Nausea (feeling of having to throw up) and vomiting (throwing up)
These are common side effects of high dose chemotherapy. Your health care team will give you medication before these treatments to help prevent and reduce nausea and vomiting. Nausea and vomiting can also be caused by irritation of the mucous membrane that lines the esophagus (food pipe) and stomach. Some medications, especially antibiotics and pain medication, can also make you feel nauseated.
Some people need more than one nausea medication. Let your nurse know if you need additional nausea medications. Your health care team is there to help you with any side effects, so make sure you let them know if you are not feeling well.
Sometimes you may not feel like eating, but this is temporary and improves as you recover from your transplant. You may find the following tips helpful:
- Take your anti-nausea medication 30 minutes before your meal.
- Instead of entire meals, eat small snacks five to six times a day. Bland and salty foods may be better tolerated.
- Rest after meals. Activity can make nausea worse. If you lie down after meals, make sure your head is at least four (4) inches higher than your feet.
- Avoid hot foods. Their odours sometimes aggravate nausea.
- Eat crackers, gingersnaps or hard candy when nausea occurs; this may prevent dry heaves.
- When feeling nauseated, try to distract yourself from the sensation by listening to music, sleeping, talking about pleasant things or try slow mouth breathing.
- Avoid greasy foods because they take longer to leave your stomach. Foods that are high in complex carbohydrates (e.g., noodles or rice) leave the stomach more quickly.
