Post chemo

Hi 

new to this chat site. I have had my 3roynd of chemo yesterday for breast cancer. I'm suffer terribley with indigestion to the poubt where I gave to sleep upright. I don't like gaviscon so is sipping dry ginger. Also was unable to take the last steroids tablets since they made me sick. 
Any advice welcomed.

  • Oh bless you, completely empathise with you. Are you eating little and often? Pineapple is supposed to help but  must admit it tasted vile to me during chemotherapy...

    peppermint tea is soothing....

    have you tried other indigestion remedies? 

  • Hello and thanks for posting,

    I am sorry to learn that you are having some difficult symptoms during treatment.

    Do speak to your GP or hospital team about your heartburn/indigestion. A drug such as omeprazole (called a PPI) can be prescribed in higher doses than normal, for a short period to get control of severe over acidity. They will take a couple of weeks to work effectively. Steroid tablets can cause gastritis (stomach inflammation), which can lead to feelings of nausea (sickness). But taking a gut protectant such as omeprazole would help with this. You may also benefit from having some different anti-sickness medication prescribed too, as this can help with stomach motility (passing things through stomach). 

    The NHS website is a good source of information,

    www.nhs.uk/.../

    We have information on anti sickness medication on this link,

    www.cancerresearchuk.org/.../types-anti-sickness-drugs

    Try and take snacks or small meals, and avoid eating about 4 hours before bedtime. Spicy foods, alcohol, caffeine or milk/diary can all increase stomach acid. 

    I do hope that things improve for you soon,

    Wishing you the best,

    Vanda

  • I have just had 6 cycles of chemo with a break between cycles 3 and 4 whilst I had a scan and review.  I found that all the anti-sickness pills made me ill, the stronger and theoretically more effective they were the iller they made me.  So eventually I solved the problem by not taking any!  Another way of temporarily dealing with feeling sick was getting out on my bike and cycling over the local poorly maintained country lanes.  The bump, bump, bump of the bike on the roads jiggled my insides about so much that they forgot to feel sick!!  I also used the cycling to raise money for CRUK.