said:

    Hydration!
    Emend is the main nausea medication that you should get! YOU NEED TO REALLY MAKE SURE YOU ARE STAYING HYDRATED; INFACT OVER HYDRATED. YOU NEED TO DO THIS TO PROTECT YOUR KIDNEYS! The nurses at the hospital should be giving extra iv fluid during the infusions!!!

    Good luck!!

    Charles

    good information
    I start Tuesday same Chemo Drug, so nice to get a little heads up. Sounds like potent stuff/ I guess like everything I learned in the last 45 days, everyone may react differently. But what little research I did, they have been using this Chemo drug dating back to the 1950's for Cancer.
  • Marty36
    Marty36 Member Posts: 84
    #7
    Stay ahead of the nausea
    I was too stoic and tolerated too much nausea. Take the nausea meds to avoid the nausea as much as you can. And be prepared that the nausea meds also create side effects (like hiccups) and you may need meds to counter the meds.

    The worst part of Cisplatin was the eight hours or so that it took to receive the treatment. I hated it.

    It's worth noting that the "gold standard" approach is evolving and more doctors are only prescribing two rounds instead of three. The research indicates that people do just as well with two rounds as they do with three and therefore the patient is spared the final treatment that usually comes at the end of radiation when many people are the sickest.

    I took a day off work after chemo but returned to work after that. The effects may not hit you immediately, so you may feel fine when you leave the infusion center and the tough nausea may not hit for a couple of days.
  • nwasen
    nwasen Member Posts: 235 Member
    #8
    Marty36 said:

    Stay ahead of the nausea
    I was too stoic and tolerated too much nausea. Take the nausea meds to avoid the nausea as much as you can. And be prepared that the nausea meds also create side effects (like hiccups) and you may need meds to counter the meds.

    The worst part of Cisplatin was the eight hours or so that it took to receive the treatment. I hated it.

    It's worth noting that the "gold standard" approach is evolving and more doctors are only prescribing two rounds instead of three. The research indicates that people do just as well with two rounds as they do with three and therefore the patient is spared the final treatment that usually comes at the end of radiation when many people are the sickest.

    I took a day off work after chemo but returned to work after that. The effects may not hit you immediately, so you may feel fine when you leave the infusion center and the tough nausea may not hit for a couple of days.

    The dreaded Cisplatin
    I had the choice of 3 or 6 treatments. I am a small woman and my doc recommended that I go with 6....I ended up with 7. I am 17 months out of treatment and have to say maybe it is what saved my life.
    The only drawback for me was I didn't take the anti nausea meds before I started feeling bad and that was horrid. I threw up everywhere. I learned to take the pills soon after each treatment and I never had that again.
    I guess anyone going thru head and neck cancer needs to know you will have to go to hell before you get well. My docs told me that and to give them a year and they would give me back my life. There were spot on.
    Good luck to each and everyone of you.
    I am living proof this beast can be beaten
    Peace
    Nancy aka toughcookie
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    #9
    Thoughts
    I had cisplatin, taxotore & 5FU every 21 days for 3 months, after that I had 7.5 weeks of rads and for every week 1 day of carboplatin, again with no nausea. As others have written, hydration , hydration, and whether it worked or not my daughter gave me the pressure point wristbands people wear for motion sickness, they were labled for chemo as well, plus she read that ginger helps ..so the Fri,Sat, Sun and day of my monday morning all day infusions I took a ginger capsule..like I said don't know if they really worked, or it was all smoke and mirrors, but I didn't experience any nausea or vomitting.
  • osmotar
    osmotar Member Posts: 1,006
    #10
    Nausea
    posted
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #11
    EMEND
    If you have an option for Emend, it's the best thing ever for the three chemo dose like myself and Linda had.

    It's given the first day of chemo and next two after...then I just had a script for Zofran or Phennigrin when needed.

    I too like Linda never got sick, so either the Emend worked very weel, or I just tolerated the chemo well.

    BTW, I also am very big on hydration during chemo...

    For one it flushed the kidneys and system (cisplatin is really hard on the kidneys).

    JG
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #12
    Skiffin16 said:

    EMEND
    If you have an option for Emend, it's the best thing ever for the three chemo dose like myself and Linda had.

    It's given the first day of chemo and next two after...then I just had a script for Zofran or Phennigrin when needed.

    I too like Linda never got sick, so either the Emend worked very weel, or I just tolerated the chemo well.

    BTW, I also am very big on hydration during chemo...

    For one it flushed the kidneys and system (cisplatin is really hard on the kidneys).

    JG

    Another vote for Emend...
    If the Dr. doesn't bring it up, or it's not a part of what they prescribe for you at home, ask for it. I believe it's given along with the chemo, then there are two pills...one per day...for the next two days.

    p
  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #13
    phrannie51 said:

    Another vote for Emend...
    If the Dr. doesn't bring it up, or it's not a part of what they prescribe for you at home, ask for it. I believe it's given along with the chemo, then there are two pills...one per day...for the next two days.

    p

    Yes, ask for Emend!
    I'm on the lower dose weekly Cisplatin, and even I needed to switch to it. It made a world of difference. I had what felt like constant motion sickness when I was on the other drug and with Emend via IV before the Cisplatin, I'm now pretty much fine as long as I take my other nausea meds on schedule.

    The schedule is important, though. You do want to stay ahead of it. I got a little app for my phone that reminds me when to take my pills, specifically because I was late with doses for the nausea meds.
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #14
    Laralyn said:

    Yes, ask for Emend!
    I'm on the lower dose weekly Cisplatin, and even I needed to switch to it. It made a world of difference. I had what felt like constant motion sickness when I was on the other drug and with Emend via IV before the Cisplatin, I'm now pretty much fine as long as I take my other nausea meds on schedule.

    The schedule is important, though. You do want to stay ahead of it. I got a little app for my phone that reminds me when to take my pills, specifically because I was late with doses for the nausea meds.

    Didn't mean to upset you
    and I am sorry. This is a very stressful time right before treatment begins and I want you to know that although the decisions seem difficult it will all come together for you. I wanted you to understand the dangers of cisplatin but also to appreciate the wonders of it. The regime they propose is probably the most difficult, every 3 weeks. That speaks volumes of what your oncologist thinks you are capable of handling, you must be a very strong person and will do well!

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