Side effects-- how bad is too bad?

[Spiffy1993]

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?"

[can-do-man]

Congrats on being UND at week four, thats a very good sign. He really needs to get a little food in him, then maybe add some icecream or shakes for the needed fat. I'm sure is sides will start to get better if he is able to get something in him.........

[orphanedhawk]

I type slow, so I see some of my post has already been answered.
Go for the smoothies. They're much better than an empty stomach.

[orphanedhawk]

During my treatment I asked this very same question of my nurse.
She said if I get a high fever, vomiting blood, vomiting that won't stop, diarrhea that won't stop, jaundice,and/ or dark tarry stools.

How often is your husband having blood work?
During the first weeks blood work should ideally be done weekly.

Your husband needs nutrition. He has to eat ! It doesn't matter how long or how hard it is for him to get it down, he needs nutrition.
If he refuses soft food  like oatmeal or soup how about fruit smoothies ?
You can add whole raw eggs for protein and flax seed meal for fat to the smoothies.
Give him carrot juice.

During my first time doing tx, I lived on oatmeal and potato pancakes, fruit smoothies and juiced veggies.

Once he's eating again, be sure he takes a daily mutli-vitamin w/o iron.

Try using ginger for his nausea. I juiced fresh raw ginger root to add to smoothies, oatmeal, and other food. You can add it to juice or make tea.
Some people here like ginger chews. Even chewing on a slice of ginger root can help ease the nausea.

The headache can be related to his not eating, or muscle tension.  If I don't eat I get killer headaches.
Try massaging his neck and shoulders to see if that helps.

The cough could be from the riba.Talk to his doctor about possibly reducing the dosage.

It's hard to know how much of his side effects are related simply to the fact he isn't eating.

If possible, I'd strongly suggest medicinal cannabis.
It relieves nausea and stimulates appetite.

Obviously you should contact his doctor or nurse with any and all concerns.

Good luck.
OH

[Spiffy1993]

Thanks-- just never seen him quite like this in 20 years... He is going to ask for something for nausea when he goes in Tues.  He's taking Aleve for the headaches, but no help.  He's also taking Zantac for burning belly, but not helping.  Both were OK'd by his doctor.  He says 90% of his trouble is from not eating enough, but he says he just can't do it. Leaving him to sleep all he wants for now, and hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Good news is his viral load came back "0" this week.  5th shot tomorrow.  The VL news breathed a little life into him when he got the news Wed.
"I'm not stoppin'!"  is his new mantra.  
Can't call treating doc, holiday weekend....

[can-do-man]

From what you posted it doesn't sound like much the ER could do for him, He really needs something for being nauseous as thats going to make him be weak from not eating. As for the cough the Riba can cause this and headaches is a common side. Might be best if you put in a call to his treating doctor, have you tried tylenol? Not really a fever if its not going over 100...... Just hang in there as things will get better. Best to both of you.