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First chemo tomorrow--tips, suggestions, cautions?
Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Jun 3, 2023 | Replies (43)Comment receiving replies
I fasted prior to the infusion. All that did was delay my horrid side effects but they still happened. I was fine during the infusion and 2 days after I still felt pretty normal. Days 4 & 5 were definitely the worst for me. Zofran & Compazine did nothing for the horrendous nausea I experienced. I cannot keep anything in my stomach and it’s now Day 6. Yesterday all I was able to keep down were a few crackers & a wild blueberry green protein smoothie. Not a fan of smoothies. 🙁
I am deathly afraid to get round 2 now. No idea how I am going to make it through 12 rounds.
Replies to "I fasted prior to the infusion. All that did was delay my horrid side effects but..."
I'm the OP on this thread, and I just finished my third chemo treatment today. What helped me was reducing the chemo dosage. My first was 80 percent of standard; the MD lowered it from 100 percent to 80 percent because I'm significantly older than the original test subjects for this regimen. Good thing he did. Even at 80 percent, the first round was awful--nausea and vomiting for a week and a half, coupled with 6 days of diarrhea. Full strength would have landed me in the hospital. For rounds two and three, I've received a dosage that's 60 percent of standard. This has really helped. The side effects were much more mild.
Other thoughts, FWIW: I did not fast and do not plan to. I have been eating/drinking things that sound good. As a result, my diet has switched from a very veg-based, balanced diet to one focused on starches and sweets. Calories are my goal--the heck with nutrition. We've acquired some really out-of-character foods in this house (gelatin, pudding, Pop-Tarts!). Some things that have worked for me are baked potatoes, scrambled eggs, rice, cream sauces, certain frozen dinners, pancakes with syrup, cookies, ice cream, sorbet, lemonade (I don't have much cold neuropathy). I eat much smaller quantities and I eat more often, maybe every 2-3 hours. I tried PowerAde for electrolytes but it didn't taste good. I'm pretty much avoiding meat.
Re meds, I was told to alternate Zofran and Compazine so I had one every four hours for at least three days. My chemo is on Monday, and I get all the nausea meds there, so I begin the Zofran/Compazine switcheroo on Wednesday a.m. I was also given dexamethasone (steroid) to take along with those meds to help fight nausea. Same approach with anti-diarrheal meds; I alternate Imodium and Lomotil every 3-4 hours.
I'm really sorry you're struggling so much and hope you can find the assistance you need so you can recover before round two.
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I am so sorry to hear of the reaction you have experienced! I did not fast but did eat easily digested foods the day before and also during the first day of infusion. I took 1 ondansetron day 1 so I could sleep well the first night. Then didn’t need through the days later. Please do call the nurses as they go through this with patients and can help you! Sometimes the adjustment of pre-meds fixes things.