Sick of Being Sick - Saw the Surgeon Yesterday

I know I've seen a lot of posts about people still feeling sick after one, two or even three months out.  Maybe this post will help others.

Well, that's been my story all along, and I'm close to 5 months out now and I'm sick all the time.  It's the same old story of confusion.  I can eat something like yogurt every day for a week, then for no apparent reason, I can't keep it down at all, then I can't keep ANYTHING down, even water.  For months I've been throwing up all day long for at least 1-2 days a week.  

It's certainly uncomfortable, and I worry so much about not keeping down enough fluids or protein for 2 days.  (But I do like the fact that it boosts my weight loss by 4-5 pounds every time - yaaay!  (Okay, not really a good thing health wise, but still... yaaay.)

The last time I went to the surgeon about this, he just told me "it happens to some people, and no one really knows why".  Not much help.  He had me cut back on my fluids and slow down even more on my eating.  Nothing really changed much.  After about 48 hours of vomiting, it always 'snaps' right back to normal, and everything is fine again.  It seems to come and go very abruptly and it's hard when you can't plan around it.  And it's really not fun to throw-up 10 times a day when you're at work, y'know?

Well this week, it didn't just 'snap' back to normal after 48 hours.  I was sick all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... and when I woke up Thursday I was week as a kitten.  I had headaches and dizzyness - I knew I was dehydrated.  I got in to see the surgeon at 10:15 am, and got the same answer.  He does not believe it's a stricture.  It's unlikely it's an ulcer, but he did put me back on the Protonix as a precaution.  He still says, "it happens"... just slow down more (practically impossible).  And he reduced my daily fluid goal to just 30-40 ounces per day.  (I was shooting for 64 - he says that's still way too much, even at almost 5 months out???)

The only other thing he did was give me a nausea medicine called Zofran which seemed to work, but the side effects were headache and dizzyness (which I already had from dehydration and lack of nutrition).  But it was worth it, because right away I was able to get some Crystal Lite and Protein drinks to stay down and I started feeling better almost immediately.  This Zofran is what they give chemo patients before and after treatment.  Strong stuff.

Anyway, for those of you that still suffer from vomiting several months out - my surgeon isn't really that worried about it.  He did say that if the Zofran didn't work right away he was going to send me to ER and put a scope down my throat, but that he really didn't think there was anything wrong in there and wants to avoid that.  

So, back to square one I guess.  But at least now I have a pill I can take to help at least keep down enough liquid so I can avoid dehydration.

How many ounces of fluids did ya'll aim for at 5 months out???

I have not gotten sick since my surgery a month ago but most of the time I feel as if I could get sick. Even water makes me sick at times. I'm having a very hard time meeting my ounces in face I have yet to get 50 oz in in a day. I keep trying but I feel so icky after any thing goes down that it super hard. I know your pain of being dehydrated pretty much all the time. I wish the best for you and suggest maybe talking to another doctor about your issues.

At 5 1/2 months out, I have been able to consume 80 or more ounces of water per day for the last couple of months. Sometimes it makes me queasy, especially in the morning, but I've never thrown up. I feel very nauseous if I DON'T get all of my water in. It just doesn't sound like he wants to be bothered. I would keep pursuing it, even if it means having an endoscopy. Good luck and post back how you're doing!

Something just doesn't seem right and I know if it were me, I'd be in the ER for the scope.  I've never thrown up, not once.  I know it's not the norm but even having an ulcer at 1 month I wasn't *that* sick.  I was able to and still drink over 1 gallon of liquid per day at 5 months.  Good luck and feel better soon!

Wow... a gallon of liquid in a day at just 5 months out???!!!  That's incredible to me!  I was explaining to my doc about how I start first thing with Crystal Light (easier to get down than water, and he says that's normal) at 5:30am every morning, and on non-sick days I can get 20-25 ounces down by 9am when I start work.  HE. WAS. APPALLED.  !!!  He said that was WAYYYYY too fast. 

Seriously, is that bad?  That's less than about 2-3 ounces every 15 minutes of just flavored water all by itself.  No food, and I don't start my protein drinks until after I'm at work.

But I guess if he wants me to take in no more than 40 ounces of fluids a day, that's more than half my day's worth before 9am.

I'm so confused.  But I'll do what he says.  I cut it down to just 10 ounces of Crystal Light this morning, and though I'm still very thirsty and want more, at least I'm not feeling like I'm going to throw it up.

I really hope this gets easier down the road. 

Thanks for letting me vent. 

I too am tired of bing sick but I think it is from the letrozole pill I take from my breast cancer. I am only 2 an 1/2 months out and was doing o****il I started back on that pill. I will be calling my oncologist Monday morning to see. My surgeon also prescribed the zofran (which I was on during chemo) but my insurance does not allow all the pills now so I have too save them. I am usually the worst after lunch. I threw up every 20 minutes for four hours! Needless to say there was nothing in my stomach! Hope you are feeling better soon. 

That is not normal!!!! I would find a different doctor or insist on scope. All that vomiting can be extremely dangerous as your electrolytes are probably out of whack which can be dangerous for your heart