Friday, December 30, 2011

So far, so good...

I finally started using the patches that the newest doctor gave me - they are for nausea.  I had a period of time after seeing him that the nausea was tolerable, so I hadn't bothered trying them.  Then when everything started up again in full force with my stomach it became a matter of wait until the appropriate time in the event that I have a reaction to them before giving them a try.

I was reading the packaging material that came with them.  Turns out they are typically used for patients who are undergoing chemotherapy.  The patient would put the patch on two days prior to starting their treatment and then rotate the patch every 7 days.  The concept of the patch is that it interferes with your serotonin levels, thus basically tricking your brain into telling your body that you are not nauseous.

Of course when I get my script filled there is a big warning from the pharmacist because the dose exceeds the daily recommended amount.  That's because my doctor has me replacing my patch every 5 days instead of 7.  So I finally put one on this morning because I really just couldn't take the nausea any longer.  I am not a fan of taking medication if I can do without it - and I finally couldn't take it.

So now we wait and keep my fingers crossed that this brings relief.  I would hope by at least tomorrow that I start to see some improvement - because I am sure it takes some time for your serotonin levels to be altered enough to feel a difference.  The most common side effects seem mild enough - it's the allergic ones that you have to watch out for, but like I said so far, so good.  I've always gotta giggle a little though, as almost every medication that they give a gastroparesis patient has either side effects of constipation or nausea - two things that most gastroparesis patients battle on a daily basis.  I guess this is how people can so quickly end up with an entire medicine cabinet full of prescriptions - one to counteract the side effects of the first and so on and so on.

I will report back more on the patches as I see how they work for me - in the event you are reading this and are also a gastroparesis patient or know someone who is.  It's worth a shot I guess - anything is better than constantly feeling nauseous.


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