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KarenD wrote:To add to Michelle’s great post:
Essential oils of spearmint and peppermint have been used with success in randomized controlled trials. In fact, I have witnessed a decrease in nausea in some of my own patients who had intractable nausea and were given aromatherapy with peppermint.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3562057/
I’ve also included a study on medical marijuana and nausea. Currently I work in a large community hospital which is north of New York City and I have not generally seen the use of medical marijuana in those whom I care for, nor the prescribing of synthetic THC within the inpatient setting. When I lived and worked in other regions such as the Pacific NW, this type of medication was used with much more frequency. On a personal note, my mother in law used Marinol when her nausea became severe. She was able to eat a few small meals that she found pleasurable, which greatly added to her quality of life at the time. She did however, dislike the drowsy feeling that she personally experienced when taking this medication.
http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=2504173
Another anti-nausea aid that can be used is ginger. Uptodate discusses it’s use in chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting (CINV).
-Karen D. BSN, RN, CHPN
Hi everyone,
this is my first post. I am a nurse practitioner and care for patients iwiho have GI cancers iincluding cholangiocarcinoma. The patients I care for primarily receive radiation and chemotherapy.
Medical Marijuana (as well as recreational ) is legal in the state where I reside. I have seen medical marijuana relieve nausea for patients with refractory nausea.Cannabis/Cannabinoids are one of the interventions listed as recommended for practice by the Oncology Nursing Society – Putting evidence into practice committee- based on review of studies. A
metanalysis of the literature is posted below.I am emphasizing safety is always first and foremost. Medical marijuana needs to be discussed with your oncologist just as any other prescription medication. Side effects and contraindications need to be reviewed. It is always important for your health care providers to have an accurate and updated list of your medications. Also, not all cannabis formulations ( oils, oral, oral spray, or smoking, have the same results.
In the state of Massachusetts, there are certified prescribing specialists for medical marijuana, and they must be physicians who go through a certification process. Nurse practitioners do not prescribe medical marijuana.It is always good to have more options to treat nausea .
I am not advocating recreational marijuana.
Smith, L.A., Azariah, F., Lavender, V.T., Stoner, N.S., & Bettiol, S. (2015). Cannabinoids for nausea and vomiting in adults with cancer receiving chemotherapy. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11, CD009464.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009464.pub2
