Just checking in to say hello

Hi Birder,

   I hope your nausea is easing up.  My husband has had five R-CHOP chemos and three intrathecal (spinal) chemos and has had very little nausea, but he says he can't really taste his food very well anymore.  He also tells me that certain foods are now repulsive to him.  He won't eat bread anymore because it just doesn't taste good to him. Since I would like him to gain some of the  weight he has lost  I have been looking for recipes that will help him with taste alterations and weight loss.  I found a cookbook published by the American Cancer Society called "What to Eat During Cancer Treatment".  It has a lot of good recipes broken down by symptoms:  Nausea, Diarrhea, Constipation, Sore Mouth and Difficulty Swallowing, Taste Alterations, and Unintentional Weight Loss.  You might be interested in some of the recipes to help with nausea.  Also, when he started his treatments his doctor prescribed Ondansetron ODT tablets (I think the other name for it is Zofran).  The few times he's had nausea he took a tablet and it worked like a charm. Feel better.  I like the name "Birder".  My husband and I enjoy birding very much, although we have done very little since treatments have begun.                    Simone   

Thank you for the update, Birder. 

Is your oncologist giving you the anti-nausea med EMEND ? If not, ask about it.  Despite a rather full set of side-effects from chemo (fatigue, neuropathy, taste loss, weight loss, flu-like symptoms, inability to concentrate or recall simple facts), I never had any nausea during six months of  R-ABVD.

I used the pill form of EMEND (most common way to take the drug), but some doctors administer it in the IV drip itself.  One of the few counterindication for the drug is serious liver problems.

max

Birder said:

Third chemo

i head for my third R CHOP Tuesday. Will be meeting with my oncologist Thursday about results of  a PET Scan I had last week. I was having big problems with nausea but the doc changed my meds so we'll see how that goes on this next infusion. FYI, I'm having great relief using Claritin to counter bone aches from Neulasta. Thanks to Puffin for that recommendation!!

Take care everybody and keep fighting the good fight. We're all in this together!  More soon

Hi Birder,

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you will do better with the nausea! Zofran seems to do it for me. We are still pretty much on the same chemo time frame. I just finished my 4th treatment. 2nd methotrexate is Monday. Haven't had much nausea, but keeping my WBC count up seems to be a problem.  .08 yesterday.  They switched me from neupogen to Neulasta after the 4th treatment.  That was 7 days ago, so I'm hoping it will kick in soon.

Yes!  We keep up the fight! I encourage everyone to download and listen to Rachel Platten's "Fight Song" and play it LOUD!

Birder said:

Yesterday's chemo

Everything felt good from yesterday's chemo until I went to bed. This particular infusion wouldnt let me get to sleep. Despite 2 10mg ambient, no luck!  Oh, well, I got caught up on my reading and feel pretty good today.

tomorrow I go meet with my oncologist about the results of a PET Scan I had just before Thanksgiving. I'm staying very optomistic and looking forward to gettting an expert analysis of the scan.

hey Sal101, don't miss out on the tip about Claritin to combat any bone soreness created by Neulasta. Please check with your doc first, but it worksgreat for me and many others out there. 

More soon after I get my scan results.  Best wishes to everybody!

Claritan is on board!!  not much bone pain at all, however I almost wish there was a little just so I know it's working!  Good luck with the Pet scan results.  I had a CT 10 days ago with huge improvements from my first one.  No lesions on the liver and small spot in the breast which they said could be scar tissue. I'm just not sure how I will EVER not worry though. If you remember I was staged at 4b.

Sharon