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Caibo's avatar
Caibo
Member
6 years ago

Stomach issues on chemo

Finally started first Chemo session 3 days ago. Had a heavy head for a couple of days and now really quite uncomfortable with stomach issues. I feel like my food isn’t digesting but just sitting there for ages. Wondering if it’s constipation or something else? I have been going to the toilet but not as regular. Wondering if there are certain foods to avoid. At the moment I am staying away from dairy and bread as much as possible. Definitely bloated as well. What’s the best thing to take for nausea as metoclopramide doesn’t seem to be helping me much. Having read some of the discussions on this,it seems like there isn’t much that can be done.😔

20 Replies

  • @Nefertari Thanks,Any tips on getting that awful taste out of my mouth other than nibbling on crackers?


  • I too had the full gamut. Lactulose, coloxyl and movicol. I had to have TRIPLE the amounts of each for two months before things settled and I was able to wean myself off them. Fourteen months after chemo (not including the Herceptin) and I take two Nulax tablets a day. I am just happy to be off all that other stuff. Once you get relief, adjust accordingly but don’t go completely off them unless your bowels do a reversal.
  • @Caibo, glad that you got some relief at last :) .
    Mine settled down as well once on the Coloxyl.  I did have to take a couple at first and then just one daily. 
    Good luck with the rest of the AC, you will get through it, any more problems just post it on here. 
    My side effects were many and I did wonder how I was going to get through it but I did, we are stronger than we think!
  • I called the Oncology nurse and she prescribed Coloxyl,Movicol and Lactiulose. She said once my stomach settles to take just the coloxyl once at night. Taken a couple of those today and feeling better. Also prescribed Ondansetron as an alternative nausea med to try. Hopefully I will learn to manage this well. 
    Not feeling like those hot drinks either. Had a couple of smaller meals and my stomach seems to coping better. 
    For a moment there I was totally down,wondering how I am going to get through 5 months of this when I cant even manage 5 days! 😟
  • I had nausea for the entire time of AC, so I dropped a lot of weight and nothing tasted good anyway. I took Pramin for nausea which worked for a while.  I didnt stay away from any foods intentionally because I had to eat something and ate whatever I could tolerate. 
    I did drink loads of water as I went off hot drinks and I survived on fruits, yoghurt, pureed vegies, plain rice. I had to take a daily coloxyl for bloating and constipation, that helped a lot.
  • Ooh yes I took Somac each day too, and had gastro stop , and inner health on hand.
    Sometimes it was a switch between constipation and diarrhoea! 
  • Thank you all. That was all very helpful. I will ring the oncologist tomorrow and find out what they recommend as well as keep some of those meds in the house. Haven’t been able to eat or drink anything since feeling this way from lunchtime. Going to bed with the hope that tomorrow will be a better day 😅
  • Hi @Caibo, I've just finished 5 months of chemo & I had stomach issues from the start of treatment.  Oncologist prescribed Somac, which I take once a day.  I used emexlon, stemitil and ondastetron. To begin with they didn't seem to work and then I found out I should have been taking emexlon 20 minutes or so before eating, once I started doing that, it did work better.  I only used ondasetron for a couple of days, while it worked well I found it caused constipation for me.  On days when I had bad stomach pain I found what worked best for me was 1 each of somac, emexlon and buscopan forte before eating. I also have gastro stop and osmalax in the cupboard. 
    With every best wish to you x
  • Hi , I’m just finishing my 5 months of chemo tomorrow, yay,, so I know what you mean. I agree, ring your Oncol team, that’s what they are there for.

    Everyday I take coloxyl to avoid constipation, sometimes twice a day  if I need too...that feeling is the worst. Ginger bickies, peppermint tea were my go to if I felt a bit queezy. Also I watched the fibre in my diet where I could, licorice, beans, lentils in meals helped! Dr8nk lots of water too.
    I found it a real roller coaster at first, , especially the first time, when all the reactions were new and weird! 
    Hang in there x

  • Get in touch with your oncology team,  whether that's contacting your breast care nurse if there is one in your area, or ringing the chemo unit. You should have been given some information on who you can contact.
    If you are a private patient, contact your oncologists rooms.
    There are alternatives to maxalon (metocloprimide) for the nausea
    The other important thing is to try to keep your fluid intake up, to flush the chemo through... not that I did that well through chemo

    My go to drink when I feel queasy or nauseated os something gingery... ginger beer, ginger cordial, ginger tea.
    Hope you're feeling a bit better soon