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This is so helpful, Kris. Thank you, thank you. After reading your and Mary’s responses, I feel quite confident (and happy) about telling my mom to take her pain medication.
Caroline
Thank you, Mary! So are you taking it 2-3 times a day then? Do you know if you *have* to stick to that dosage or if it would be fine to take it just once a day? Also, my mom was thinking maybe she would cut the pill in half. I was told that would be okay as long as the pill was not a time released product. How would I know that?
Do you mind sharing what some of the adjustments you had to make were from taking oxycodone? If you’d rather not in a public forum, would you mind emailing me at carolineyang@gmail.com?
Thank you again!
CarolineThese are all wonderful suggestions. Thanks so much, everyone! Lainy, I’m excited to try the baking soda trick. Thank you again!
Caroline
Hi Mary,
I’m so glad to hear that you’re feeling better after two rounds of gem/cis. It sounds like you and my mom started around the same time. I will definitely keep in touch so we can compare notes.
This past week was her first rest week (not counting the two weeks of inadvertent rest because of the stent surgery), and she felt great.How is the commute to NYC? Do you drive there?
Caroline
Lainy and Percy, thank you so much. Percy, your guideline is really helpful. Thank you.
I’m feeling such support from you all that I’m going to ask another question. What are some precautions one should take when eating out & traveling while on chemo? My mom’s ONC advised that she not eat at restaurants with low health grades on days 8, 9, and 10 of chemo, but are there any other precautions one should take? My husband and I are thinking of taking my parents on a short trip over the Thanksgiving break (if weather permits), and I’m wondering how to translate my mom’s pretty strict dietary regimen (she hasn’t eaten out once since starting chemo) while we’re on the road.
Thanks in advance for entertaining my newbie questions!
Caroline
Hi Mary,
I’m very sorry to hear about your latest scans. I read some of your previous posts and felt especially connected to you as my mom is also being treated at Sloan-Kettering in Basking Ridge.
My mom is also on Gem/Cis, and she had problems with constipation when she first started. She tries to avoid taking medications as much as she can, so she didn’t take Colace or Senna, which is what her ONC recommended. Instead, I made her green juice from mostly kale (I put a bunch of kale leaves and some water in our nutribullet and strained the mixture) and 3/4 cup of Simply Fiber cereal every morning. She drank the green juice first thing in the morning and ate the cereal later with 5 diced up prunes. The cereal was not the tastiest, so I cooked it so that it was easier to eat. We did that for about a week and her constipation went away.
I had to return to Atlanta after taking care of my mom for a month, but my dad took over the caregiving duties and still makes her the green juice every morning. My mom is convinced that the kale juice and not the cereal (which she hated and no longer eats) is what’s keeping her constipation at bay, though I can personally attest to the effectiveness of the Simply Fiber & prune combination.
I wish you luck with Gem/Cis, and I’m hoping for some serious shrinkage on your next scan.
Sending you warm thoughts and prayers,
CarolineThank you, PCL1029, Lainy, and Marion for the warm welcome!
Lainy, my mom is on the Gem/Cis combo. I felt ambivalent about the chemo treatment because we were told that there’s no specific chemo drug for CC and the side effects are so serious. Now, every time I talk to my mom on the phone and she sounds a little off (like forgetting something even though she’s always had an excellent memory or talking a little too quickly or slowly), I’m wondering to myself, Oh no, is this what people mean by “chemo brain”?
Knowledge is power indeed, but I’m still trying to find a balance between helpful knowledge and stressful knowledge that may not be so helpful. For example, two weeks ago, I was convinced that my mom’s CC was caused by the liver fluke disease and emailed her ONCs asking if she needs to get a stool test! They said no, which annoyed me at the time but am now relieved about, as that would have been yet another test that my mom would have been subjected to.
Thank you again!
Caroline
