Just some additional venting.....again

NJShore
NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Tomorrow is my husbands last chemo (20mg cisplatin/30mgs pacitaxol x 6 weeks) - so we are very happy at least one half of the treatment is coming to a close. Then there are only 5 more rads, done next Tuesday. His issues are with nausea. He's throwing up several times a day... In the morning lots of mucous and it's bloody (sorry to be grafic). Then he's queasy all day and all night. He's using ordanstron and comparing, and has trouble keeping meds down, let alone taking pain meds that have side effects of nausea! So today I ask the doctor, you want him to gain weight, but he can't stop throwing up! Then she says there is nothing else, then talks about a patch for nausea that is much stronger but says not a lot of people like it.  The insurance company is having a cow and fighting all nausea drugs because they are all expensive, and she keeps changing doses and meds... We are staying in a hotel during treatment, and the poor guy got sick in the restaurant tonight, fortunately only the staff was aware, he was in the waiters area. I left a nice tip and got him out as soon as he could make it to the elevator.. It just amazes me that there are PDR's full of drugs and the doctors can't work harder at keeping someone more stable. 

Anyone have personal experiences with patches for nausea?  If so, have an opinion?

the kicker is, she said he'll get a peg if she has to admit him.... And she threatens to due to weight loss, and he's getting daily IV's, and he's trying to eat foods and can swallow them, but she can't medicate the nausea.. So that's his fault how?

one cooked goose...Kari

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
    Have they tried Emend

    for him the first couple of days after chemo?  That seemed to really kick the nausea for me right afterwards.  During the next 5 or 6 days, I used a combination of Ativan, Compazine, and Zophran...my oncologist had a strick schedule to take my meds, and the instructions said to take them for as long as I had to.  They were all pill, none were patches.  By the end of 6 days or so, the constant nausea was gone....however, I'd have break out nausea, where I'd be sitting with hubby in a restaurant or somewhere, and out of the blue I'd have to make a run for the parking lot or the bathroom if I knew where it was.  That would last for the whole 3 weeks.

    I can't believe the insurance company is being pissy about the cost of anti-nausea meds with a patient who is getting chemotherapy....geeeeezzzz....that's really stingy.

    p   

  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    #3
    vomiting

    I had some heavy vomiting of mucous during the last couple of weeks of rads, but without nausea...the heaves just came up suddenly, mostly at night. like Matt, I had erbitux...so I was pretty clear the vomiting was courtesy of rads.

    only thing I can offer is that my vomiting ended when the rads did. I tried a few nausea meds, and none stopped the vomiting. finally they gave me ativan, which helped some--mostly because it let me sleep.

    and since your husband is finishing chemo tomorrow, we hope he sees improvement soon without need for nausea drugs. it does get easier after tx ends, and he's almost there.

  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #4
    phrannie51 said:

    Have they tried Emend

    for him the first couple of days after chemo?  That seemed to really kick the nausea for me right afterwards.  During the next 5 or 6 days, I used a combination of Ativan, Compazine, and Zophran...my oncologist had a strick schedule to take my meds, and the instructions said to take them for as long as I had to.  They were all pill, none were patches.  By the end of 6 days or so, the constant nausea was gone....however, I'd have break out nausea, where I'd be sitting with hubby in a restaurant or somewhere, and out of the blue I'd have to make a run for the parking lot or the bathroom if I knew where it was.  That would last for the whole 3 weeks.

    I can't believe the insurance company is being pissy about the cost of anti-nausea meds with a patient who is getting chemotherapy....geeeeezzzz....that's really stingy.

    p   

    Another Emend Fan

    It IS pricey - but magic.  I never looked forward to chemo, but the Emend/steroids combo enabled me to EAT (at least for a while).  I think that, without exception, the folks who got Emend did much better nausea-wise than the folks without.

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #5
    hang in there

    Kari,

     

    Sorry about all the problems.

     

    I was never as (continually) nauseated as your husband is as I was on the less nauseating Erbitux and Zofran worked fine for me when taken at the early signs of getting sick.

     

    I must commend him for going without a PEG and to be swallowing so well.  Some how he needs to get over this hurdle and get the required nourishment and hydration.  The good news is, he is almost finished with treatments so he should be feeling better all on his own.

     

    I ended up with a pharmacy of drugs; some worked some I did not need.

     

    Close to finished,

     

    Matt

  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #6
    EMEND

    I too had the EMEND during heavy doses of chemo, but it is super xpensive...something like $150/pil, and you take three (one each day/three days)...

    I also had phennigrin (sp)..., along with Zofran..., might be the same, not sure.

    Sure wish I could give you hope on something that might work...

