u/Terribyl

Hi all,

I posted a few days ago about nausea induced by cisplatin. After more time, this nausea is mainly in the morning. Every morning I just wake up with a sharp acidy/burning sensation in my stomach that makes mornings really tough to deal with. I think the obvious answer is to eat food but after waking up I can't rush it. I also take omeprazole which I know is supposed to help with the acid. I just have the feeling of needing to gag but I don't vomit.

I slowly regain strength throughout the day, but I've also been needing to get hydration the last few days due to dehydration (causing low blood pressure). I just feel really lightheaded/unsteady sometimes and my heart rate is extremely fast.

Side note, I have to urinate a lot and it's all clear. I'm wondering if part of this is due to dehydration or something else? Did anyone else experience this? I went to an ER and they said the only abnormal thing was they found sugar in my urine. Does anyone have experience with this?

Beyond my stomach hurting and occasional dehydration, I really feel okay. I just feel like my entire life is now ruled by my stomach since it's so often upset/queasy. I don't know if this is nausea or the stomach lining being irritated or both.

Is there any routine or foods y'all recommend for dealing with this? Thank you

Hi all,

I began cisplatin this week for Stage 2 Nasopharyngeal carcinoma which has spread to my neck lymph nodes. I was okay through the entire day after taking my first dose (split across two days and three cycles), but as soon as 1 AM hit, my stomach felt burny and acidic -- I think because I ate too big of a dinner (pasta with meat sauce). I've been taking my zofran on time, but since feeling nauseous, my stomach just feels extremely acidy and bloated -- contributing to my nausea and making it really hard to function.

I also think I'm a bit constipated due to the bloating and all the drugs. Does anyone have any tips as to how to handle this stomach pain? Are there things you recommend eating and intervals you recommend eating in?

I'm also trying to take my healios for mouth sores, but the thought of drinking it makes me so nauseous because I had a bad experience drinking it for the first time.

Any and all tips are welcome -- I'm just really sick of feeling this stomach pain and nausea after only my first cycle -- I'm not sure how I'm going to get through the other two, especially as the radiation kicks up.

Thank you,

Hi all. I was just diagnosed with the above "cancer" and was wondering if anyone could offer advice or have had similar experiences. I currently have very little information available (they ordered a PET scan and I'm meeting a head and neck oncologist) and I understand everyone's case is different, but I just wanted to know how others have dealt with this diagnosis / what possible explanations could be (though of course, once again, I realize I won't know more until the PET scan, etc.).

Essentially, I am a "healthy" early 20s female that, prior to now, has had no symptoms beyond an enlarged (1.5-2 cm) level 5 lymph node. I've had it for over two months, and noticed it around early April. I have no idea if it was present before April (likely not, I think I would have realized?), and to my knowledge, it was instantly enlarged and wasn't a slow process (though of course it could have been slowly growing w/o my knowledge). To my knowledge, the lymph node has stayed the same size throughout April - now.

I got in to see a primary care doctor a month after I noticed this symptom, hoping it'd go away and was just a reactive node. I got an ultrasound that was inconclusive, and continued on to getting a CT Scan, MRI, and then finally a biopsy (for which I just received the results today). I also got routine bloodwork -- nothing extremely abnormal except low hemoglobin (11.0 g/dL) and MCV (65) -- which my doctor diagnosed as "mild anemia." My thyroid was fine, lymphocyte level was fine, white blood count, platelets, etc. (via the bloodwork). The MRI and Cat Scan (an ENT also put a scope down my nose/throat briefly) showed no obvious masses or abnormalities. Everything looked "normal" beyond my lymph nodes (I was only scanned for upper chest and up -- the MRI was just the neck/head).

I have no other "symptoms" besides my lymph nodes (which, upon imaging, they discovered was actually 3 large lymph nodes -- one on level 5 (the largest) and two at level IIB). All "abnormal" lymph nodes are on the right side of my neck. I haven't had significant weight loss, fatigue (beyond normal, I think), difficulty swallowing, chewing, voice changes, significant ear pain, night sweats, etc. Also wanted to add that the squamous cells are NOT HPV-related (tested negative for that trait and also, quite frankly, I have done little-to-no activities that would likely attract HPV).

The only abnormal thing I can think of is that, for many years, I've had really weird, random, striking pain at the top of my left ear (it feels like the top/outer ear -- it's like a jolt of pain that has 2-3 residual aftershocks) -- but this pain is extremely sporadic (occurring every few months and at, from what I can tell, completely random times) and doesn't last long -- and is, once again, on my left side. This is also kind of random, but I have had chronic dry skin for years -- and I feel like my itching has gotten way worse in the past year (though this may be due to boredom/restlessness since I've graduated college).

I guess I'm looking to see if anyone has presented the same way: very few symptoms (and no obvious large masses in the head/neck region) but randomly enlarged lymph nodes with squamous carcinoma -- and what your diagnosis was, the prognosis, etc. I know once again that I know very little right now and that other's experiences will be different, with different conditions, prognosis, etc., but I'm just shooting in the dark here and trying to find someone else who can relate. I'm sure others have felt this way, but the "hurry up and wait" part of cancer where you have no idea what's going on frankly sucks.

Thanks very much for any and all help. I appreciate anyone currently undergoing this condition or is helping someone with the condition -- I hope we can all get through this ❤️