Nausea with radiation

zipperneck2012
zipperneck2012 Member Posts: 27
edited June 2022 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Did anyone else get nauseous during radiation??? I've been super nauseous lately. It's gross -_-. I looked in the symptoms part of the superthread, but didn't see nausea listed.

Comments

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    not for me
    Don't remember it talked about on the board much. I guess the question is do you have any other reason to be nauseated? Medications come to mind as a possible cause.

    Pat
  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    Yes
    Different smells would send me, never knew what would do it. The first time I was having Amifostine shots 30 minutes before rads, took 2 pills 1 hour before shot but there was still a 'smell' at the beginning of the rad session. I could not stand to be in the kitchen when anything was being prepared and sometimes would just have to run to the sink for the strangest things. Did stop for the most part after rads. You are almost finished.
  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,030 Member
    Yes
    Z,

    I found this on the Cleveland Clinic site.....

    Will radiation therapy make me nauseous?
    Radiation treatment may cause nausea (a sensation often leading to the urge to vomit). If nausea occurs, it usually happens from two to six hours after your treatment and lasts about two hours. Nausea may or may not be accompanied by vomiting.

    I will have to say that I felt this several times during my treatments with radiation. If memory serves me correctly, I would have a spell at least once a week, but not throw up, just a pretty uneasy stomach for a few hours and it would pass.

    edited to add---My uneasy stomach may have been the result of me treating myself to a 42oz Chocolate Shake from Burger King on the way home as well.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here
  • tommyodavey
    tommyodavey Member Posts: 726 Member
    MarineE5 said:

    Yes
    Z,

    I found this on the Cleveland Clinic site.....

    Will radiation therapy make me nauseous?
    Radiation treatment may cause nausea (a sensation often leading to the urge to vomit). If nausea occurs, it usually happens from two to six hours after your treatment and lasts about two hours. Nausea may or may not be accompanied by vomiting.

    I will have to say that I felt this several times during my treatments with radiation. If memory serves me correctly, I would have a spell at least once a week, but not throw up, just a pretty uneasy stomach for a few hours and it would pass.

    edited to add---My uneasy stomach may have been the result of me treating myself to a 42oz Chocolate Shake from Burger King on the way home as well.

    My Best to You and Everyone Here

    nausea
    Funny you should post this topic. I too had nausea and when I told my rad tech she was surprised and said it is not one of the symptoms. It came and went from time to time but I knew it was from the radiation as my diet was pretty bland.

    And same thing with the smells. I am now one week out of RT and I can smell almost as good as a dog! Can't stand to smell perfume up close and I dislike the deodorant I use. Food sure smells good but that doesn't help my taste buds either. Mine are operating at about 70% which is good. What I can't taste is sweets. Put some sugar in my mouth and nothing. I will surely welcome that one back.

    So no, you are not alone feeling nauseous during treatment.

    Tommy
  • kimmygarland
    kimmygarland Member Posts: 312

    nausea
    Funny you should post this topic. I too had nausea and when I told my rad tech she was surprised and said it is not one of the symptoms. It came and went from time to time but I knew it was from the radiation as my diet was pretty bland.

    And same thing with the smells. I am now one week out of RT and I can smell almost as good as a dog! Can't stand to smell perfume up close and I dislike the deodorant I use. Food sure smells good but that doesn't help my taste buds either. Mine are operating at about 70% which is good. What I can't taste is sweets. Put some sugar in my mouth and nothing. I will surely welcome that one back.

    So no, you are not alone feeling nauseous during treatment.

    Tommy

    My Husband Had It
    When my husband was radiated in 2009, for the last two weeks, he had bad nausea. So bad, that he had to have lots of nausea medicine AND xanax due to the anxiety the worrying about throwing up while strapped to the table was causing.

    He will begin another round of radiation in the next couple of weeks and his main concern is a repeat of the nausea.

    He was on chemo concurrently with radiation, so that could have been cause of it, but he thought for some reason it was the radiation.
  • zipperneck2012
    zipperneck2012 Member Posts: 27

    My Husband Had It
    When my husband was radiated in 2009, for the last two weeks, he had bad nausea. So bad, that he had to have lots of nausea medicine AND xanax due to the anxiety the worrying about throwing up while strapped to the table was causing.

    He will begin another round of radiation in the next couple of weeks and his main concern is a repeat of the nausea.

