constant nausea/weight loss
She suffers from almost constant nausea, belching, inability to eat much of anything w/o getting ill...and loses about 1 to 2 lbs/wk...THANKING GOD SHE WAS OVERWEIGHT TO BEGIN WITH!! Just had upper endoscopy yesterday w/GI doc...STOMACH CLEAN!! ANYONE OUT THERE W/ any help??
Comments
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I'm sorry
I'm sorry to hear the news of your mother's diagnosis and difficulty with treatment. I don't have any help to offer - other than prayers. There are many alternative treatments that she might research - accupuncture, reiki, healing touch, nutrition, yoga, meditation, etc. - that might provide some relief both mentally and physically. I truly believe in these and practice them now along with my western medicine.
You, your mother, and family are in my prayers, Mary Ann0 -
Thanks so very much! It isdaisy366 said:I'm sorry
I'm sorry to hear the news of your mother's diagnosis and difficulty with treatment. I don't have any help to offer - other than prayers. There are many alternative treatments that she might research - accupuncture, reiki, healing touch, nutrition, yoga, meditation, etc. - that might provide some relief both mentally and physically. I truly believe in these and practice them now along with my western medicine.
You, your mother, and family are in my prayers, Mary Ann
Thanks so very much! It is frustrating to see her suffer! I thank you for all of your ideas. Will definitely look into them!
Dana0 -
Hi DanaJULY1963 said:Thanks so very much! It is
Thanks so very much! It is frustrating to see her suffer! I thank you for all of your ideas. Will definitely look into them!
Dana
It is hard to read your post. I'm sorry about your mom.
You said that she is terminal now, so you can try any alternatives like Gerson therapy, Breuss 42-days juice diet, raw food or their combination.0 -
Thank you so much for yourculka said:Hi Dana
It is hard to read your post. I'm sorry about your mom.
You said that she is terminal now, so you can try any alternatives like Gerson therapy, Breuss 42-days juice diet, raw food or their combination.
Thank you so much for your support and ideas about alternative therapies.
The frustrating thing to us is that while she is terminal...her oncologist feels the cancer is STABLE right now, and that she might have as much as 2 years left...which would be just awesome!! She has been off of chemo since first part of December 2010...so we know it is not chemo that is driving this horrible nausea.
We just want her to have some quality to her life...freedom from the severe nausea, dry heaves, belching whenever she eats....
I am just wondering if ANYONE out there with endometrial cancer has ever experienced anything even remotely similar?
I am going to look into the Gerson therapy, and the other things that you mentioned! THANKS SO VERY MUCH!!!
Dana0 -
DanaJULY1963 said:Thank you so much for your
Thank you so much for your support and ideas about alternative therapies.
The frustrating thing to us is that while she is terminal...her oncologist feels the cancer is STABLE right now, and that she might have as much as 2 years left...which would be just awesome!! She has been off of chemo since first part of December 2010...so we know it is not chemo that is driving this horrible nausea.
We just want her to have some quality to her life...freedom from the severe nausea, dry heaves, belching whenever she eats....
I am just wondering if ANYONE out there with endometrial cancer has ever experienced anything even remotely similar?
I am going to look into the Gerson therapy, and the other things that you mentioned! THANKS SO VERY MUCH!!!
Dana
Another thought - what about a consult with gastrointestinal doctor?? Seems logical to me.
Regarding "terminal". When you think about it, we are all terminal. If your mom's cancer is stable and can get some freedom from her gastric issues and gain quality of life, she may have more than those 2 years!! I suggest she read "Getting Well Again" by O. Carl Simonton who worked with terminally ill cancer patients who had all exhausted treatment options. He had much success in helping them life longer and even with good quality of life.
With My best wishes, Mary Ann0 -
danadaisy366 said:Dana
Another thought - what about a consult with gastrointestinal doctor?? Seems logical to me.
