Hello everyone just wanted any advise or ideas on snacks or diet ideas while having Pazopanib, but most of all to keep energy levels while feeling so fatigued and exhausted all the time.
Nice to meet you. When I started on Pazopanib I found that I had some nausea but realised that if I nibbled on something the nausea went away. I started with biscuits and sweets as these were easiest but quickly realised that these were not a good idea. I moved onto things like grapes and crudités and these worked fine. I also tried beef jerky and mini cheeses for a bit of variety.
I had no loss of energy at that time but later on I did and I found that I had to review my lifestyle and start going to bed a bit earlier on a night and simply recognise that I could not go on like I used to do. It did mean that when I was awake I had more energy and I was making myself tired by not listening to what my body was saying.
Just to let you know that I am currently on a treatment break but have been on Pazopanib for five years on the Star trial (see my profile for details) and other than loose bowel movements (not diarrhoea) and white hair I now get virtually no side effects, I remain on the 800mg maximum dose.
Hi Gragon hope you are well? thank you so much for your tips and advise. I will try the nibble idea. Just hope the sickness clams down soon. I reckon my dosage is gonna increase soon as well of pazopanib to 800mg according to my consultant, let’s wait and see what next scan shows.
My body feels so exhausted and aching at the moment, I feel I can’t do as much as I use to since I’ve been diagnosed with kidney cancer. My son doesn’t understand why mummy is always tried and not eating much food x
Like Gragon I found fresh tasting foods helped. Melon, grapes, strawberries - and also strawberry ice cream. Tomato and mozzarella and ham - very simple, light tasting things.
There's a chance that you thyroid is going out - it's one of the side effects. When I'm very tired, that's often the culprit. I'm medicated for it but it can be a bit hit and miss. You'll get blood tests every 4 weeks and it should be monitored.
If your nausea isn't controlled by the meds you've been prescribed ask to try alternatives until you find one that suits you. I'm on my 4th - metoclopramide and it's been the best so far but I know Sue buttercup01 has a really good one.
I find I'm often sick first thing in the morning before I eat, so I keep a glass of water by my bed to swig quickly so I'm not dry heaving as quite honestly that just really hurts after a while.
Like Gragon, getting overly hungry triggers the nausea too, so if you can manage it, little and often is good.
If you are being sick, really concentrate on keeping your fluids up.
And don't feel the need to go up to 800 too quickly if you're not tolerating well at 600. I went up to 800 and got quite poorly. I felt like a total failure coming back down to 600, which was ridiculous. I'm one of those people who is simply stable on Paz, going up to 800 isn't suddenly going to make my tumours shrink - in fact it didn't. You have to think that a 15 stone man will likely be on 800, why would that then also be the right dose for a 9 stone woman?
The other piece of advice I was given was not to fight through the very tired days. Accept them and rest if you can. Fighting gives you more bad days, listening to your body gives you more good days.
You'll find a way through, but be kind to yourself. With hindsight, I found the start of the treatment difficult and it took a while to get the balance - and even now it's not always there, but I've learned how to manage that and I know you will too.
Hello again , the anti sickness med I'm on is Levomepromazine. It's a named person only prescription, coz it's not licensed over here. I take it every night before my Pazopanib, as advised by my oncologist.
Fear of the unknown is the worst thing. Once we know what we're facing, we find the strength to deal with it.