    John

  • amy_h414
    amy_h414 Member Posts: 98
    #7
    nausea patch

    I wonder if the doc is talking about the scopolamine patch? My husband was given this patch when he was vomiting a lot due to the excess mucous from radiation. It did dry him up but it was too much - it made the mucous so thick he couldn't cough it up. There were other effects too, I don't remember what they were but they were enough that he stopped using the patch after only a day or two. But of course everybody's different, maybe it would help. It might be worth a try, I don't think it was expensive.

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #8
    CivilMatt said:

    hang in there

    Kari,

     

    Sorry about all the problems.

     

    I was never as (continually) nauseated as your husband is as I was on the less nauseating Erbitux and Zofran worked fine for me when taken at the early signs of getting sick.

     

    I must commend him for going without a PEG and to be swallowing so well.  Some how he needs to get over this hurdle and get the required nourishment and hydration.  The good news is, he is almost finished with treatments so he should be feeling better all on his own.

     

    I ended up with a pharmacy of drugs; some worked some I did not need.

     

    Close to finished,

     

    Matt

    Thank you Matt

    Thanks for the encouragement.. fortunately the daily IV's are helpfull and they have him scheduled 7 days a week til the end of January. Guess we are not leaving town early :)

    Thanks again, Kari

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #9
    phrannie51 said:

    Have they tried Emend

    for him the first couple of days after chemo?  That seemed to really kick the nausea for me right afterwards.  During the next 5 or 6 days, I used a combination of Ativan, Compazine, and Zophran...my oncologist had a strick schedule to take my meds, and the instructions said to take them for as long as I had to.  They were all pill, none were patches.  By the end of 6 days or so, the constant nausea was gone....however, I'd have break out nausea, where I'd be sitting with hubby in a restaurant or somewhere, and out of the blue I'd have to make a run for the parking lot or the bathroom if I knew where it was.  That would last for the whole 3 weeks.

    I can't believe the insurance company is being pissy about the cost of anti-nausea meds with a patient who is getting chemotherapy....geeeeezzzz....that's really stingy.

    p   

    Emend

    Phrannie,

    I read your post from the chemo lounge today, and then the dr stopped by and I asked her about Emend. The dr and the nurse said oh yes it's wonderful but he is a diabetic, so we can't give it to him. This is after we all agreed to treat his cancer first, then remediate via insulin as necessary. I guess not everyone is on board.  We meet with the Endocrinologist on Friday, and I might just be calling her tomorrow and asking her about her thoughts on the subject.

    Tonight he actually at a deli sandwich sans bread. And he's sleeping... now if he awakes without a mad dash.. this might be his first meal held since last thursday.

    Thanks, Kari

     

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #10
    blackswampboy said:

    vomiting

    I had some heavy vomiting of mucous during the last couple of weeks of rads, but without nausea...the heaves just came up suddenly, mostly at night. like Matt, I had erbitux...so I was pretty clear the vomiting was courtesy of rads.

    only thing I can offer is that my vomiting ended when the rads did. I tried a few nausea meds, and none stopped the vomiting. finally they gave me ativan, which helped some--mostly because it let me sleep.

    and since your husband is finishing chemo tomorrow, we hope he sees improvement soon without need for nausea drugs. it does get easier after tx ends, and he's almost there.

    courtesy of rads...

    My husband said tonight as we celebrated the last chemo being over (are they really over? maybe in a few weeks as the side effects disappear!) -- and he said the same thing. He said he really has a hunch that it might be the radiation. He's getting 66 Gys in total.. that's a lot. I imagine when he's actually seeing the ups and downs, he has a much better perspective. In fact all the pain meds, the first side effect listed is nausea... Medicine has been around so long, you'd think it'd be better defined. :)

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #11
    Skiffin16 said:

    EMEND

    I too had the EMEND during heavy doses of chemo, but it is super xpensive...something like $150/pil, and you take three (one each day/three days)...

    I also had phennigrin (sp)..., along with Zofran..., might be the same, not sure.

    Sure wish I could give you hope on something that might work...

    John

    thank you

    John.

     

    Thanks for the feedback John, the zofran works.. he forgot a dose a few days ago.. and learned never do that again!

    And I appreciate your good wishes, they really do help!

     

    Kari

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #12
    amy_h414 said:

    nausea patch

    I wonder if the doc is talking about the scopolamine patch? My husband was given this patch when he was vomiting a lot due to the excess mucous from radiation. It did dry him up but it was too much - it made the mucous so thick he couldn't cough it up. There were other effects too, I don't remember what they were but they were enough that he stopped using the patch after only a day or two. But of course everybody's different, maybe it would help. It might be worth a try, I don't think it was expensive.

    scopolamine patch! that's it!

    Amy.

