Hi all, I am on weekly taxol currently just had No.4 and and have another 14 to go ! ! ! As the subject says I am sick of being sick ! Each week at my weekly meeting with the oncology team they up my anti sickness tablets but again tonight I have spent being sick and know i have this to look forward to the next few days. I know no-one likes being sick and this is a matter to bring up to oncology again, but just wondered if this can be resolved or will i need to suffer every week, has anyone any help, thanks in advance.
Max
Oh Max…that sounds rotten…can they change the anti-sickness meds? Perhaps some of them are making you feel worse, upping them makes it’s so much more for the body to process along with the chemo…is there an anti sickness they haven’t tried? a different combo? don’t suffer in silence and I hope things get easier…x
Have they tried ondasterone (?spelling) - it worked much better than the first thing they gave me. I think there are load of different types.
Sarah
I had ondansatron (Spelling?) also but they used to give me it intravenous before my chemo and I found that helped better than tablet form. They also gave me some odansatron melts home as well as buccastem, dom peridon etc. I took a combination and after chemo 2 it seemed to work. I also sipped Iced water during my chemo and found if I came home and went to bed for a rest not necessarily sleep I felt not too bad the day after. Its just trial and error till you get past this stage. Listen to your body. Do what feels right for you.
Love and best wishes
Carolyn x
I can really sympathise with you. I was so sick on FEC that I lost 2.5 stone in 8 weeks. I would start vomiting exactly 4 hours after the chemo and it would carry on for 12 hours, after that I felt very nauseous. I wasn’t so bad on tax but lost my appetite completely.
This definitely needs to be raised again with your team. I don’t know what you’re being given as you’re having a different type of chemo. Often the basics include something like metaclopramide and granisetron or ondansetron.
Goes without saying all the following should be checked with your Onc. Other anti sickness that could be used instead of or in conjunction with others:
domperidone and prochlorperazine. Domperidone does come in suppository form so if you can’t keep anything down is a good option.
The thing that had the most effect for me was levomepromazine (also known as Nozinan). It is very strong and it knocked me out. I took it on the day I had chemo and usually the day after so I wasn’t violently sick and then just slept. I also had domperidone suppositories and then went on to the tablets. I used them pretty much all the time I was on chemo.
The other drug I’ve heard about is Emend which I’ve not tried but heard good things about.
For the team it would probably be useful for them to know how soon after the chemo you are sick as different drugs work in different ways. Make sure that they realise you are being physically sick and how much it is affecting your life. Virtually everyone I think has some nausea or says they feel sick so they may not realise how much of a problem it is for you. You could even say you don’t know how to carry on through the chemo being so sick every week.
As someone else has said it may be that you need different drugs or a different combination.
good luck and I hope you get something that works much better for you.
Elinda xx
Hope this info helps, it’s from Macmillan. I am on FEC and have Zofran, Dex, and metraclopramide and have been told that if they don’t do the job there are many more options to try. Don’t suffer and keep trying to find the right combination for you to stop feeling so bad!! xxxTina
5HT3 inhibitors These drugs are used to control sickness caused by chemotherapy and are often given along with steroids. They work by blocking a chemical called serotonin (5HT) which acts on receptors called 5HT3 and causes sickness. They include granisetron (Kytril®), ondansetron (Zofran®), and tropisetron (Navotan®).
Palonosetron (Aloxi®) is a new 5HT3 inhibitor which acts over a longer time and is given by weekly injection.
Steroids are often given along with other anti-emetic drugs to treat sickness caused by chemotherapy. They can also be used to control sickness when someone has advanced cancer. Dexamethasone (Decadron®, Hexadrol®, Dexasone®) is the most commonly used steroid.
Drugs that help stomach emptying and so relieve feelings of sickness Metoclopramide (Maxolon®) and domperidone (Motilium®) both work in this way and are commonly used. Domperidone can be given as suppositories.
Drugs that act on the vomiting centre in the brain Prochlorperazine (Stemetil®) is often used to control sickness. One of the ways in which it can be given is as a tablet which dissolves in the mouth (Buccastem®). Chlorporamazine is another drug that acts in the same way, but it’s usually only used in advanced cancer when other anti-emetics drugs haven’t worked.
Anti-histamine drugs Cyclizine (Valoid®) is an anti-histamine drug that is often used to control sickness.
