Slow digestion due to chemo-radiation.

[amynmiami]

Hi
My husband is being treated for tonsil cancer Stage III. 47 yr old non smoker non drinker fit 5'7.5" and was 172 lbs He is 12 sessions of radiation and 10 days after his first cisplatin treatment. As a side effect of one of the anti nausea drugs given (Emend), (this was given with the cisplatin for three days only). He had a very severe case of hiccoughs and complained of discomfort in the diaghram area.

Now he is taking very little food via his mouth, mainly liquids and has started to boost his caloric intake via a peg tube. While trying to get him to take more food, he has been complaining of the feeling of his stomach being full all the time, and he says it feels as if the food is getting caught a little on the way down. We are trying to hold his weight stable or gain some prior to the peak of treatment complications anticipated. He has lost 5 lbs in the last 5 days. So here are our questions.

#1 Is this digestive slow down normal, three hours after eating he is still slighly bloated and feeling full.
#2 Could he have a physiological / mechanical reason for these problems as a result of the hiccoughs? ( two of his brothers had hiatal hernias)

We are approaching the midpoint of his treatment protocol, and are concerned with the nourishment issues if he gets nauseus and throws up by trying to take on food even though he is full ( this just happenend).
Any advice you could give would be great. Thanks.


Amy - Miami,FL

[mabegb]

amy~i'am so sorry your husband is having such a hard time. i too take emend and my chemo is carboplatin. i have not had the digestions issues. only acid reflux which i had before it just gets worse now. have you asked the doctors if this is common and what you might do about it? good luck i hope you find some answers.......melissa

[catsblueeyes1]

Hi Amy,

My husband had the exact type of cancer that your husband has, he had stage 4 and was on the same Chemo with radiation. This was 5 years ago and he is doing great! Rick was treat at the University of Chicago and I remember he had the same issues with acid reflux. He was given Nexium
and they changed his anti-nausea drug. Although it is expensive it worked great it is called Zofran, between the 2 most of it was releived. If you need any advice on what to eat when he starts having the sore throat from the radiation just ask I would be happy to tell you some tricks that help my husband. I will keep you both in my prayers!
Debbie

[canadadiva]

HI there, I would suggest an antinausea pill such as the zofan the other poster suggested. If its the radiation that is making him nauseated, get him to take an antinausea pill about 1hr pre RT. Has the MD given him any meds for the hiccups? I would ask for something for this as well. Ask about Motillium, this med often helps with the bloating. I would also ask to see the dietician at the centre to get some more help. Good luck, I hope he feels better, chemo and RT is pretty tough.

[Suzi Q]

I also lost a lot of weight during and after chemo as well as struggled with severe nausea. My Doctor (naturpathic) put me on Melatonin to help me preserve my lean body mass - help me to not lose anymore weight. And these pepermint pills to help with nausea. they both helped a lot. But I also took Ativan for nausea. It isn't usually used for nausea but it worked wonders for me. The best part is the traditional pill you can just let it disolve under your tongue; which is nice when you are already nausous. Most Pharmacies don't even know that you can disolve that pill instead of swallowing it. Some other quick immediate relief of nausea are to smell an alcohol wipe, to put something cool onto your chest or a cool rag on your forhead. I know they sound kinda weird but they worked for me.

Good luck!