This topic contains 23 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
Ali 11 years, 2 months ago.
Hi my name is Cathy
My husband Is going through a rough time, he has had his SCT and this is only day 7 after the transplant he has been in hospital for 2 weeks so far. He is very sick I feel that he is not getting enough consistency from the staff at the hospital he is in. Maybe I am wrong but sometimes I feel like he does not complain enough he seems to be left on his own most of the day throwing up and dealing with the nausea. I am a bit annoyed tonight maybe Ill feel better in the morning. It's so hard to watch him suffering and the doctors say he is really doing well, that I feel is because he does not complain enough.
I am sure lots of you on here have gone through the SCT and would like some advice on how you were. I know each individual is different. He is very brave he dosent like to complain, he has not eaten anything but soup in a week which makes him sick anyway. Dietitian was supposed to visit him yesterday or today to talk about eating but still hadn't appeared. Hoping they will be there tomorrow. Can I ask if you have gone through this treatment how you got on and how you coped with eating and diet. We know all the scary srories of what could happen and he has been lucky that his kidneys have been working since the chemo as they suspected he may have some amyloid. I am not complaining about the staff they are the most dedicated nurses and doctors anyone could ever want to meet. I would just like some advice or to ask how other people got on.
Worried Cathy
Hi Cathy it's nearly a year since my transplant, so my memories a bit vague but I remember being sick on the sixth day after transplant and feeling yuck for the next few days but after that I started to feel better. The only thing I could face to eat was a banana and rich tea biscuit's. Wet wipes for the toilet we'r a must and fizzy water to drink. I was let home after 16 days and that was the best medicean nothing like your own bed !!
I hope this is some help to you and your husband gets better soon.
Sandra.
Hi Sandra
Thanks for your quick return. I will tell my husband about your experience he was sick from the day he got the transplant then it left him for a day or two but its back even stronger. I was saying to him tonight that after 10 days or so he may come a bit better so let's hoping that he will be like you and recover a bit by then. You are amazing getting home after 16 days he will love to hear that news, will give him some hope. Thank you again
Cathy
Hi Cathy
Unfortunatley the high dose of chemo. your husband was given nearly always has sickness as one of its unpleasant side-effects.
I was sick on and off for about 2 weeks. The SCT also made me feel as though a barrier had been placed between my mouth and my stomach and I totally lost my appetite for 4 days. Fortunately it came back before I'd lost too much weight, so the doctor wasn't concerned.
I sipped soda water to help settle my stomach and drank milk rather than hot drinks. Also plenty of water to keep hydrated. Hot drinks were painful to swallow because of the temporary damage the chemo. does to the throat and "pipes" down to the stomach and down at the other end.
Believe me, your husband will feel totally rubbish, but he will feel much better very soon. The experience of isolation will no doubt bring him down too and as Sandra said true recovery only begins once you're back in your own bed.
Hi Cathy
7 days into SCT,sickness is what you can expect,have they not given you books to read about the procedure????.
It is not very nice to watch,but your husband will come out of this ok.
The reason the nurses have little contact is they try to keep him and other patients germ free,going from one isolation room to another,brings its own problems,this is why it is called isolation,as long as he is responding to treatment and his bloods are ok,then he will be on course to getting better.
Read your booklet or ask the nurses any thing you are unsure about.Eve
Hi Cathy
I had my SCT 30 days ago so still very fresh in mind.Your husband is in isolation(a single room) which is hard,nursing staff will be in checking but also keeping contact to a minimum.Try to see this as a good thing as it will help to keep infections brought in to a minimum in my opinion.My appetite took a noise dive after the transplant I was about 16 stone but lost nearly a stone in weight(could afford to lose it thoe! the steroids made me put on weight).The dietitian prescribed me some build up drinks to help in which they did.Its difficult to look forward to the food when you are feeling sickly and being sick.Hopefully your husband can pick away at food and maybe he might ask for something to be brought in to eat.Would agree with Michele to keep well hydrated. I was discharged at the 16 days mark as well,but I must stress its a individual thing and when the body's ready he WILL be discharged home.He will recover much better at home in his own bed and eating food he is used to.His bloods will be monitored after discharge at the clinic,mine are still up and down 30 days after the SCT.
take care Paul
Hi Cathy
I'm a year post transplant and what the others say is exactly right, once you have the drugs and transplant, it is a process which you just have to endure. Most of us get through it in one piece. It's horrible, I was taking anti sickness, anti diarrhoea, antibiotics, antacid and painkillers for many months, I'm good enough now, about a stone lighter, but you don't need to eat at this stage, just drink what you can. Try not to look too worried when you go in to see him, I felt very guilty for being the one to cause such pain for my family. Look at Ali's recent posts about her mums sct, she seems to have been pretty classic.