Regarding "terminal". When you think about it, we are all terminal. If your mom's cancer is stable and can get some freedom from her gastric issues and gain quality of life, she may have more than those 2 years!! I suggest she read "Getting Well Again" by O. Carl Simonton who worked with terminally ill cancer patients who had all exhausted treatment options. He had much success in helping them life longer and even with good quality of life.
With My best wishes, Mary Ann
i'd also recommend acupuncture for nausea. plus, maybe some oatmeal in the morning with fresh ginger (good for nausea), if she can tolerate these. i think mary ann's idea re: a gastrointestinal doctor is a good one as well. i believe there are things out here that can help relieve your mom's nausea, so she really can have some quality life. it may take a little work, but well worth it. and don't believe what doctors say about how long your mother may have...no one knows this, and it's foolish, in my opinion, when doctors venture their guesses.
sisterhood,
maggie0 -
dana addendummaggie_wilson said:dana
i'd also recommend acupuncture for nausea. plus, maybe some oatmeal in the morning with fresh ginger (good for nausea), if she can tolerate these. i think mary ann's idea re: a gastrointestinal doctor is a good one as well. i believe there are things out here that can help relieve your mom's nausea, so she really can have some quality life. it may take a little work, but well worth it. and don't believe what doctors say about how long your mother may have...no one knows this, and it's foolish, in my opinion, when doctors venture their guesses.
sisterhood,
maggie
i see your mother has already seen a gi doctor. so, a lot to gain by trying complementary methods. if she's constipated, that can really cause nausea, so making sure she's not should help some of her nausea, too. my preference, though, is to try acupuncture, it really works. sometimes a small, warm glass of water in the morning with a little lemon can help too. plus, there are meds for nausea, has your mother been given any of those? ativan is good for nausea, too.
sisterhood,
maggie0 -
one last suggestionmaggie_wilson said:dana addendum
i see your mother has already seen a gi doctor. so, a lot to gain by trying complementary methods. if she's constipated, that can really cause nausea, so making sure she's not should help some of her nausea, too. my preference, though, is to try acupuncture, it really works. sometimes a small, warm glass of water in the morning with a little lemon can help too. plus, there are meds for nausea, has your mother been given any of those? ativan is good for nausea, too.
sisterhood,
maggie
dana,
is medical marijuana legalized where you live? i haven't tried it myself (i live in california where it is legal). if it is, you can sign your mother up, and i'm sure the dispensing center can give you recipes, if your mother can't smoke it. if it isn't, well, desperate times require desperate measures......... i have heard testimonials that it is THE VERY BEST THING FOR NAUSEA.
sisterhood,
maggie0 -
Hi, Maryann! Thank you sodaisy366 said:Dana
Another thought - what about a consult with gastrointestinal doctor?? Seems logical to me.
Regarding "terminal". When you think about it, we are all terminal. If your mom's cancer is stable and can get some freedom from her gastric issues and gain quality of life, she may have more than those 2 years!! I suggest she read "Getting Well Again" by O. Carl Simonton who worked with terminally ill cancer patients who had all exhausted treatment options. He had much success in helping them life longer and even with good quality of life.
With My best wishes, Mary Ann
Hi, Maryann! Thank you so much for your reply! It is so helpful to me to hear fresh ideas from other people.
She has been totally worked up by her GI doctor on more than one occasion. She just actually saw him this past Tuesday. He did an upper endoscopy on her, and he said her stomach was definitely clean of cancer! However, she is a diabetic...which has not been an issue for her for the past year in terms of elevated blood glucoses because she has had such poor appetite. The only thing is...when she had an upper endoscopy about 11 months ago, they found her to have a very enlarged stomach and gastroparesis.... which is slow emptying of her stomach...both of these issues being results of diabetes. These 2 problems will always plague her. They put her on Reglan for a few months, which did help a lot. Then she developed some mild symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, so the Reglan had to be discontinued:( Unfortunately, Reglan is the only drug on the market that helps speed up gastric emptying.
Her GI doctor did tell her oncologist that small doses of Erythromycin can aid in gatric emptying...surprise to me...as Erythromycin can also cause nausea!! But they are going to try that.
