Advice on Nausea/appetite

Jody

 The last rads are the worst.  I had same issue as well as vomiting every 4-6 hours due to to thick mucous that I swallowed, etc.  Extreme nausea seems to be a common side effect.  Mine was terrible.  Try things like muscle milk powder that uses water instead of milk.  I ate yogurt, oatmeal, drank powerade, and any juice i could get down that didn't hurt my mouth, (acid).    

I actually had 2 liters of a water solution put in daily for awhile with an IV due to fear of dehydration.  It made me feel much better.  May want to talk to you Dr about that option.  Is he on Chemo also?   If so, that adds to the nausea.  Bottom line is this is a tough one, hard to eat when you have nausea.  You may want to discuss a Feeding tube with your Dr before he loses too much weight.  It can also be a huge help in getting enough nutrition.  I had one and it was a life saver for me.

Wishing you the best.  Just hate to hear another person going through this tough treatment.  It is one of the worst cancer treatments, but it does work and keep telling your husband to push and get on the other side.  It will be worth it I'm sure

Keep strong

Steve

The first time around I couldn't walk in the kitchen while anyone was cooking.  I would get so naseous at the smell of food.  'dry heaves would come on in an instant.  I ate a lot of cream of wheat and my husband makes a very good smoothie.  Food will taste horrible but you have to get in the calories and protein (my husband added protein powder to both cream of wheat and the smoothies).  Greek yogurt has more protein than regular and check the protein on the drinks, they differ.  Also need to keep hydrated.  I remember when I first went back to work, some odors would get to me and I thought I would 'toss my cookies.'  It's trial and error, what tastes good one day doesn't the next, sometimes one or two bites are ok and the rest is horrible.  Just keep trying, have to eat, it's our job.  I know it is hard for the caregiver to watch us spiral down but we do come back to a new normal.

Bloodhound.....lots of us did!  I could have worked search and rescue better than my German Shepherd during radiation . 

There are other nausea meds besides Compazine, too.  I was on a regular schedule of three, to be taken anytime nausea was a problem....nagging "sick" is horrible trying to over come during a day.  I took Zophran, Compazine, and Lorazipam....and was told anytime I was feeling sick to get on my little 2 hour schedule....The big gun is Emend, and I took that during chemo and for three days after.  Tell the Drs. that Compazine isn't hitting it.

I drank 1/2 gallon of milk a day.....if he's getting down strawberry milk, then GREAT!  I also used Boost VHC (Very High Calorie)...it only comes in Vanilla, but packs 540 calories in one little carton compared to 360 calories in regular Boost.  He might still need a PEG tube, it's not unusual to start without one, then have to get one later.....but that won't help nausea.....when you're sick you're sick, no matter which way the food goes into your stomach. 

Stress can be part of the nausea, too.....even when we don't FEEL like we're stressed, who knows what the sub-concious is doing...the Lorazipam helps with that.....

He's just about to hit the single digits....the countdown can begin!! 

p

Jody, I was sick almost every day of radiation treatment.  I had a nausea patch and took Zofran as well but I had a horrible gag reflex. My radiation oncologist said that was the hardest kind of nausea to treat as most of the medicines block the sensors to the brain and my nausea didn't respond to it.   i only usedmy pain patch for a few days as it seemed to make my nausea worse.  I did the liquid Vicodin through my tube to help manage the pain.   I never could control the nausea throughout treatment.  

The feeding tube definitely helped me but I still lost 30 pounds and didn't have it to spare.    My wife is a nurse and she was always pushing me to eat and drink so don't feel guilty doing it.  The tube helped me get plenty if fluids, medicine, food, etc.  I never had an appetite for a few months and even when I got my tube out I only ate because I knew I needed to eat, not because I was hungry.  Now I get hungry and enjoy food again, actually love it:). During treatment I was always thirsty so your husband is probably drinking water but it might not be as much as you think, or need, so continue to gently judge him to eat and drink, as well as get rest.    

Don't forget yourself either because in some ways this is tougher on the caregiver than the patient.  We can/ will be cranky at times, we really feel like crap and it doesn't get better until weeks/months after we're all finished.    Behind most everyone on this site is a caregiver who was there every step of the way and was absolutely critical to recovery.  

God bless you and all the other caregivers who was with us every step of the way.

Keith

At where he is was the point I just switched to Ensure Plus, water, a few sliced peaches in light syrup (mainly to keep the swallower working), and of course pain meds, mostly liquid, or crushed in water.

I figured for the amount of calories in any real food, that was painful to eat. I could get many more through the Ensure with much less pain... 2- 3 can, 2 - 3 times each day.

Crappy routine, but you take in calories and hydration for survival, not taste that's for sure...

Hang in there, soon it will all be a distant memory.

BTW, the Strawberry Ensure Plus was the flavor of choice for me...

Best,

John