just can't keep anything down

Thanks Kris, sometimes being a nurse is a curse because there is all the stuff I know that could be wrong.  No clue from the doctor, he thought it might be the Xeloda so he took me off, but 2 weeks out it is still going on.   As far as my weight, even my sister in law got into the act telling me "aren't you glad you had weight to lose?"  uh, yeah, sure.  When I told a friend of mine she sent back a fake ad:  Lose weight with no dieting, no exercise, eat whatever you want, just get cancer!

Luis is doing fine, considering all that is going on with him.  He's been dealt a cruel blow to be sure, abandoned by his birth mother, living in an orphanage, he is bipolar, now his mom has a very bad disease and could die.  Fortunately he has used school as a diversion and is making the best grades he's ever done, we have a wonderful group of friends who have taken him under their wing and have really helped me out by practically adopting him themselves.  On the down side, it is tough being a single mom and trying to maintain discipline.  I am probably spoiling him rotten but I don't have the physical or mental stamina to do the everyday battles that parents face, so I do the best I can.  That being said, he is a sweet kid who is well behaved outside the home.  I really think that some of his behavior issues at home are his way of telling me that he still needs me and I can't leave.

well, news not bad, not great but ok.  no shrinkage of tumors in the liver which is telling me that the sirspheres didn't quite do the job.  There was some shrinkage of the tumors in the lymph nodes which means the chemo is doing it's job.  My blood count (hgb) is down to 9 and my white ccells are down to 3.  He thinks I may be obstructed so I will be having an EGD soon to see what happens

Barb,
So it appears you are holding your own which is good news. Please keep us up to date on the apparent blockage.

Luis sounds like he is holding his own too. Focusing on school is a very good way to deal with this and I am sure more parents here wished that was the case with their children. I am sure you are not spoiling him too much and are doing just enough so he feels a little better.

Best of luck with the EGD and I hope that the stomach issues disappear. If it is a blockage, are they going to get you back on Gembicine (was that the one they took you off)?

Kris

Barb, I had something similar happen to me.  My Gastroenterologist said that I had an extreme case of acid reflux, probably due to irritation of the stomach from radiation.  I was proscribed Protonix, but you can also try Prilosec, which is over the counter.

thanks to all.  I am  scheduled for an EGD next week, so i hope to find an answer.  i am leaning toward high end obstruction or bad reflux.  I don't really care what it is, i just want it to stop!

Hi Barb,
Joe wa having that problem of vomiting undigested food when he was so jaundiced last month.  He started on Reglan which relieved the full feeling after he ate and stopped the vomiting.  Now the jaundice is going down also but after you have the test if you aren't blocked, maybe this would help.  The doctor ordered it 4 times a day but then he wa having too many bowel movements so he cut it down to twice a day.  It seems tomove things along through the GI tract.  I am also a nurse and your are right about it being a blessing and a curse.  You know what to do but you also know all the things that can go wrong. You are doing a great job with Luis.  Hope all goes well with your test.  Mary Anne