Mom goes back to her oncologist this coming Monday. He will discuss with her the possibility of starting back on very small dose of chemo...since GI drs do feel her nausea is driven by the cancer. And her nausea has picked up in intensity since they stopped the chemo in early December. We also want to try to control the minimal amt of ascites that she she has left. We don't want that accumulating again as it had in the past.
I will purchase the book you mentioned, and read it to her. She has very bad macular degeneration, and cannot read at all any more:(
I am so very thankful for all of the good things God has given to us 8 kids. I am the oldest, and my Mom has been an AWESOME Mother. My Dad is just ripped up by all of this,,,but they have strong faith in God, and God has spared her life so many times this past year.
You are very right...we are all terminal... I may go ahead of her... And if we could restore her to some state of health, it would be such a blessing!!!
I am so glad for all of the alternative suggestions I am receiving on this forum!! I am a nurse, and as a nurse, I tend to think in terms of pure medical. I am so so open to any suggestions anybody may have!!
Thanks so very much for your input and support!!
Have a beautiful day!
Dana0 -
Hi, Maggie! Thanks so muchmaggie_wilson said:dana
i'd also recommend acupuncture for nausea. plus, maybe some oatmeal in the morning with fresh ginger (good for nausea), if she can tolerate these. i think mary ann's idea re: a gastrointestinal doctor is a good one as well. i believe there are things out here that can help relieve your mom's nausea, so she really can have some quality life. it may take a little work, but well worth it. and don't believe what doctors say about how long your mother may have...no one knows this, and it's foolish, in my opinion, when doctors venture their guesses.
sisterhood,
maggie
Hi, Maggie! Thanks so much for your recommendation of acupuncture! I will definitely check this out as well! I am so open to any suggestions from anybody! We do have some ginger that we have sprinkled on Mom's food...it does help some. I will try that oatmeal with the ginger sprinkled on top for her,,,and see how she does with that.
I know Mom's oncologist is just trying to help us as a family come to terms with the time Mom may have left. We realize that this is just an estimate based on statistics of cancer in this stage. And one thing I know...he could be way way off on this. However, this is the first question everyone, including my Mom, thought about.
Mom has seen a GI dr in the past, and saw her GI dr just this week. He admitted her to the hospital Tuesday, and she just got out yesterday. They are going to try low dose Erythromycin to see if that might aid in gastric emptying. Another thing I forgot to mention was that after that upper endoscopy this week...she quit belching so much ...I think they were able to decompress her stomach of the air in there which helped a lot.
I just so thank you for your input, encouragement, ideas... I will keep you posted on how she is doing on here!
Have a great day!
Dana0 -
Your Mothers NauseaJULY1963 said:Hi, Maryann! Thank you so
Hi, Maryann! Thank you so much for your reply! It is so helpful to me to hear fresh ideas from other people.
She has been totally worked up by her GI doctor on more than one occasion. She just actually saw him this past Tuesday. He did an upper endoscopy on her, and he said her stomach was definitely clean of cancer! However, she is a diabetic...which has not been an issue for her for the past year in terms of elevated blood glucoses because she has had such poor appetite. The only thing is...when she had an upper endoscopy about 11 months ago, they found her to have a very enlarged stomach and gastroparesis.... which is slow emptying of her stomach...both of these issues being results of diabetes. These 2 problems will always plague her. They put her on Reglan for a few months, which did help a lot. Then she developed some mild symptoms of tardive dyskinesia, so the Reglan had to be discontinued:( Unfortunately, Reglan is the only drug on the market that helps speed up gastric emptying.
Her GI doctor did tell her oncologist that small doses of Erythromycin can aid in gatric emptying...surprise to me...as Erythromycin can also cause nausea!! But they are going to try that.
Mom goes back to her oncologist this coming Monday. He will discuss with her the possibility of starting back on very small dose of chemo...since GI drs do feel her nausea is driven by the cancer. And her nausea has picked up in intensity since they stopped the chemo in early December. We also want to try to control the minimal amt of ascites that she she has left. We don't want that accumulating again as it had in the past.
