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Side effects-- how bad is too bad?
Sitting here tonight, hubby in triple tx having had a bad week and gone to bed by 8 p.m., and find myself really unsure if I should load him up and head to the emergency room. His side effects up til a week ago were milder than we expected overall, but the last week has been horrible. He takes 5th shot tomorrow.
Hard deep cough, initially productive but less so last couple days. Deep, deep cough.
Cannot eat. Hungry, but unable to eat more than a couple bites of anything.
Weak. Nauseous.
Horrible, relentless, severe headache.
Fever on, fever off. But not yet over 100 degrees.
Eyes watering, burning and slimy (but says vision clear when he clears the slime out of his eyes).
Burning stomach (probably from not eating enough, not sure) Aching, dull, miserable all over.
Guess my question is, how bad is too bad? Is there a point at which symptoms are more than expected side effects? I don't have anything to measure this against, I think that's my problem. I find myself thinking, "This is bad, but is it worse than it should be?"
Hard deep cough, initially productive but less so last couple days. Deep, deep cough.
Cannot eat. Hungry, but unable to eat more than a couple bites of anything.
Weak. Nauseous.
Horrible, relentless, severe headache.
Fever on, fever off. But not yet over 100 degrees.
Eyes watering, burning and slimy (but says vision clear when he clears the slime out of his eyes).
Burning stomach (probably from not eating enough, not sure) Aching, dull, miserable all over.
Guess my question is, how bad is too bad? Is there a point at which symptoms are more than expected side effects? I don't have anything to measure this against, I think that's my problem. I find myself thinking, "This is bad, but is it worse than it should be?"
Do you have an urgent care clinic in your area. If so, that would be an option too.
I agree with the others. He has to eat. When the nausea (and vomiting) get out of control and he is not eating, the problems start to snowball.
I can tell you what happened to me because my case manager was not on the ball and did not order anything for nausea until I insisted. I had to keep calling and calling and asking. Then it took them 3 times to get the dose right. I had nausea from the first week and it kept getting worse. Eventually all I was eating was Greek Gods yogurt and crackers or toast. After about 8 weeks I was so sick I could barely do anything. I was weak and dizzy, felt faint, had runs of tachycardia (fast heart rate of 180 per min.), had premature heart beats (a lot of them), had swollen ankles and feet, had severe abdominal bloating, and severe fatigue. I should hacve been on Zofran by the second week. But they ignored my nausea. Once I got on the Zofran, all of the bizarre symptoms like tachycardia, swollen ankles and feet, severe dizziness, premature beats, and abdominal bloating all disappeared. It only took a couple of days of the correct dose and I felt like a new woman. It is the drugs causing the nausea and vomiting and then, if left untreated, everything snowballs. He wil feel 100% better if that nausea is under control.
I hope he gets something very soom and I hope he feels better.
I agree with the others. He has to eat. When the nausea (and vomiting) get out of control and he is not eating, the problems start to snowball.
I can tell you what happened to me because my case manager was not on the ball and did not order anything for nausea until I insisted. I had to keep calling and calling and asking. Then it took them 3 times to get the dose right. I had nausea from the first week and it kept getting worse. Eventually all I was eating was Greek Gods yogurt and crackers or toast. After about 8 weeks I was so sick I could barely do anything. I was weak and dizzy, felt faint, had runs of tachycardia (fast heart rate of 180 per min.), had premature heart beats (a lot of them), had swollen ankles and feet, had severe abdominal bloating, and severe fatigue. I should hacve been on Zofran by the second week. But they ignored my nausea. Once I got on the Zofran, all of the bizarre symptoms like tachycardia, swollen ankles and feet, severe dizziness, premature beats, and abdominal bloating all disappeared. It only took a couple of days of the correct dose and I felt like a new woman. It is the drugs causing the nausea and vomiting and then, if left untreated, everything snowballs. He wil feel 100% better if that nausea is under control.
I hope he gets something very soom and I hope he feels better.
You know you may have to do a little tough love with this guy.
Finicky eater or not, if he doesn't want to feel like crap, he's got to eat.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't like it. I may sound like a meanie but it's time to grow up. This is his health and it is serious.
On the other hand, just give him lots of anything he will eat.
While on tx the first time, someone brought me a cheesecake. I ate the whole thing in two days. After that I ate a cheesecake a week for several months. Now, I can barely eat one slice.
Since you're the cook, you might want to start thinking about things you can prepare before hand that he can just get out of the fridge when you aren't there. How about quiche or potato salad or ???
