Brian vomited daily during radiation and chemotheraphy. His total treatment ( surgery, radiation and chemotherapy) was 15 months long.
I was heart broken to see him suffering and not be able to eat. So I prayed and asked God to heal him and asked Him to open ways and give Brian strength . I started looking for informations to help him to keep down his meals.
These were few things that worked for my son during nausea and vomiting :
Step 1:
I gave him the Nausea prescription from his doctor every morning when he waked up. I waited one hour before giving him any meal. It worked for him. I did this step 3 times daily before breakfast, lunch and dinner. Brian was snacking fruit and veggies soup in between meals. One small meal at the time through out the day. I made the schedule for eating too :) this way I didn't forget what and the time to feed him.
Step 2 :
His taste changed sometimes. I served him many different kinds of healthy snack to help him coped :
- Whole wheat crackers
- Ginger snap cookies
- Dry cereals enriched vitamins
- Apple sauce
- Vanilla ice cream
- Sherbet
- Fruit Pudding
- Jello
I didn't give him candies, not even once. Avoid all cooking with strong odors.
Step 3 :
Ginger Tea !!! It worked for him. There is evidence that when taken with standard anti-nausea medications, ginger can be helpful in further reducing or eliminating nausea and vomiting during and after chemotherapy treatments. I served Brian the ginger tea warm with a bit of honey.
You may try Agave or Stevia. I didn't know about them at that time :) so I gave him honey instead.
Tea Ginger recipe:
- 4-10 thin slices raw organic ginger
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups water
- juice from 1/2 lime, or to taste
- 1-2 tbsp honey , stevia, agave nectar to taste
How to :
Peel the ginger and slice thinly to maximize the surface area. This will help you make a very flavorful ginger tea. Boil the ginger in water for at least 10 minutes. For a stronger and tangier tea, allow to boil for 20 minutes or more, and use more slices of ginger. Remove from heat and add lime juice and honey to taste.
Step 4 :
Fresh air and loose clothing. I played board games , watched funny TV shows , sang Jesus songs , Veggie tales series DVD , just about any activities that made him laughed so that he horgot his nausea.
I keep tracked of all the foods that made him vomited.
Step 5 :
Clean Pure Water.
I prepared 1 L water bottle daily. He would finished it the entire water 2 hours before bedtime. Once he got controlled vomitting, try small amounts of water and gradually increasing the amount.
Note:
Thank God that Brian didn't have to use feeding tube. I told Brian if he didn't want to eat, the doctor must put the feeding tube through his nose or belly. It scared him, I guess the warning worked too :) he made himself eating eventhough he wasn't hungry.
I hope our experiences will help anyone with nausea and vomitting during the radiation and chemo.
Brian's mom
