Vomiting

buzz99

The title of this post should get a lot of attention. My hubby, Buzz, just completed treatment. A troublesome problem he is having now is vomiting after gagging on all that thick mucus. This happens about 1 or 2 times a day. The antinausea meds don't work for this problem. He has a tube feeding which runs at night with 1 can given during the day. Yesterday he vomited about 1/3 of the night feeding when he got up in the am and all of the daytime can. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what did you do to deal with it? Thanks!

ratface

Can you Bolus feed?
Hi, I didn't have that problem but never tube fed during the night. Could laying down have anything to do with the vomitting? Using the syringe directly into the tube is much quicker and is easily done sitting up? Again if for some reason you can't feed this way just disregard my remarks altogether.

Noellesmom

thinning the mucous
Jim takes Mucinex (or store brand) daily for this. He also uses saline spray to help keep it moving and somewhat thinner. We run a humidifier 24/7 (must be careful of mold, however; Jim adds a pinch of salt to the water).

I know it is difficult with the nausea, but consuming lots of liquids is also important to thin the mucous.

Check with his doctor to see if these things, especially the Mucinex,are okay to try.

JUDYV5

I had problems like that
It will start to get better when the mucus gets better. I had to feed myself more frequently during this time. Call the Doctor and see if he has any suggestions. - Judy

Unknown

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Noellesmom

unknown said:

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loss
I'm sorry for your loss, Rose. The holidays just seem to make it worse.

Hugs.

DrMary

unknown said:

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Mucus and other causes of vomiting
Mucinex is just guaifensin - you can get it as a generic liquid or pill. Thick mucus can also mean he is dehydrated - we kept up IV hydration for weeks after. We didn't do the tube, but others are giving good advice about what and how to put in it.

With dehydration comes constipation, which can make your gag reflex more touchy - my mother the you-must-move-bowels-daily lady would love to hear me say this, but make sure he doesn't go more than 2 days without going.

The thick mucus will fade - we had about 4 weeks of it (3 at the end of treatment and 1 or so following the end).

Pam M

DrMary said:

Mucus and other causes of vomiting
Mucinex is just guaifensin - you can get it as a generic liquid or pill. Thick mucus can also mean he is dehydrated - we kept up IV hydration for weeks after. We didn't do the tube, but others are giving good advice about what and how to put in it.

With dehydration comes constipation, which can make your gag reflex more touchy - my mother the you-must-move-bowels-daily lady would love to hear me say this, but make sure he doesn't go more than 2 days without going.

The thick mucus will fade - we had about 4 weeks of it (3 at the end of treatment and 1 or so following the end).

Wonderful Pic
As Billy Crystal would say "You Look Mahvelous" - assuming you were on your way to an event, not getting ready to open pressies.

Pam M

Sorry He's Suffering
During my feeding tube days, I had to do multiple feedings a day - too much at any one time, and I'd become uncomfortably full/nauseated. I wouldn't think this was his prob, though, since he's been tolerating only two feedings/day before now. Good Luck

CajunEagle

DrMary said:

Mucus and other causes of vomiting
Mucinex is just guaifensin - you can get it as a generic liquid or pill. Thick mucus can also mean he is dehydrated - we kept up IV hydration for weeks after. We didn't do the tube, but others are giving good advice about what and how to put in it.

With dehydration comes constipation, which can make your gag reflex more touchy - my mother the you-must-move-bowels-daily lady would love to hear me say this, but make sure he doesn't go more than 2 days without going.

The thick mucus will fade - we had about 4 weeks of it (3 at the end of treatment and 1 or so following the end).

Vomiting
I used a children's form of liquid Mucinex (and had to use alot for each dosage) and mixed it in with my cans of Two Cal or Boost Plus for pouring into the syringe of the Peg Tube. I "think" it helped, but I had so much mucus for about 6 weeks after the 7 weeks of concurrent chemo and radiation, I didn't think it would ever clear up. It finally did, but we measured progress on how few times I would vomit in a given 24 hour period. As the Mucus decreased, so did those horrible episodes.

