Already a member? Sign in
What - Inspire is a place where you can connect with people who share your health concerns and find information and advice in groups sponsored by organizations you know and trust.
Why - As a member you can use Inspire to let friends and family know how you're doing, contact others who share your health concerns, receive personalized updates and information about participating in surveys and clinical trials, and more.
How - Joining Inspire is completely free and usually takes less than a minute. Join now!
Okay-
I had my first treatment a week ago today. The last 2 days I have been starving! I mean...I eat and then I want to eat again 2 seconds later. If I keep this up I am going to need some new pants! Seriously though- has anyone had this as a side effect? Any ideas of how to deal with it? I thought I would be puking....not stuffing my mouth full every chance I get. Thanks for the help!
Cancer Surgery Hysterectomy Dexamethasone Coumadin Decadron Ovarian cancer Pulmonary embolism Memory Insomnia Depression Osteoporosis
it's the dexomethosone. i thought i'd lose weight on chemo, instead i dream of steak. weird huh?
i've gained 10 lbs in 6 months but the only thing i can do to combat it is to eat small bits all day instead of meals...yogurt, fruits, veggies, cheerios all while dreaming of steak. but clearly i fail so maybe someone else has a better idea :)
Yes, a week after chemo 1, I had a serious appetite after having no appetite for several months. It was a remarkable feeling to realize how hungry I was. I had lost 24 pounds. I gained it all back eventually, but never got above my normal, pre-cancer weight.
And I only had the dex as a pre-chemo drug, given right before chemo. Some women take it continuously, but I didn't.
so, hopefully you will have a normal appetite down the road!
Jeanie
Does this medication cause appetite increase for the full series of treatments? I might be in trouble!
Do you take it in the IV as a pre chemo med only? or are you taking it in pill form more often?
I only did the IV pre chemo.
My appetite went up from nothing, but it didn't increase. It just went back to normal, which of course is an increase from nothing, but only caused me to get back to my normal weight, not over what I was originally. Normal appetite, normal weight.
Jeanie
Hi, I had that drug in pill form first line chemo, and did not affect my appetite.This go around its iv, and I will eat my cats if I could Iam hungry, but Iam not hungry.I eat because I can.I lost 10 pounds after my surgery a month ago, and now being uner chemo again, I already put on 4 pounds, thats a lot for me considering I only weigh 114.Oh, what these drugs do to us.Keep Positive.
It's one of the meds, for sure. Best advice is to eat small amounts during the day vs. 3 meals, and watch what you eat. Try to pick on low-calorie snacks and fruits. Drinking a lot of fluid should help you feel full too. Try sucking on sugar-free hard candies (don't want to ruin your teeth during this) if you get an urge and don't want to eat.
I've had those feelings with some of the chemos I've been on but really have never gained any weight all these years. Usually some nausea and that awful taste in your mouth makes some food less appealing.
I had the same appetite as you. I was on megastrol as I was 99 lbs. I had a craving for entenmanns french butter coffee cake and literally ate 2 whole cakes per day for almost 2 months!
Oooh yeah. I had the same thing. The first 5 days after chemo treatment, I had little appetite, but then the next week it came back with a vengeance!! And I wanted carbs, carbs, and more carbs! Terrible. I too gained weight - about 2-3 pounds after every chemo - with a total weight gain of about 12 - 14 pounds! Arrggh. I had my last chemo in February - and some/most of that weight has come off as my appetite is back to normal and I am moving and exercising more.
Yes, I was told it definitely was the steroids (I had it given IV) that increased the appetite, even did funny things to enzymes, etc so you crave sugar and carbs.
I tried to eat more protein - what I could stomach - scrambled eggs, chicken.....and lots of fruit, hummus and pretzel crackers - in little meals. But mostly I just......ATE. Uggh.
My appetite was increased throughout all treatments - but by the last two I was getting used to it and learning to eat less, fill up on other things besides CARBS, etc.
One good thing - my doctor told me he liked that I wasn't LOSING weight through treatment. Even though I had a good 15 pounds to lose! He said that chemo was not the time to try and diet. Unfortunately I listened to that tooo well! ha
Take care,
Amy
Initially I didn't have any appetite after surgery or during the first 4 or five chemo treatments, but as time went on my appetite returned. Instead of eating a lot at once I tried to eat numerous small meals. It helped not only curb my appetite but maintain my weight.
I try to eat healthy, healthy, healthy but after what I went through, I still splurge on occasion.
As others have said, it's the steroids. They also kept me awake at night, but I was able to sleep after I came home from work. Actually, I'd come home from teaching, sleep four hours, eat supper, sleep a couple of hours, be up until 2 or 3 a.m., then sleep until 6.
