[Mrsgroovy83]

Starting treatment Friday!

by Mrsgroovy83 on Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:23 pm

So we just got word today that we are starting treatment Friday. We will be doing RVD mon/fri two weeks off one week for 9 weeks. Kind of scared and nervous because this is both of our first experience in dealing with chemo. My husband's doctor says he needs to eat but I have no clue as to what would be good for him to have. Any suggestions? Also any ideas on how to help my husband after treatments? Gratzi

[rumnting]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by rumnting on Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:06 pm

My husband did RVD the summer of 2011, had an Stem Cell Transplant exactly 1 year ago, and has been on a lower dose of RVD since March. He never had any nausea or other side effects that really affected his appetite. He is hungrier on days that he's "Dexed" up, but has only gained 2 lbs. His diet really does not need to change, as long as he is eating a fairly healthy diet to begin with.
The side effects of RVD are not what you expect (when you hear "chemotherapy". This is not throw up and have your hair fall out treatment. If you search these forumns, there are several topics on side effects of those drugs. Fatigue is common. Even more common are the revved up side effects of high dose steroids (Dex).

[LibbyC]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by LibbyC on Wed Oct 17, 2012 6:31 pm

Dear Mrsgroovy83,
I am glad that the treatment will be starting soon, one of the hardest things is waiting for the next step. Here are a few things that I learnt along the way.

Dex- makes you hungry (I was on 40mg), hunger like you have never experienced before. I found that I couldn't satisfy the hunger (I put on 20% of my weight). Now when I am on steroids I eat a big hi fibre low GI breakfast cereal in the morning & try to ignore the hunger pains when they start about an hour later (I REALLY craved cakes & pastries). It will also make you slightly constipated so having the high fibre will help with this.

Velcade - Made me feel slightly nauseous, so taking anti nausea drugs helped. I found that I sometimes wanted soft foods, so nourishing soups were good. When I felt really sick (on other treatment) I would have buy some of the fortified drinks available (In Australia known as Fortisip) that have protein, iron, carbs, fibre, trace elements and minerals.

The food that he eats will need to be able to provide all the requirements that a healing body needs. He will need protein & iron, carbohydrates (complex & simple), fats etc. If in doubt ask one of the dieticians at the hospital.

The other thing is different medication will have different effects on the body and so on one type of chemo you may be constipated but on another you may experience the opposite.

Hope this helps and good luck

[Mrsgroovy83]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by Mrsgroovy83 on Wed Oct 17, 2012 9:17 pm

Thank you ladies! My husband has been on the dex regimen and he's about eaten me out of the house. Thankfully we eat clean so he has been doing pretty well with his weight. Praying his body does well with treatments

Rumnting: how's your husband doing since the transplant? How Lon did it take for recovery?

[rumnting]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by rumnting on Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:22 pm

My husband has done well. He has a "high risk" type of multiple myeloma. Prior to transplant his M-spike only got down to 2.3. Since transplant, every month it has remained stable at 0.3. He feels normal, with the exception of the Dex side effects. He works only 2 days a week (his choice). He works out at the Y 5 days a week. The only illness he has had post transplant is one cold. We came home from Mayo last Halloween. He slept a lot the first few weeks, but be Thanksgiving he was out deer hunting multiple times. When he was first diagnosed we thought, "this is it". The word cancer must have flashed through my mind every 15 minutes for 6 months. We now feel that his life likely will be shortened by multiple myeloma, but don't feel it's an imminent thing. Read this site frequently. Many people write that they have had this 7 - 10 years. I hope your journey goes as well.

[GeorgeLJurak]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by GeorgeLJurak on Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:22 pm

Dr. Durie has a great blog that you should read. Here is the link :
http://myeloma.org/MtEntryPage.action?source=/imf_blogs/myeloma_voices/2012/10/follow-up-tips-on-how-to-eat-real-food-maybe-there-are-some-cookies-you-can-eat.html
God Bless

[Guitarnut]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by Guitarnut on Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:03 pm

Thanks for the link George!

[Eric Hofacket]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by Eric Hofacket on Mon Oct 22, 2012 1:04 am

My appetite increased significantly when I started dexamethasone and Velcade, but I really did not gain much weight. In time though my appetite went away and so did my sense of taste. Most food started tasting like cardboard and it became a bit of a challenge to get calories down. If I tried to force myself to eat I would often through up. Ensure was a big help for me and others on this forum. Sometimes I would find a certain food that I could eat and even have a craving for, like Salt and Vinegar patato chips. Most people do not get hit with the side effects of Velcade as hard as I did so I would not worry too much that your experience will be the same as mine. The good news is Velcade gave me a very good partial response before I had my stem cell transplant. I lost a lot of weight but a, 50 lbs, but a year after my SCT I am back to 190-195 and doing, very well. Good luck to you, a lot of people seem to be having good results with the RVD treatment ad hopefully you will too.

[Mike b]

Re: Starting treatment Friday!

by Mike b on Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:21 pm

I found that my rev25/dex was not as challenging as atfer my ASCT where hydration is a must, i got so tired of gatorade and water, just follow your doctors instructions, I was at Fred Hutch in Seattle and their program was ans still is excellent. You'll get through this it just takes time!