sickness and diarrhoea

[LizzyD]

Hi All,

My husband Ivan has both PC and prostate cancer. The PC was diagnosed last October when his gall duct blocked and was stented. He was given 6-8 months without chemotherapy. He chose not to have it. The tumour then grew and blocked the stomach exit so that he had to have surgery to reroute his digestive system. The prostate cancer is being treated with Zoladex implants every 3 months. Mercifully, Ivan is not in pain nor has he ever been in pain from the PC. Although merciful, I find this very odd having read the posts on here. However, he does have a lot of sickness and diarrhoea which I find difficult to find a cause for. I can't think that it is anything I give him to eat. He has lost 6 stone in weight and can manage only small meals. He has Cyclizine for the sickness and I give him Imodium when he has diarrhoea. The Cyclizine doesn't always stop him from being sick. Does anyone have any other suggestions I could try to manage this better?

Lizzy.

[ali]

HiLizzy D

I believe your husband should be able to have patches for nausea.

Ask GP re, this

And patches for pain relief if this occurs

Hope this helps

Helen xx

[PCUK Nurse Jeni]

Hi Lizzy,

Sorry to hear about your husbands symptoms.

Can you tell me if he is on any pancreatic enzyme supplements? Creon or such like.

If not, he should be taking these to prevent the weight loss and diarrhoea. These will replace the enzymes which would normally be produced by a healthy pancreas. These enzymes are needed by all of us to aid food digestion, and assist the body in absorbing the nutrition from whatever food it has eaten. If there is not enough of these, the person can have weight loss, pale stools which can be difficult to flush. Sometimes they are oily. They can also suffer from wind, which can be foul smelling, and bloating.

If Ivan is not taking these, then you can ask the GP to prescribe them.

Hope this helps,

Jeni.

[LizzyD]

Thank you both so much for that help. Our GP visits every fortnight and will be coming on Tuesday so I will ask about both the enzymes and about the patches. We seem to have accumulated a drawer full of anti-sickness medications and I am at a loss to decide what to use when Ivan is sick or nauseous. He has suffered huge weight loss and his large muscles seem to be disappearing so maybe the enzymes are just what he needs. He has cancer of the lymph nodes in his abdomen and also cancer in his bones. I feel so helpless sometimes as poor chap never complains about anything. It has been so helpful to read all your posts and thank you again for your reponses,

Lizzy

[ali]

Hi Lizzy

If your GP visits every two weeks and is not due back in till next Tues. i would suggest you should phone your surgery tomorrow and get these medications started sooner rather than later or ask them for a house call tomorrow---what is the point in waiting a further week.Your husband deserves to get this treatment started sooner rather than later especially the medication that Jeni ( nurse for PCUK ) suggested.Oh and be firm on phone to the surgery making sure you get to speak to a GP.

Take Care

Helen xxxx

[LizzyD]

Thank you Helen. I have done that this morning and collected a prescription. We are blessed with a great GP practice and can talk to a doctor any morning or get an appointment to see one any day. The doctor himself chose to come every 2 weeks but said we could call him in between if need be. I am hopeful the enzymes and patches will make Ivan feel a lot better. He also put us in touch with MacMillan Nurses and one came to see us a couple of weeks ago. I was hoping these nurses were able to be contacted at weekends when our GP wouldn't be there but sadly they work only Mon til Fri. Would be interested to know what help/experience others have, or have had, with MacMillan Nurses,

Lizzy

[PCUK Nurse Jeni]

Hi Lizzy,

So glad that you have got the enzymes.

Please start Ivan on them straight away. What dose did Ivan get? Can you check the box to see the number of units per capsule? Then ensure he has some with a snack, and a larger amount with a meal. If the meal has higher amounts of fat than normal, please increase the capsules again. Do not stop him from eating fat, as this is needed for calories. He should take them just before eating, or some before eating and some part way through a meal. Take them with half a glass of water -not too much water, as it will flush them too quickly.

If you prefer, you can email me at support@pancreaticcancer.org.uk, and leave me your phone number (not on here!), and we can chat it through. Also, I would be happy to help with sorting through the anti-sickness medication. Again, if you email me the names of what you have, then I will see which are more suitable.

Hope this helps Lizzy.

Jeni.

[ali]

Hi Lizzy

We had carers through social work-- Rainbow Carers--only for personal care-----by the way my sister and i did not think we reqd. them as we are nurses---but we did even though only once a day ---- and as it happened it was only for 4 days ( but as a nurse-----they were totally amazing people--who are not paid enough--and so caring )

Take Care

Helen

xxxxxxx

[ali]

Hi Lizzy

Hope things are going ok for you

Take Care

Helen

xxx