I will purchase the book you mentioned, and read it to her. She has very bad macular degeneration, and cannot read at all any more:(
I am so very thankful for all of the good things God has given to us 8 kids. I am the oldest, and my Mom has been an AWESOME Mother. My Dad is just ripped up by all of this,,,but they have strong faith in God, and God has spared her life so many times this past year.
You are very right...we are all terminal... I may go ahead of her... And if we could restore her to some state of health, it would be such a blessing!!!
I am so glad for all of the alternative suggestions I am receiving on this forum!! I am a nurse, and as a nurse, I tend to think in terms of pure medical. I am so so open to any suggestions anybody may have!!
Thanks so very much for your input and support!!
Have a beautiful day!
Dana
I think you need to talk to the Doctors more about the nausea. Diabetics often have gastroparesis (a form of neuropathy) and sometimes reglan helps. The GI Doctor probably through about this himself but it doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes medications are making it worse. Sometimes take miralax daily helps things to go through. Keep on the Doctors; she will need special help with each chemo. Her medications could be causing nausea. I am sure she takes some diabetic medicines. Keep asking questions and trying something until you find out it works. Don't give up!
Diane0 -
Hi, Diane! So nice toSongflower said:Your Mothers Nausea
I think you need to talk to the Doctors more about the nausea. Diabetics often have gastroparesis (a form of neuropathy) and sometimes reglan helps. The GI Doctor probably through about this himself but it doesn't hurt to ask. Sometimes medications are making it worse. Sometimes take miralax daily helps things to go through. Keep on the Doctors; she will need special help with each chemo. Her medications could be causing nausea. I am sure she takes some diabetic medicines. Keep asking questions and trying something until you find out it works. Don't give up!
Diane
Hi, Diane! So nice to receive your thoughts!
My Mom was diagnosed last year with an enlarged stomach and gastroparesis secondary d/t her DM.
During the endoscopy from which they gave her this diagnosis...they decompressed her stomach of all the air, and it did take away a lot of her belching for quite some time. They put her on Reglan, and she took it for maybe a couple of months...then she developed symptoms of tardive dyskinesia. Consequently, she was taken off of it.
She has not been on any diabetic medications for quite some time, as she has not needed them. (Prior to her cancer surgery, she had been on oral diabetic medications) They have looked at her other meds, and have pulled as many of them as they can.
She takes miralax almost daily, as she has had problems with constipation, and this certainly helps. However, d/t her poor intake and recent gallbladder removal, she gets diarrhea just as easily.
She has not had chemo since the first part of December 2010. Going off of the chemo was a good way to r/o some of the factors in her nausea. Her nausea has actually gotten worse since then.
According to the GI doctors, Mom's nausea is being driven by the cancer itself.
She is going to be started on Erythromycin to try to help with the gastroparesis...apparently in a small dose, this dose help some...go figure... I always though Erythromycin made your stomach feel poorly!
It is just frustrating to see her be so sick!! We will keep pushing for more answers, and see if they cannot get her to feeling better. It is very discouraging to see her laid up like this.
She has lost a MASSIVE amount of weight in the past few months...just d/t nausea alone!! It is a good thing she had extra to spare!! She has lost approx 110 lb!! When they looked at PET/CT scan they did a couple of weeks ago, and told us her cancer was stable, I was happy. But if we cannot get her weight loss under control, and her eating better, she will die of something r/t that or some opportunistic bug that gets her!
Have a great day, and thanks so much for your input!!
Dana0 -
Loss of Appetite, Weight Loss
Am so sorry to hear of your mother's situation.
If you can get her to swallow 3-4 teaspoons of high-quality fish oil a day ("Purest Fish Oil" by Pharmax, for example, available online), it may help to stabilize her weight and improve her appetite. (Two tsps at a time, twice a day after meals).
It has NO bad taste, in fact is flavored with orange.
Yes, she could take capsules, but fish oil is best absorbed, I've been told, as an oll, not via capsules.
Hope this might help.
Rosey R0
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