Hard time with chemo!

It will get better but it does take some time...for me the day after was "Energizer Bunny" day thanks to the devil drug Decadron but then fatigue would hit about 36 hours after chemo and would be really bad days 2-4 and then ease up a bit but I was still fatigued for several days. The nausea would be bad for about 5 days (took the nausea meds round the clock...and metamucil!!!!!) and then would sort of hit or miss the next few days...

It will ease up...but for now rest and take your meds...I found small meals helped and thanks to the decadron I craved carbs but that seemed to help the nausea...

I found taking a quick nap in the afternoon (20 minutes) helped a lot to help me get through the rest of the day...

hang in there...it will get better!!!!!

Make sure you are receiving an anti-nausea med via IV right before you get the taxol.  My doc prescribed Aloxi, which is a long-acting form of Zofran.  I have had two chemo’s so far, and I have not experienced nausea.

llhgrey said:

Anti-nausea med with chemo

Make sure you are receiving an anti-nausea med via IV right before you get the taxol.  My doc prescribed Aloxi, which is a long-acting form of Zofran.  I have had two chemo’s so far, and I have not experienced nausea.

are u raking the meds thru iv just with chemo or in pill form daily/as needed? I was taking the pills but contributed to constipation so no longer taking. 

ckdgedmom said:

constipation

Jodil...

Did you try metamucil or something like that? 

my pharmacologist suggested I take a class of water with metamucil or miralax each morning...I liked the metamucil because it tastes like Tang...

I took it every morning on the days I was on the anti-nausea pills...and for at least 2 days after...

I had zofran in my infusion and then took compozine and zofran in pill form after..I found that the zofran (Ondansetron) "plugged" me up more than the compozine (although I had to take both round the clock for 4-5 days post chemo).

I also found that if I didn't drink enough water it made me more constipated so I tried to drink a lot of water (I found that lemon or mint helped me drink more) or herbal tea helped me stay hydrated and "kept things moving"...

good luck sweetie...hope this helps...

Yep, tried both metamucil and miralax to manage constipation. The mirilax was too much. Suffice it to say I was no longer constipated but had to be near a bathroom all day. I just feel like my body doesn't know what to do right now: I take medications that makes me constipated (chemo & anti nausea)) and then am using all these other things to unplug me-smoothe move tea,stool softeners, miralax. My chemo nurse suggested taking just 1 stool softener a day and d/c the tea,etc. Started doing that friday and i don't think it's going to be enough.   Am going to try using the metamucil daily and up my intake of water. Thanks for the suggestions. Back to work Tues! 

Towards the end of radiation, nothing much relieved my nausea so I resorted to old-school OTC stuff: Pepto Bismol, Aka Seltzer and Emetrol. It actually helped. A regular (not diet) coke helped too; I got that idea from my mom's stories of taking cola syrup as a child. 

I was on Taxol and Carboplatin in 2015. I found that keeping a record of how I felt each day could help me know what to expect. I felt ok on the day after chemo so could plan things for that day. Days 3-7 were subject to bone pain, heartburn and other issues, so I knew to relax in bed. On day 8 I always felt great and could get out again. That said, Cherpear, how your body reacts could be different so listen to it, take it easy, and please stop feeling guilty. We must think that we should be able to shake it off. That's just not the way it is. 

Cherpear said:

Thank you all!

I need to pace myself. This is such an adjustment. I take zofran for nausea but I think I need something else or in addition to. Hugs and kisses to all you warriors out there!

 

See if your doctor will give you compozine as well as the zofran...I took both (one was every 8 hous and one every 6) for the first few days after chemo...after that I just would take one and only take the other if the first pill didn't work...I usually started with the compozine as it didn't "plug me up" as much as the zofran..I sort of learned how the nausea felt and which pill to take...and if you are getting radiation later it's good to have both on hand for that as well...

Ditto on the water. I felt like I was going to slosh! I carried a bottle around wherever I went. I was told by my onco nurse to take Miralax twice a day. Stool softeners as well. Finally, I'm down to less than a full Miralax dose a day, so perhaps things will subside for others as well. I hope so, Feeling stopped-up is no fun.

I was also told that if the nausea was so bad that I had trouble functioning, that I could take an anti-nausea pill after the first three days, but PLEASE check that with your team.

Chemo affects all of us differently. (Right now, I'm dealing with chemo rash. Not painful or itchy ... just annoying.) Let us hope that we all can put this behind us soon and get on the road to actually feeling well for a long time!

I was very lucky to know an oncology nurse who told me about the medical drink Enterade for amino acids and electrolytes. Helped almost instantly for nausea and GI problems. Also cold mitts and socks prevented neuropathy. I hope this helps all. Also Benadryl (urination burned a little) and Pepcid were invaluable.