    He was on chemo concurrently with radiation, so that could have been cause of it, but he thought for some reason it was the radiation.

    Thanks!!
    My nausea has been pretty constant since about my third treatment last week...it got better over the weekend, then flared up really bad last night. I actually threw up twice today and they FINALLY prescribed me something for it after I came in looking like hell from no sleep, vomiting, and having just finished my 8th radiation session. I think they thought it was just nerves or something, but I mean... I've been very put off by smells and textures of food or drink, or even just thinking about certain foods...and the only part making me nervous is the idea of throwing up in the mask, lol.

    It's interesting so many of us have this and it's not mentioned or listed as a "side effect". Hmmmmmm.....
  • ooo
    ooo Member Posts: 105

    Thanks!!
    My nausea has been pretty constant since about my third treatment last week...it got better over the weekend, then flared up really bad last night. I actually threw up twice today and they FINALLY prescribed me something for it after I came in looking like hell from no sleep, vomiting, and having just finished my 8th radiation session. I think they thought it was just nerves or something, but I mean... I've been very put off by smells and textures of food or drink, or even just thinking about certain foods...and the only part making me nervous is the idea of throwing up in the mask, lol.

    It's interesting so many of us have this and it's not mentioned or listed as a "side effect". Hmmmmmm.....

    Hi Zippy,
    I just had my mask

    Hi Zippy,

    I just had my mask done and soon I'll start with my rads.

    Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.. unless you do throw up in the mask.. in that case I'll pretend not to know you and you'll be on your own. :P

    Dre.
  • zipperneck2012
    zipperneck2012 Member Posts: 27
    ooo said:

    Hi Zippy,
    I just had my mask

    Hi Zippy,

    I just had my mask done and soon I'll start with my rads.

    Just wanted to let you know that you're not alone.. unless you do throw up in the mask.. in that case I'll pretend not to know you and you'll be on your own. :P

    Dre.

    LOL
    HAHA thanks :p.
  • Chryssi
    Chryssi Member Posts: 12
    Nausea with Radiation
    Hi zipperneck,

    I had severe nausea and vomiting after a couple of weeks into my radiation. My sense of smell became a lot stronger and everything bothered me. All the phlegm made it much worse. My last treatment was March 28th, 2012 and I do not have any more nausea. Hope you feel better.

    Chryssi
  • DTALBOTT
    DTALBOTT Member Posts: 1 *

    Well, I'm certainly late entering in this conversation, but I was diagnosed a little over a month ago. I have had four weeks of radiation five days a week and just this weekend started with nausea, gagging, and vomiting. I can't seem to keep anything down. I just tried to eat a frozen fruit pop (for the second time today) and after three bites, it came back up. I've lost about 33 pounds and I'm really trying to eat. A bowl of chicken soup and toast for dinner came right back up. Another three weeks of this is looking very daunting!

    Doris

  • SuzJ
    SuzJ Member Posts: 427 Member

    Smells did it. I was never ill with chemo, but open and ensure 2 rooms away? NOOOO Coffee - no, no, omg no.. I could smell every. single. chemical, in everything - everything. Makes me look at food differently now for sure!

  • Duggie88
    Duggie88 Member Posts: 760 Member

    Hi Zipperneck I know how you got your name. The day after my full neck disection a buddy of mine came to the hospital to visit and called me the human Pez dispensor.

    Yes I started feeling nauseous after about the 4th or 5th zapping. They gave me a prescription for it but I forget what it was because I was high on oxycodone at the time but it did work.


    Enjoy your day

    Jeff

  • Logan51
    Logan51 Member Posts: 464 Member

    Hmmm...might be another reason to get a FT installed before tx. Rads do nothing to the stomach. Chemo spreads throughout the whole body, and that's what made me sick. During the weeks I just go Rads, 20 places/session, no nausea. Course, I had a FT installed before tx, so nothing but water was going down my esophagus to my stomach. Seems a stretch, but maybe eating and or drinking Ensure during tx and the stuff coming into contact with the tissue getting Rads could cause.

    ALSO- do not lay down horizontal on the bed for like a regular night's sleep. I tried that, woke up feeling sick and barfed, and used that as a lesson. I would set my alarm for 4 hours, get up and go downstairs to get the rest of my sleep on the recliner= barfing was never an issue after that.

    That be my experience and input.