Sedative drugs Haloperidol (Serenace®) is a sedative drug that can be used in low doses to help control sickness caused by drugs like morphine. Levomepromazine (Nozinan®) is another sedative drug which may be used in advanced cancer when other anti-sickness drugs haven’t worked. They can be taken as tablets or given through a small pump called a syringe driver (used when someone is having difficulty swallowing).
Anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam (Ativan®)This is an anti-anxiety drug which is usually used along with another anti-emetic to control sickness caused by chemotherapy.
Neurokin inhibitor Aprepritant (Emend) is a new drug which is given along with steroids and a 5HT3 inhibitor to control sickness caused by chemotherapy (particularly with a drug called cisplatin). Aprepritant works by blocking a chemical which acts on receptors called neurokins and causes sickness.
thanks girls for your replies. This is an issue i will be raising again on tuesday when i have my appointment with the oncology team as it is a complete nightmare i have now had various anti sickness cant remember all the names my hubby is my chemist lol he administers everything to me as due to having the complication of having TB which is another 14 pills to take which I believe with the chemo is causing the severe nausea, i let him deal with it all. They did give me lorazepam last week which didnt help. Just so fed up with it all, as are many of us.
thanks again girls going to read your messages again to just get a proper note of all the names of things so i can ask on tuesday as this cannot continue, have lost so much weight & the thought of food is just so off putting of course my mind goes into overdrive, is it the chemo, is it the disease ??? arrggghhhhh too much to cope with today, off back to bed i think.
thanks again girls, max x
I was sick after the first 3 chemos, despite all the different tablets I was given. At the 2nd I was given ondansatron & steriod by IV before the chemo was given and this delayed the sickness for a bit.
For numbers 4 & 5 I was given Emend, which definately worked for me - although it did turn me into a zombie & my emotions were all over theplace for a few days. However the second time I was given this the doctors thought I had had a allergic reaction to it as I went red from head to foot, so I couldn’t have it for my final chemo, so was sick again. It turned out I wasn’t allergic and I still went red from head to foot - I think it was the build up of all the drugs that caused this.
Another thought, I ended up with two types and ‘staggered’ them - eg if they were to be taken at 4 hour intervals I alternated them so that I took something every 2 hours, and avoided a ‘dip’ as they wore off. This was a tip given to me by a chemo nurse, the onc didn’t mention it - I found the nurses great at practical things like that, so whatever your onc says try asking them as well.
Sarah
I just wanted to ask a question about anti sickness.(after my first Chemo) I have been given two anti sickness tablets, one I assume stronger to be taken for two days only and I finish those today, and another they have have given to take three/four times daily and it doesnt say a time limit.
Does it mean that I have to take the 2nd one continally throughout this cycle or do I just take it when I feel ‘sick’. I am not keen on taking medication unncessarily but I do know that with Chemo its best to keep stuff ‘at bay’ rather than wait for it to happen and then its far more difficult to control.
I can ring the chemo ward to ask but before I did that just wanted to get views. Its just when I looked up the info on the tablets it says ‘avoid alcholol’ not that I am desparate for a drink (particularly at the moment as I still feel a bit weasy) its just that it would be nice if I could enjoy a glass of wine on any ‘good’ days I have and if I am taking tablets continually I would not feel comfortable doing that…
Thanks
Patricia
I took those tablets for about 4 or 5 days andafter that only if I felt sick. I certainly didn’t take them the whole way through a cycle.
Hi Max, I’m on weekly doses of taxotere (18) I have just completed the 7th week and was only sick the first week because they didn’t give me any anti-sickness tablets. The following week they started giving me an injection of anti-sickness before the chemo and my GP gave me Metoclopramide. I took them for a couple of days on the 2nd and third week but I haven’t been sick or felt sick since, so I haven’t taken them. I really hope you get this sorted out as there’s nothing worse than being endlessly sick, it wipes you out. I do hope that you are feeling better today. Sending you lots of love and hugs, Dianne x x x
With regard to how long to take tablets for, it really does depend on how you feel. It is easier to control sickness by preventing it so if you wake up feeling a bit a nauseous probably best to continue. I was very sick and then nauseous so ended up having to take tablets for about 11 days post chemo. I could barely eat and only had about 2 or 3 days where I could eat normally. I couldn’t bear the smell of alcohol (or a lot of things) during chemo.
It is a bit of a case of trial and error. If you’re getting to the point where you fancy a glass of wine then I would stop the anti sickness tablets. I’d say be guided by your body.
take care all
Elinda x
hi all again, i do get an anti sickness intravenously before my chemo also but havent heard of metoclopramide so will ask about that on tuesday also.
Max x