What can I do to alleviate my husband's abdominal pain?

Melanie781
Melanie781 Member Posts: 33
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
My husband is currently in the middle of his 3 round of Xeloda and Oxaliplatin (2 weeks Xeloda, 1 week off, with an infusion of Oxaliplatin at the beginning of each round.) He has had a lot of abdominal pain lately. Maybe its the Oxaliplatin? I will ask his doctor today. I am at a loss as to how to help him. He has to go through 3 to 5 more rounds (each round is 3 weeks!) He thought he had a colon blockage, but when we went to the Onc. he couldn't hear any of the noise in his abdomen he would expect to hear if his colon was blocked. He did, however, prescribe 6 hours of IV fluids last Wed so he wouldn't get dehydrated because of trouble eating and drinking.) As of last night, he ate a little soup and drank some tea, but I'm afraid its not enough (and not a lot of anything else for 5 more days.) He can't eat cold drinks or food because of the Oxaliplatin and he's getting tired of soup/broth. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
~Melanie781


(Treatment so far: diagnosed 12/07 with Stage IIIC rectal cancer; 5 weeks of radiation and chemo, Xeloda, with hardly any chemo side-effects, only the radiation cooked his skin; next it was surgery twice (his rt-groin lymph node had to be removed during his first ten week stay in the hospital) and was readmitted into the hospital for another ten days because of infection in his groin/leg; now he is doing the adjuvant chemotherapy decribed above.)

Comments

  • spongebob
    spongebob Member Posts: 2,565 Member
    #2
    SOUNDS FAMILIAR..
    Melanie -

    Has your husband been vomiting a lot lately? Could it be acute gastroenteritis? That is something you want to stay out in front of. Someone I know... who will go unmentioned, usakat...didn't keep out in front of hers (despite some VERY good advice from a member of this board... me...) and ended-up in the hospital for 4 days.

    Dehydration is a prime culprit as is projectile vomiting. I strongly urge you to reach out to your onc and discuss this with him/her. Keep the water flowing - hubby should drink 3-4 liters of water every day. He will know if he's getting enough water if his urine is a light straw color versus dark yellow. Whatever you do, don't let this get in front of you. It's a hard road to get back from. While you're talking to your onc, I recommend you discuss anti-nausea meds. Emend is a really good "silver bullet". I understand that many insurance companies don't cover Emend, but don't forget... they DO get free samples!

    - SpongeBob

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