Fighting Nausea

I'm never hungry anymore, but I think about food all the time.

It's like I'm the worried parent and the sick kid at the same time. I know I have to keep my weight up, so I (the worried parent) plot what I'm going to make for myself (the sick kid) that won't trigger extreme nausea. Planning and preparing the food has become a necessary chore, like brushing my teeth. Usually, once I start eating, the food tastes good. Sometimes it stings a little; they warned me about mouth sores at the hospital. I still need to make an appointment with the cancer-specialized dental hygienist about that.

After a few vomiting episodes over the weekend, despite the strong anti-nausea medication I was taking, I wised up and searched the internet for articles on nausea. It turns out that it's better to eat smaller meals more frequently, eat slowly, not mix hot and cold foods, eat blander foods, and drink ice water. In general, cold food is better than hot. These tips helped a lot.

The nurse at the hospital had also emphasized that I had to be careful not to get trapped in the downward spiral of not eating because of nausea, as that just leads to more nausea, when the stomach continues to contract in expectation of food. She was right. A few times, when I was feeling most nauseous, I forced myself to eat just a small amount of food and felt instantly better.

My staple foods, for the moment, are blueberries and raspberries with muesli mix and soy milk in the morning. A mango later in the morning. Rice porridge with a few add-ins for flavor. I managed to work in some leftover Thai food, although it made me sick the other day, and it was all right. I do worry that, after 6 months of this, I'll never be able to enjoy a blueberry again. But I suppose that's a small price to pay for the honor of calling myself a cancer survivor.