Steroids are notorious for increased appetite, decreased sleep and rage. One of my pharmacist friends told me in pharmacy school, steroids were called the mean pills.
It's definitely the decadron. Try to limit your sugar and carb intake as sugar feeds cancer. Read that in every single alternative cancer treatment book. If you're getting the decadron by mouth, ask your doctor to limit it to one dose just before your chemo.
It's def the steroids. Some ppl react more, My first chemo round I couldn't stop eating and with the Doxil food tasted wonderful too which didn't help.
I am prescribed 18 pills to take 2 at once 3 times a day. I asked to stretch them out the next times i.e twice a day only, but for an extra day.
That has successfully solved the desperate need to eat, but not the inability to sleep.
I may ask about a further adjustment next time although with such hot weather here in UK at the moment it is very useful to be out doing the garden at 5.30 am
Negotiate a change for taking the pills.
JanP
Oh, I'm sure its the steroids. I ate like a pig!! Every time I would go for the next treatment, I had gained weight! Who woulda thunk it? LOL
Me too! I would just ate and ate the days after chemo and it is definately the steriods. I also felt great quickly followed by depression. I would have chemo on the Tuesday, feel depressed by about Thursday then pop out the other side on Monday. All due to dexomethosone.
HI,
I assume you mean chemo treatment. Do not worry,
the 2nd day is your best day, eat if you are hungry.
This is the effect of the sterioid you where given
the day before and will wear off in a day or 2, so the
nausia will still come and your appetite will diminish.
At least this is what I have experienced and I have
been on chemo now 2 x going on a 3rd. set.
Usually you have 2 good days, 3 to rest and than
things will get better each day. And than we will start
all over again.
I wish you quick recovery and do not worry about
gaining weight.. You will learn to love seeing your
scale go up more than seeing it go down.
Vaya-condios
ovarian cancer since 2006.
I had the same thing but I wasn't on sterioids and I was told it was because the chemo kills rapidly multiplying cells (cancer) but that the lining of your stomach is also cells that multiply quickly and the chemo affects that as well. Hair is also rapidly multiplying cells so I just ate a lot of applesauce. It was mild enough to not upset my stomach and Lipton tea soothed my stomach as well.
I have a fond memory of my mom telling me to try some tea and in my mind I thought 'Mom, you don't understand....I have cancer....I am getting chemo...it is poison....a simple cup of tea isn't going to make my stomach issues go away'.
But I tried it and it soothed my stomach so much. Every treatment after that I had to make sure I was stocked with Lipton tea bags and applesauce.
Hope it helps you too!
I was given 10 mg dexamethasone (decadron) IV with chemo, and the next-day I felt high with energy, huge appetite, insomnia (I stayed up all night and read an entire book after one treatment), and talkativeness, followed on day three by the yuckiest feeling, irritability and loss of any motivation to do anything except stay in bed.
I convinced my oncology team to reduce my dosage to 5 mg and learned several months later that several other people had made the same request. I still have the high and the low, but they are no longer as extreme, and at least I feel I can cope with it now.
As for weight gain, in a matter of a few months after I started chemo, I gained 14 pounds and kept it on for two years. I had been told by my doctors to eat whatever I wanted, and I took them at their word. About three months ago I decided to cut out certain foods and to eat smaller portions, and I slowly lost about seven pounds, which I'm keeping off. I think the weight has come off my fingers and my neck--I haven't noticed any difference in my waist size or other places where I would like to be a size smaller. I know I need to be careful what I wish for, because I prefer not to be so skinny it looks like my cancer has caused the weight loss.
I too lost a lot of weight after surgery...always hungry
and always hot flashes...i had hysterectomy, gallbladder, appendix and part of lung removed....
also had a pulmonary embolism and a MRSSA infection. lack of appetite is a problem and there is
medication for that. If you are always hungry that is
a very good sign. Try to eat lots of fruit, vegetables,
and starches with fiber like brown rice ( it is really good). All my docs say to be really careful with overdosing on OTC herbs and vitamins...limiting
yourself to a multivitamin without iron because iron
causes digestive issues...also Citracal is easier to
digest than Caltrate and it seems like all women have
osteoporosis these days...need 4 citracal vs 2 caltrate
but a lot of chemos strip your bones of calcium...need
green leafy vegetables in order to build new bone
which is tricky for me since I am on coumadin as a result of the pulmonary embolism. You can track
your diet online at mytracker.com, a USDA website.
Add to the discussion