Chemo & meds

Sorry, I forgot a few.  For pain which hasn't helped much is:
Hydrocodone 7.5-3.25 APAP
Patch - fentanyl 2-5mcg HR every 3 days

For nausea: zofron8 mcg hcl

Thanks

Hi MaFoster. I think the loss of appetite goes with the territory and chemo. I used to give Teddy Carnation Instant Breakfast, he loved the vanilla with a banana blended in, this shake takes the place of a full meal and has all the needed nutrients. Also can be used for each meal. I personally am not a believer in pushing food when a patient is not up to it. We recommend 'grazing' during the day instead of full meals. Comfort foods work well too. For pain Fentanyl never worked for Teddy he had Morphine in small doses and as needed later the doses increased. He did have Zofran and it worked quite well. Do you know what pain level Dad is at on a 1 - 10 scale? Never heard of Magestrol but again, I did not give him things to enhance his appetite. Very similiar experience on the wanting to eat but couldn't. I would make him a scrambled egg and toast then he would apologize that I made it and he just couldn't eat it. My bottom line was always pain control and I think when the pain is controlled the rest may follow. Be Strong!

Hi MaFoster:

Hydrocodone is generic for Vicodin. I was on that after my second surgery when my pain was not as severe. For the first surgery, pain was as issue and I was given hydromorphone, generic for dilauded, and it was effective for me.

During chemoradiation, I was on Zofran and Reglan. Zofran seemed most effective, although I was told I could alternate the two so I could take something a little more often.

I was never on fentanyl or magistrol.

I hope our various experiences help. Obviously everyone responds differently to these drugs, so if something isn't working for your dad, hopefully his physicians can make a change.

Best wishes to you and your father.

Mark

Thank you for your responses.  This is still so new & hard to swallow.  It's really happened so fast.  Just a little over 2 months ago dad was on the field passing out all star jerseys to the Texas Rangers, playing in golf tournaments & now to see him so weak & pretty much immobile is beyond devastating.  He started having pain when the blood clots started & being in & out of the hospital during all of that he started getting weak.  Soon thereafter he was diagnosed with this & it seemed he immediately went downhill at a furious pace.  He stays in his recliner, but now his back pain is also getting to be too much, so he tried the bed, but that's not working.  I feel so helpless & it's just so hard.  At one point we even tried to get his doctor to prescribe medicinal marijuana, but they refused.  We were hoping it would increase his appetite & mood at the same time.  I don't live in the same town as my parents to go to the doctor appointments, but I'm going to come up with questions mom could ask the doctor.  They get discouraged because they said she always responds with, "it's the cancer."  Thank you all again.  Your responses are greatly appreciated.

Hi mafoster,
I will tell you how my daughter has fared with the drugs she has taken that you listed. The ones I do not talk about were never taken by her. Everyone reacts differently to these drugs, so just letting you know how she reacted to them.

Hydrocodone- She feels it is not very effective alone, but used with Morphine it can be effective for pain. Her pain is not as severe now so she only takes long acting Morphine 2X daily and fast acting Morphine for any breakthrough pain maybe once or twice a week.

Zofran- Gave her migraine like headaches. She takes Compazine and Ativan for nausea and they both work well. Ativan is also for anxiety.

I would let your Dad eat whatever he is hungry for, no matter how much he does or doesn't eat. After Lauren has chemo, she likes bland comfort food like chicken noodle soup, creamed chicken, rice, mashed potatoes, oatmeal. She also has a little trick that if she gets nauseous, she chews spearmint gum and it usually settles her stomach.

I hope this helps. My best to you and your Dad.

-Pam

Hi mafoster,

I had asked Percy for a list of all chemos used for CC and he was kind enough to do it. It is listed under the Forum called Chemotherapy. The topic is Systemic Chemotherapy in General for Cholangiocarcinoma patient by PCL. I hope it helps.

-Pam

Hi mafoster,

I took compazine and Ativan for nausea and it worked great, zofran did not work for me.
The only pain med that gave me relief was dilaudid.
I still take Ativan for anxiety.
Lisa

Mark, The funny part is I only understood and knew what was happenning because I saw one of those cheesy lawyer commercials!! I was recovering from second transplant and was pretty drugged and incoherent and knew this things were happenning but didn't know they shouldn't be until I heard one of the those lawyer class action commercial saying "if you have or are..." and it was an OMG moment!! We told my doctors and they took me off it right away!!
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Eli- I took both together for months, those were pretty much my symptons! I still have tongue issues and it has been almost 2 years!!! Thanks for the   post.
Lots of prayers-Cathy

Eli and Cathy....this is so important for others to know.  I am wondering whether it would be best to have the above info under a special heading in the "Side Effect" section also. 
Under normal circumstances Rick would be able to accommodate us however; at the moment we (the board members) are working through some major issues, all under severe time constraint.
We could add it to Rick's "to do" list however, I am concerned that someone else may experience what you Cathy, have gone through and what you Eli, have been able to prevent with Marina. 
What do you think? 
Hugs,
Marion