Aliboo Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hi Everyone, We just found out that my boyfriend has non-small cell lung cancer. They said it is in his lungs and his bones. He starts radiation and chemo on Monday. He is in a tremendous amount of pain. He has lost a lot of weight. Is there ANYTHING I can do to make him more comfortable until his treatments sart working? Please somebody tell me there is something. Thanks Everyone, Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanie55 Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Hi Aliboo, I would call your doctor immediately and ask for a prescription for some kind of pain killer. There is no reason your boyfriend should be in so much pain. Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliboo Posted June 17, 2006 Author Share Posted June 17, 2006 Thanks for the reply. He is on perceset (sorry about my spelling) but he has been having bad side effects from the pain killers. So he is taking a laxative too. The pain seems to go up and down in waves. We only found out almost two weeks ago. It is really frustrating for me and him. I just lost my hearing last summer. He has been through all that with me. He has been my rock. I just woke up one day and I couldn't hear. All this now is frustrating cuz I can't hear whats going on. We are learning slowly. I hope it gets better for at least a little while till we get enough strength to go another round. Right now I just don't know where to begin. Thank You Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoastLadi Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Aliboo, He should definitely contact his doctor/ or whoever is on-call and let him/her know that the percocets are making him ill and ask for a prescription for another medication, trust me it's easy for the doctor to do...I'm very sorry that you are both going thru such a rough time, but know that this is a wonderful place to come to for support. Grace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanie55 Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Aliboo, You do need to call the doctor. The percoset obviously is not the right drug for your boyfriend. There are many others that will control the pain. I am on oxycodone, but there are others also. Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Welcome! I agree with the others -- contact the doctor and get the pain under control. Bone mets can be very painful indeed. My wife has had many and some of them have been very painful. She is on morphine because of spinal damage, but does take Norco for breakthrough pain. Tell your boyfriend that my wife has Stage IV nsclc also and she is 3 3/4 years from diagnosis. Hang in there. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carleen Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I am so sorry to hear your boyfriend is having so much pain. Bone mets can be very painful. Call his doctor right away and ask for more help. You shouldn't have to wait for radiation to take effect to get him comfortable. Percoset is generally a good pain killer, but if he is still in lots of pain, it may not be enough. It could require a higher dosage (for which case oxycodone may be better as it doesn't have tylenol in it. High amounts of tylenol is hard on the liver). Also there are pain killers out there that are long acting. Percosets are quick release drugs but short acting so his pain goes up and down and he has to continue to take it every couple of hours. Oxycontin is the same drug as oxycodone and percoset but long acting and slow release. Ask his doctor to prescribe a long acting pain reliever as well as a quick release one for breakthrough pain. Otherwise there are many other pain drugs to ask his doctor for. I've heard that Fentynol Patches are very effective and are long acting (generally you change the patch every 3 days). All narcotic pain relievers cause constipation, and it sounds like your boyfriend is having bad side effects with that already. My husband not only takes Sennakot-S daily, but also Miralax (its a tasteless powder he adds to a little juice or soda it requires a prescription). These two things combined seem to work well but for the severe times he adds a third thing called lactulose (a thick syrup, also kind of tasteless also prescription). There is a pretty effective liquid laxative that is sold over the counter called I think Magnesium Citrate, but it tastes a bit icky and very strong and poorly lemony. My husband could only get it down by mixing it with a large glass of fruit juice to cut the lemon and bitterness. My husband has had very serious constipation problems and it really can be controlled if kept up on. The radiation should really help relieve the pain though. I hope it takes effect real soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don M Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Welcome Aliboo; you got good advice. I hope your boyfriened's pain can be managed soon. All it should take is a call to the on call doc. Don M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrell Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Hi Aliboo! You've received some advice that's right on. Carleen is right when she said that bone mets are very painful. I had it in my hip and back. There should be no reason why he should be in pain. Please let the doctor know. Keep us posted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richinsdakota Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Hi and welcome to this great site for info and support...Rich B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliboo Posted June 19, 2006 Author Share Posted June 19, 2006 Hi Everybody, Thank you all for the advice. They did give my boyfriend the oxicotin. It does seem to help. We go for the first radiation and then the chemo today. This is going to go on everyday for the next four weeks. Please say some prayers that it makes some progress. Love to everyone, Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda661 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Aliboo: Welcome to this board -- So glad the med. change brought more effective pain control. Keep us posted on how the radiation and chemo. goes as you can. We'll do all we can for help and support. Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanie55 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 So happy for you both. The chemo and radiation should also make a big difference, once you're through. Make sure bf drinks a LOT of LIQUIDS It's very easy to become dehydrated. We're all here for you along the way if you need more tips. Take care. Joan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welthy Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Aliboo, Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. Glad to hear he is getting some pain relief. We don't have bone mets experience, but I completely echo Joan's comments about fluids, fluids, fluids! Also, please, please, encourage him to eat as much as he can and try and have him drink as many protein drinks (Ensure, Support, etc.)a day as he can. We had a battle with Tony's weight from the beginning. He had dropped 18 pounds before diagnosis. I pump him with milk shakes several times a week -- anything to "fatten" him up! It is really important to get that bulk back in order to fight the cancer better. We really rely on his weight as a guide to how well he is doing with the cancer. Bless you and let us know how he is doing. Welthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MsC1210 Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Aliboo I wanted to add my hello and welcome to the others. As you can see, this is THE place to turn for answers and support. You and your boyfriend are in my prayers. Sending tons of positive thoughts, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marym Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Welcome to the board. Call his doctors and ask for a strong enough pain killer to get rid of his pain. I took ms-contin throughout my radiation and even afterwards. Even though radiation helps get rid of the pain, it gets worse before it gets better. I just know that no one should have to tolerate pain in addition to all else. Good luck. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ztweb Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Greetings Alliboo, Welcome to the board. I am so sorry that this is happening. You will be happy to be here as this site is just amazing. The people here are so helpful, kind, and just great. Best of luck...let us know any updates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma's kid Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Read your recent update Aliboo and wanted to welcome you and let you know that I am so glad that the docs changed his pain med and that his pain is under better control. Don't be afraid to ask the doc any questions or concerns you may have, ok. Prayers for you both Libby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Posted June 21, 2006 Share Posted June 21, 2006 Just wanted to say hello. Iam sorry for your boyfriends diagnosis and the pain he is in. I hope by now they got that under control. He will feel better after this treatments. They will help him and should also help with the pain. Keep us postd on how he is doing. Maryanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliboo Posted June 21, 2006 Author Share Posted June 21, 2006 I would like to Thank everone for their support. Sorry I can't get back to all of you right now. The next four weeks are really important. He had his first chemo treatment on Monday. So far he has not gotten sick. The pain level seems to be getting better. Again Thank You to everyone, Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunny Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 don't apologize. you just come when you can, and know that whether you're posting or "getting back" to us or not, we're keeping you and your man in our thoughts. xoxo amie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliboo Posted July 4, 2006 Author Share Posted July 4, 2006 Hi Everybody, It's been really hectic. He was in the hospital last week for dehydration. He is STUBBORN. The more we try to get him to eat and drink the more he zips it up. He only told two people where to go in the hospital. This is going into the third week of radiation and chemo. He slept better last night and he said he feels a little better this morning. Hopefully that is a good sign that we are gettting this under control. there are alot of people here. It makes me closterphobic. But once we get this under control, they will all leave. I just have a hard time keeping up. I will get to you all soon, Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aliboo Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Thank You Katie, We are starting to do axactly like you said. It does seem to work. I just take a glass of ice water and set it neer his chair or the night stand. He does drink some. They also had a visiting nurse come and set up an IV for fluids. He asked her if he drank then could he stop the IV. She said yes. So I think he is trying to make a effort to get more to eat and drink. He's nice to the nurses, but me and his Mom get the Hand, Like STOP. I also started a log book with a calender to write down appointments, questions, and also to keep track of the pain. Some days better than others. We have one more week of radiation and chemo before they check if there has been any shrinkage. We pray there has been. This week has been somewhat better. So I think it's just going to tkae time. We have to be patient. His Dad said that "All He did was take a wrong left turn" He thinks things will be back to somewhat normal soon. I feel that too. It's just the intial stage of all this stuff going on. We are still trying to digest all of it. My daughter smoked until she got pregnant a few months ago. After seeing what my boyfriend has to go through, she said she will never pick up a cigarette again. I will keep everybody posted. I've just been so busy. Thanks, Aliboo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadstimeon Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Welcome Aliboo, Lots of good advise, glad you found us. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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