Love Helen
Hi everybody,
Thank you for all your great replys and advice. It was really appreciated by myself and my husband for all your support. I read your messages to my husband and it made him feel a bit better, knowing that you all came through it and know how he's feeling. I do stay very chirpy when I visit him I don't show him how worried I am. We have read all the books and leaflets but I think things were just a bit low last night. He has got a fluids drip on tonight and some sedation to keep him realaxd. We are talking it one day at a time so thanks again for supporting us. Will let you all know how he gets on in the next couple of days. My husband has a great sense of humour and each day he sends our children text messages like he is in the big brother house day 1 day 2 etc. Thanks again.
Cathy
Hi Cathy
My husband Peter had his sct on 1st Dec last year and right from the beginning he was sick which got steadily worse on a daily basis. He was given various anti sickness meds but he found the injections to have the best effect. he also suffered with horrendous diahorrea and did have to wear in continence nappies. He also lost his appetite and couldnt even keep water down. The docs decided that it was best that he was kept on saline solutions and these lasted for 16 days. He came home on day 18 in time for xmas at home. It is a horrid time but it does pass and once home they soon start to improve, although in Peter's case it was about 4 months. Hope your husband will soon feel over the worst.
Love Trish xx
Hi Cathy
Im Alison, my Mum had her transplant 2nd August so I know how you must be feeling right now. I had read all I could about the procedure and thought I was well prepared, but im afraid nothing could prepare you for whats happening to your husband right now. Please understand though that it will get better and as soon as my Mums blood counts started to rise she felt alot better. As Helen suggested please read my threads "Mums SCT", I asked lots of questions and got alot of good advise.
Take care of yourself and please keep us posted if you can.
Love Ali xx
Hi Paul
So very pleased to hear that you have had your STC and can´t believe they let you loose after only sixteen days – fantastic!
Hope your taking things easy and building yourself up – only once a week to the disco for a while I´m afraid.
Take good care
Very best wishes
Carol xxx
Hi Cathy
Sorry I´m rather late in reading your post and am really sorry that you are feeling so worried – often it´s hard for those who have to watch loved ones go through this process.
It´s quite normal to feel rotten for a while I´m afraid but at least it´s making the cancer cells feel rotten too so it´s not all bad. I was really poorly with sickness and to be honest seemed to be stuck in the bathroom for about 22 days of the 29 days I was in isolation. My lovely husband was really alarmed that I could only get a tiny mouthful of the lovely titbits and favourite foods he brought in but the little bits I did eat kept me going and were really appreciated.
Everyone is different and it sounds like your doing a great job of supporting and caring for your poor hubby. Don´t be too upset if he just wants to sleep and sleep – many of us found that for a few days at least everything just drifted by for a while as our bodies dealt with everything.
Try to think of everything as the next difficult step on his way to remission and recovery and that it´s a positive time (very hard I know).
Best wishes to you both at this really difficult time and please feel free to ask ANYTHING at all. It´s not nice to arrive home after visiting and wanting answers and a chat to people who understand and have practical experience of going through it. This site is full of lovely people who are just waiting to help and support you so please make full use of us.
Love and prayers for you both
Carol xxx
Hi everybody,
Thanks for your support, Ivan and I really appreciate it day 13 after the transplant he has been in hospital for 3 weeks now. Kidneys have stopped working he has been on dialysis for 3 days and I do think, well hope that this is as Low as Ivan can go. He has been really sick diahorrea has been really bad for him. I know that a lot of you have been through this SCT so really appreciate all your advice and hopeful words you can offer. We hope that the dialysis will only be a short term solution. This is the one thing that the doctors feared because the renal Doctor has suspected that he has some amyloidisis, but tests were non conclusive. Anyhow he is being so brave I'm so proud of him and all that he has come through and thank you any one who has come through the same for your kind words. He actually felt hungry tonight asked for tea and toast couldn't eat it but the thought was there. Good sign I hope.
Thanks again
Cathy
Gosh, Cathy, Ivan really has gone through the wringer.
I hope his feeling like eating something (even if he didn't manage to eat it) is the start of things getting better for him.
Love
Eliz
XX
X
Hi everyone,
Update on Ivan, he has been on dialysis 3 days now and the renal doctor says that he will be on for at least two more weeks. He is still very ill. It is now day 16 after the SCT no sign of his bloods recovering. He has also had to have a transfusion over a couple of days as they can't rush in with too much fluids as the kidneys have stopped working. He is also on oxygen, I am trying to be positive can't see a light at the end of this tunnel. Help. I have talked to the nurses and they say it's such an individual disease that it's a waiting game. He is running a temp as well not eating yet and diahorrea seems to be the worst of all. I found him very emotional this last couple of days but I'm trying to be up beat about things. Trying to convince him that he is going to get better, and trying to convince myself.
Thanks for listening
Cathy
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