Nausea and vomiting are common side effect to cancer treatment. There are medications that can be prescribed to assist you in addressing this issue.
Anti-Nausea Medications
Anti-emetics are medications that prevent or reduce nausea and vomiting. The anti-emetic used will vary depending on the type of chemo given. This is becuase some chemos are known to cause more nausea than others. Below are instructions on how to take your anti-emetics correctly in order to obtain the maximum amount of relief. These are to be taken in addition to the medications you received in the office on your chemo day.
Ativan – take one tablet (0.5mg or 1mg) under the tongue every 4 hours as needed for nausea/vomiting
Companzine – take one tablet (10mg) by mouth every 6 hours as needed for nausea/vomiting
* – you may need to take both in order to reduce or control your nausea/vomiting
if you find that the combination of medications is not controlling your symptoms, you may be given other prescriptions to try such as the following:
Zofran – take one tablet (8mg) by mouth every 8 hours as needed for nausea/vomiting
Anzemet – 100mg by mouth daily for 2-3 days.
You may have been given a prescription for Emend. Emend is not a medication thatis taken as needed like those listed above. If Emend is part of your regimen, you will take it the same way each cycle.
On day one of chemo you will take 125mg. Because this prescription may be expenseive, do not take this pill until you have been assessed by the nurse and give the OK to go ahead with treatment. This means you will take this pill in the office on the first chemo day. The next two days take 80mg at the same time each day. You will still take your ativan, compazine or zofran as needed for nausea. Always remember to let your physician or nurse know if you are not getting adequate relief from the medications prescribed. What works for one patient may not work for someone else.