Try applesauce with the potato pancakes, gotta get in as much nutrition as possible.
Finicky eater or not, if he doesn't want to feel like crap, he's got to eat.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't like it. I may sound like a meanie but it's time to grow up. This is his health and it is serious.
On the other hand, just give him lots of anything he will eat.
While on tx the first time, someone brought me a cheesecake. I ate the whole thing in two days. After that I ate a cheesecake a week for several months. Now, I can barely eat one slice.
Since you're the cook, you might want to start thinking about things you can prepare before hand that he can just get out of the fridge when you aren't there. How about quiche or potato salad or ???
Try applesauce with the potato pancakes, gotta get in as much nutrition as possible.
Yes, find a GP. There will be a lot of holidays and if you need something in the future it is best to have a lot of support. Of course please check that any meds you are given to not interfere with tx. Some doctors that are not in the liver treating field do not know what can interfere with triple. You can always ask here ti if you are really worried The trusted knowledgeable members can help.
When I was too nauseous the only thing I could eat was Ben and Jerrys ice cream. I hope he feels better! :)
Laura
When I was too nauseous the only thing I could eat was Ben and Jerrys ice cream. I hope he feels better! :)
Laura
Well, he doesn't have a GP... we recently moved here, and til hep c paid a visit, the man is never sick. Ever. Believe it or not, his hep c was diagnosed because he went to a dermatologist for a skin rash. So, that is why I was considering going to the ER. We have no one else to call, with his gastro unreachable...
Tomorrow, if he's still as horrible as he was when I got home from work today, he might be willing to go to the ER.
He said today that he "thinks" he's been able to keep most of his food down long enough for his meds to absorb. I don't know. I hope so. This is such a roller-coaster ride, really. Yesterday wasn't as horrible as the day before, today sucked completely.
This does make me realize that he needs a GP, and soon.
Tomorrow, if he's still as horrible as he was when I got home from work today, he might be willing to go to the ER.
He said today that he "thinks" he's been able to keep most of his food down long enough for his meds to absorb. I don't know. I hope so. This is such a roller-coaster ride, really. Yesterday wasn't as horrible as the day before, today sucked completely.
This does make me realize that he needs a GP, and soon.
I know it is a holiday weekend but is it at all possible to have your GP paged instead of the treating doc for some zofran for nausea?
Not eating enough with tx can cause a whole host of new side effects. If you are on Inc this will make. the burning diarreah happen and cause stomach pain and cramping. Then that leads to rashes and hemorrhoids and the 'glass shard effect.' ...it all snowballs! Not to mention you would want to make sure all of the pills are being absorbed.
I am so sorry he is feeling so poorly:( I hope is can get something ASAP! It is not fair to feel this bad. if he cannot keep anything down at all and it is interfering with taking meds than I would go to the ER just to get a script of zofran! There is no way I would risk losing meds to vomit and having it interfere with tx. I would do whatever it takes to get those pills in and staying down. That is of course my opinion. :) I hope he feels better soon!
Welcome and best wishes,
Laura
Not eating enough with tx can cause a whole host of new side effects. If you are on Inc this will make. the burning diarreah happen and cause stomach pain and cramping. Then that leads to rashes and hemorrhoids and the 'glass shard effect.' ...it all snowballs! Not to mention you would want to make sure all of the pills are being absorbed.
I am so sorry he is feeling so poorly:( I hope is can get something ASAP! It is not fair to feel this bad. if he cannot keep anything down at all and it is interfering with taking meds than I would go to the ER just to get a script of zofran! There is no way I would risk losing meds to vomit and having it interfere with tx. I would do whatever it takes to get those pills in and staying down. That is of course my opinion. :) I hope he feels better soon!
Welcome and best wishes,
Laura
Thanks for the info and advice. Problem is he's a finicky eater when healthy, and never a big eater anyway. I've bought everything I can think of, my kitchen overfloweth. Oatmeal has been the one thing he can consistently get down, but not even that today. I will try the ginger. And I hadn't thought about potato pancakes, but he loves those things. I'll try them. I'm off tomorrow and am going to try fixing some french toast and see if he can choke that down.
Bloodwork being done every 2 weeks, but he's got a platelet problem now and that may change. I'm hoping the riba dosage is reviewed in light of his platelet problem, and wondering if that might help. Will find out next week.
Thanks again.
Bloodwork being done every 2 weeks, but he's got a platelet problem now and that may change. I'm hoping the riba dosage is reviewed in light of his platelet problem, and wondering if that might help. Will find out next week.
Thanks again.
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