Usagi Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I started spitting up blood early in March. By the beginning part of April I was diagnosed with squamous cell lung cancer. With a PET scan they found one met to the upper part of my breastbone. At Duke Raleigh Hospital, I started Chemo and Radiation on April 21, concurrent for 6 days, to be followed by 5 more weeks of radiation with concurrent chemo at the end. Nausea wasn't too bad at first but now it's really getting me. They were giving me bags of IV's and pretreatments until now but with radiation alone the pretreatments have stopped. I was prescribed Morphine sulfate 15 mg ER to counteract the bone pain from the metastasis to the upper part of my breastbone, the only known met. That makes me a stage 4 but hopefully I stand a fair chance of beating it, since it's a single, treatable met. My problem right now is nausea. The radiation is hitting my esophagus and that probably accounts for why I can't seem to get anything to go down. I think it does but everything seems to stick in my throat. Possibly I'm lacking the feedback feeling of having swallowed. I have been given prescriptions for Loazepam (Ativan) and Ondansetron but neither are helping. Does anyone have any ideas on how to control the nausea, the feeling that everything gets stuck at the back of my throat? I've heard that nausea patches are effective. Anyone know about those? I have had one bout of dehydration so far and I'm afraid I'll get more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dianew Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 Usagi - welcome. I'm glad you found us, but am so sorry you are having to go through this. You didn't mention what chemo drugs they are giving you. Everyone is different, and while some will tolerate one pretty well, the next person will struggle a little more. I also have squamous, and started off with Cisplatin/Etoposide. I tried everything, but nothing really helped. I was finally switched over to Carboplatin/Taxol and did very well on that. There are a lot of other anti nausea drugs for you to try as well, and I would not hesitate to talk to your doctor about giving them a shot. I do know one thing that is important is not to wait until you are nauseated to take the meds -- you want to stay on top of it if at all possible, so I was told it was best to take the medications on a regular schedule. That did seem to help. Drinking lots of fluids helped as well - although it was sometimes hard to do. For some reason I couldn't handle just water, but I could handle a very very watered down orange juice. I would try anything that sounds appealing to you, and hopefully you can hit on something that will help and you can sip on to keep hydrated. It really does help. I can't personally speak to the problem with the esophagus - although it is very common. When I had my left lung removed on my first diagnosis, my esophagus moved so when I had radiation with my 2nd diagnosis the radiation beam missed it. There are lots of people here who suffered with that, and hopefully someone will have some good advice. You need to take really good care of yourself, and don't hesitate to let your doctor know what is going on. Treatment is not easy, but it can be made more tolerable. If you haven't already found it, you might check out www.cancergrace.org as well. Please come back and let us know how you are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonL Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Hello! I have the same problem with my food going down slow, and I have the feeling of having a lump in my throat. I received 30 days of radiation on my chest, because I have adenocarcinoma of the lung stage 3a, and it spread to my lymph nodes in my chest. So, my esophagus is damaged and it makes eating painful. My radiation doctor prescribed something called triple mix. It's a combination of lidocaine, antacid, & benadryl. You can drink it up to 4 times a day before a meal. It does help. Also, I take nexium to help with acid reflux. You have to eat small meals, and make sure it's smooth and creamy. Mac n cheese, ice cream, yogurt, applesauce & smoothies are easy to swallow. I was told that it can take up to 4 weeks after treatment for this to heal. Talk to your radiation doctor or any nurses and tell them your symptoms. There's also a liquid pain medicine that helps, too. I finished my radiation treatments over a week ago and I still have to eat soft, creamy foods. This is all normal side effects with radiation treatments on your chest, or throat area. I wish you lots of luck with your treatments! I hope you are doing well. Sharon Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharonL Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I forgot to comment about the nausea. I suffer from that, too. I get chemo treatments every 3 weeks, and about 24 hours after the treatment I experience extreme nausea for 5-6 days! I take prescription nausea meds around the clock starting the night before chemo. I sip on ginger ale & I eat pretzels. Also, mints help, too. I pretty much eat small meals when I can. Talk to your oncologist about the best nausea meds that she can prescribe for you. I take 3 different ones every 4 hours. Avoid any foods that are greasy!!! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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