Andrea Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 Hi. I have a quick radiaton quesiton from others who have gone through it. My mom just finished week two. I know that the skin irritation is normal. I also know many have had trouble swallowing, that has not hit her yet. However, she has been coughing like a mad person (the tech said it was from the radiation and so did the nurse). But now she said today she was nauseous the past two days. And of course fatigued like a ton of bricks hit her. I was wondering if anyone else had coughing and nausea as a side effect? From the video they made us watch, nausea seemed not to be a side effect for radiation to the lung. Just curious if others experienced it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tess Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 My husband had some nausea and loss of appetite. He also said food tasted bad, and that he was so tired from it. He never had a cough before or after the radiation though. I imagine that would depend on the location of the tumor in the lung.? Make sure she drinks a lot of water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MO_Sugar Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 No cough or nausea when I had radiation but I am sure each person is different. The only time I got sick during radiation was when they tried to give me ethyol to HELP the esophogus. Made me sicker than a dog. Best wishes to your Mom and my prayers are with her. God Bless, MO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 Becky was on cisplatin at the same time as radiation, but the nausea was only after the chemo. She did have a pretty rough time with the cough then; the doctors told us it was irritation in the airways from the radiation. Wish I could be of more help. Curtis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nushka Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Andrea, I had a terrible cough...still do...that they attribute to radiation. Nausea, no, I can't say I did with radiation...chemo yes, but not radiation. I was extremely tired. Hope she gets better soon. Nina, aka Nushka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karen335 Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Andrea, No coughing or nausea during radiation. In fact my cough went away. As with MO, they tried the Ethyol on me too and it made me very sick. I was given the Ethyol for only two days. It is used to protect the surrounding good cells around where the tumor is. I did start having a little bit of a problem swollowing, but that was at the end of radation treatment (I was at my 28th radiation treatment) I was given Carafate to swallow 1/2 hour before meals. It helped me quite a bit. There is a magic potion they can give you if she starts having swallowing problems. Praying mom does well during her radiation... Prayers always Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBone Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 My doctor warned me of nausea but I had none.I did have a cough for a few days but it went away.I used a good prescription cough syrup while I had it.TBone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebbie Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Andrea, I had a wicked cough during and after radiation -- still have it...... I can't comment on the nausea though because I had chemo at the same time as my radiation and nausea comes with the territory! I hope your mom is feeling better soon and the nausea subsides. Perhaps have her call her nurse and ask her about the nausea? Maybe it's the location of the area they are radiating. My tumor had been up high and my esophogus and upper chest took the brunt of the radiatin (which is why I had such throat pain for so long). If her tumor was located lower in the lung, perhaps it is somehow effecting her digestive track? Worth a phone call to the doc to find out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted April 19, 2004 Share Posted April 19, 2004 Jim had a bad cough develop during radiation. We liked to think he was getting the bad stuff out, not sure if that is true. No nausea. The trouble swallowing and heartburn came after about 3 or 4 weeks and especially bad at the end for Jim. We just kept going, no matter what, and both problems passed. He skin got very tender towards the end, too, but the doctor gave us samples of Aquaphor lotion that worked for us. Right now we would say in spite of problems, the radiation was worth it. Margaret in Iowa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea B. Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 Dear Andrea, My mom received chemo in conjunction with radiation so she experienced some nausea and loss of appetite. She didn't experience the cough during radiation, but she did get one a month or so after completing radiation and was given teslon (sp?) pearls to help with it. I will be praying your mom is feeling better soon. Andrea B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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