Larry

Hondo

Hi Buzz
I too had the problems with thick mucus but was able to handle it with just rinsing two or three times a day, never let it get to the Vomiting part. I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse, hope you find something that will work for you.

Take care

DrMary

Pam M said:

Wonderful Pic
As Billy Crystal would say "You Look Mahvelous" - assuming you were on your way to an event, not getting ready to open pressies.

About the Pic
I uploaded it and was going to say something, but it took a while to show up. That was from Doug's black tie event for work - my daughters made me buy a new dress and the younger one did my make-up. Doug's tux is one we bought at a tag sale 30 years back - it was vintage then (20's?) and Doug just fit into it. Now it's loose.

I thought it was time to update our look to reality - Doug's picture of us just after he won the championship is still the one he uses to post. There's a good bit of weight change - he lost 35 lbs and I gained about 5. He is winning the race - he was trying to get from 140 to 155 before I could get down from 165 to 155. He has 4 or so more to gain and I have 7 to lose.

This is one contest I don't mind losing. We will still celebrate at whatever weight we both weigh when we cross over.

Hondo

DrMary said:

About the Pic
I uploaded it and was going to say something, but it took a while to show up. That was from Doug's black tie event for work - my daughters made me buy a new dress and the younger one did my make-up. Doug's tux is one we bought at a tag sale 30 years back - it was vintage then (20's?) and Doug just fit into it. Now it's loose.

I thought it was time to update our look to reality - Doug's picture of us just after he won the championship is still the one he uses to post. There's a good bit of weight change - he lost 35 lbs and I gained about 5. He is winning the race - he was trying to get from 140 to 155 before I could get down from 165 to 155. He has 4 or so more to gain and I have 7 to lose.

This is one contest I don't mind losing. We will still celebrate at whatever weight we both weigh when we cross over.

Hi DrMary
I agree with Pam that is a very nice picture of you both and Doug look great in his tux's, that might be becuase of having a great caregiver...

delnative

Hondo said:

Hi Buzz
I too had the problems with thick mucus but was able to handle it with just rinsing two or three times a day, never let it get to the Vomiting part. I use the NeilMed Sinus Rinse, hope you find something that will work for you.

Take care

Happened to me, too
It wasn't violent vomiting, more what I'd call retching.
Either way, it was unpleasant for sure -- but it went away as the mucus went away.
That whole mucus business was hands-down the worst part of the whole ordeal. Thank God it doesn't last.

--Jim in Delaware

buzz99

delnative said:

Happened to me, too
It wasn't violent vomiting, more what I'd call retching.
Either way, it was unpleasant for sure -- but it went away as the mucus went away.
That whole mucus business was hands-down the worst part of the whole ordeal. Thank God it doesn't last.

--Jim in Delaware

Mucus
Yes, Buzz mostly has retching or dry heaves. He too says that this problem is the worst part. He does sleep sitting up when he gets his feeding at night but I have added Reglan to his regime and that may help. I also started guaifenesin (generic Robitussin)which comes in a liquid form for adults. I think it has helped! Nice to know this new development does not last. Thanks for all the helpful comments!
Karen (I used to be an RN and now I am a private duty nurse for Buzz!)

DrMary

buzz99 said:

Mucus
Yes, Buzz mostly has retching or dry heaves. He too says that this problem is the worst part. He does sleep sitting up when he gets his feeding at night but I have added Reglan to his regime and that may help. I also started guaifenesin (generic Robitussin)which comes in a liquid form for adults. I think it has helped! Nice to know this new development does not last. Thanks for all the helpful comments!
Karen (I used to be an RN and now I am a private duty nurse for Buzz!)

About Relgan
Relgan helped us a lot, but be aware that it can take a few days for the full effect. A plus side is that it can also help increase appetite after a few weeks. Since it works by speeding up gastric emptying (as well as increasing motility and helping to strengthen the esophagus muscles) you want to look at his other anti-nausea drugs, as some slow down gastric emptying - no sense in having them conflict. We found Reglan and Decadron were our magic combo.

As you have likely read, it can cause Parkinson-like side effects, some of which are not reversible. We took it for about 5 weeks with no problems - I did watch carefully, however.