    Thanks for the warnings. Hopefully he will be able to try the patch at least tomorrow. The doctor mentioned that it works on some people, and not at all on others.. we are hoping it does help. Any food down would be a comfort. It's sad, he's hungry just knows it will be worse if he eats - that he will lose the water he works so hard to get down. Although now it's pedialite.. we will take nutrition anyway he can get it.

    Thanks for naming that patch!

    Kari

  • VivianLee5689
    VivianLee5689 Member Posts: 546
    #13
    NJShore said:

    scopolamine patch! that's it!

    Amy.

    Thanks for the warnings. Hopefully he will be able to try the patch at least tomorrow. The doctor mentioned that it works on some people, and not at all on others.. we are hoping it does help. Any food down would be a comfort. It's sad, he's hungry just knows it will be worse if he eats - that he will lose the water he works so hard to get down. Although now it's pedialite.. we will take nutrition anyway he can get it.

    Thanks for naming that patch!

    Kari

    Nausea patches

    Kari,

     

    One thing I feel like I've become an expert in is nausea.  Lol.  David has had so many different nausea regimines and I can tell you he loved the patch until it blurred his vision.  He was sad he had to stop using it because his tummy felt great.  Blurred vision is not a typical side effect and if you do get it it usually goes away after the meds wear off.  The other great thing was we only had to put one on every three days.  I hope this is helpful.

  • VivianLee5689
    VivianLee5689 Member Posts: 546
    #14
    NJShore said:

    scopolamine patch! that's it!

    Amy.

    Thanks for the warnings. Hopefully he will be able to try the patch at least tomorrow. The doctor mentioned that it works on some people, and not at all on others.. we are hoping it does help. Any food down would be a comfort. It's sad, he's hungry just knows it will be worse if he eats - that he will lose the water he works so hard to get down. Although now it's pedialite.. we will take nutrition anyway he can get it.

    Thanks for naming that patch!

    Kari

    Nausea patches

    Kari,

     

    One thing I feel like I've become an expert in is nausea.  Lol.  David has had so many different nausea regimines and I can tell you he loved the patch until it blurred his vision.  He was sad he had to stop using it because his tummy felt great.  Blurred vision is not a typical side effect and if you do get it it usually goes away after the meds wear off.  The other great thing was we only had to put one on every three days.  I hope this is helpful.

  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #15
    VivianLee5689 said:

    Nausea patches

    Kari,

     

    One thing I feel like I've become an expert in is nausea.  Lol.  David has had so many different nausea regimines and I can tell you he loved the patch until it blurred his vision.  He was sad he had to stop using it because his tummy felt great.  Blurred vision is not a typical side effect and if you do get it it usually goes away after the meds wear off.  The other great thing was we only had to put one on every three days.  I hope this is helpful.

    Kari...

    Wish I could help more, but just did not have the same issues with nausea as your husband....I too had Erbitux so little to no nausea...

    But I see you have lots of great feedback already ....so I will just whisper a prayer you get remedy on this issue soon.

    Best,

    Tim

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #16
    Tim6003 said:

    Kari...

    Wish I could help more, but just did not have the same issues with nausea as your husband....I too had Erbitux so little to no nausea...

    But I see you have lots of great feedback already ....so I will just whisper a prayer you get remedy on this issue soon.

    Best,

    Tim

    many thanks..

    Tim,

    Your warm wishes of a prayer are so welcomed.

    As I read your post this afternoon, the pharmacy called.. at least he's wearing the patch now! And he just asked me to order a steak for him and a salad!.. I know most of it will sit in the fridge later.. but so glad he's trying! The dr's are shocked that he's willing to try, given what they see - or what used to be a throat. Maybe that topped with butter was the inviting part!

    The stepping down every week.. with each round of chemo and more radiation.. I can't wait to see even the slightest of improvements for him.

    Thanks again,

    Kari

     

     

  • NJShore
    NJShore Member Posts: 429 Member
    #17
    VivianLee5689 said:

    Nausea patches

    Kari,

     

    One thing I feel like I've become an expert in is nausea.  Lol.  David has had so many different nausea regimines and I can tell you he loved the patch until it blurred his vision.  He was sad he had to stop using it because his tummy felt great.  Blurred vision is not a typical side effect and if you do get it it usually goes away after the meds wear off.  The other great thing was we only had to put one on every three days.  I hope this is helpful.

    Vivian, thanks for responding!

    Vivian,

    Thank you for taking the time to respond today, I know you and David are meeting with round 2 this week. I read your latest post and it seems that your experience will hopefully help with David's nausea too. Dan has been wearing the patch now for 5 hours, so I am praying we meet with at least some improvement. And praying that the only one around here with the blurred vision is me! Seems my glasses broke as I was walking down a hall way this afternoon - it's always something!

     

    My prayers for you and David as always,

    Kari

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