Hiccups

Steve,

Too bad you did not have your PEG, you could have whipped it out for the salesperson (little H&N humor).

No you are not imagining things, radiation is real, as proof put a hotdog under you mask, it is quite a treat (more H&N humor).

I have heard that a big surprise can quell hiccups, wait till you see the bill for treatments, we are talking fully loaded Aston Martin.

I enjoyed many, many meals drinking only smoothies and a few bites.  The world keeps turning, you are just on H&N Island for a few months.

Just think, you will have Turkey neck like the rest of us next year (gobble, gobble)

Happy Thanksgiving,

Matt

Steve5 said:

Hiccup Follow up

So quick follow up - took the prescribed anti nausea at 5:15 - at 6:00 the hiccups stopped and feeling better - dose is every 4 hours, but I hope I feel better at 9 tonight and do not need the med -

Is this what "staying ahead of nausea" means?

Thanks

Steve

The minute I felt the nausea I needed to take the med, if I waited, I got sick.  It's easier to take the med early than to try to stop the vomitting once it starts.  Never had the hiccup problem (or I slept through it!).

do NOT stop taking the anti-nausea meds tonight....get three or four days under your belt before you quit taking them.....staying ahead of nausea means, don't risk getting it....two days after your first chemo is rushing it.  The worst that can happen is you pass the end of the nausea by a few hours, and not even you will know when that was.  There is also something called "breakout nausea"....that's when you're feeling just fine, no nausea, and something will trigger....one minute fine, the next minute rushing for a bathroom (or in my case, the parking lot at a restaurant).....Myself....knowing what I know now? I'd be on those meds till Friday. 

You are not imagining it.....my nodes started shrinking the first week, and were back to normal by the 4th week....makes a person feel good to be able to actually see the healing taking place.

p 

Steve5 said:

Constipation

Thanks Jamie - again you are paving the road for me - my wife is going to the store this morning for holiday food - but I asked her to get me some grapes, prunes, and canned fruit to stave off this affect before it gets here - and decaf coffee that I put soy milk in that seems to really help and walking which I am just getting back to after the 7 day rest period after having the PEG put in

Prayers and thoughts your way

Steve

You might have more luck "tasting" fruit that is a jar instead of a can.  I even avoided silverware and used plastic!

Steve5 said:

Took the med before bed

Great advice - I took the anti nausea at 5:15 then again at 10 PM and slept through the night !! I ususally always wake up at 5 AM, but slept through until 7:45 AM this morning - and no hiccups now - thanks for the great help - I now know the nausea feeling and of course as soon as a hiccup breaks through after the chemo treatment I will know as well - your the best  - you and everyone on here -

Happy holiday

Steve

I am set to begin week five next Monday (off for Thanksgiving weekend, Thank You God). Here, at the end of my fourth week, my nodes have grown so small that i am fairly sure they may be unnoticable by the end of next week. Between week 3 dr visit and week 4 dr visit the combined length and width of the two nodes together went from 5.5 x 3.5 to 4 x 2.5. In the last two days, they shrank so much that I was literally in the bathroom thanking God with tears today. They are probably around 3 x 1.5. I remember that during my biopsy, over two months ago, the largest node by itself was a little over 3 cm alone.

God bless,

Jamie

Saw that some of the comments in this thread mentioned constipation. Pain meds also cause constipation so don't wait until it happens. Please do yourself a favor and take a stool softener like Colace to keep it from happening.   If you do become constipated, call your oncology team and get their advice on what to do about it.  Becoming impacted is a serious problem.

Steve5 said:

Nutritionist for Constipation Question

Hey Jamie and others - I talked with a nutritionist this morning about constipation - she told me caused by the anti nausea drugs you get with the chemo - I told her I was using plums, prunes, meta mucil and lots and lots of water - she said all this was fine except when pain meds are used down the road no meta mucil because it acts in reverse  - she recommended to me that I could look into Sennokot or Mirilax if I need them some time in the future treatments - I also asked about coffee and soy milk which seemed to be a potion for regular movements and she agreed that this was good as well as long as I could tolerate the taste again some weeks down the line - so just wanted to pass this along to you for any possible help - I am only 4 down and 31 to go for rads and 6 chemos left - but thanks to you and others I am keeping on a regular schedule of teeth cleaning, hydrating 24/7 wtih a water bottle, and eating plums and drinking soy milk - and trying to think postive about the mask each morning - the techs are wonderful help - again talking me through it just by letting me know the stage at each step of the treatment -

 

Thoughts and Prayers to you Jamie and everyone here -

Steve

Buddy, if you can get coffee in you during week 5, you are a true pro! lol

The thought of putting coffee in me almost sends me to the sink.

Steve, I have 2.5 more weeks left of treatment... then I don't have to friggin go back into that place anymore. I know that post-treament carries with it its own set of challenges, but at least you don't have to go in and face that doggone machine anymore or have anymore of that friggin poison pumped into your veins. I'm excited about that.

So far, the best thing I get down for nutrition is Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials. Much easier to drink than the Boost drinks, just have to drink more of them.

God has been good to me, so I will limit my complaining. 

God bless,

Jamie