My mom had her Stem Cell Transplant (1st) on January 13, 2009. Since that time her numbers so far have been o.k., but because she has had a terrible time not being able to eat,(only about 600-800 calories a day) they did not put her on a maintenance regimen or schedule 2nd transploant. They do not think she can handle a 2nd. I am very worried. Her doctor put her on Zyprexa and a Fenanyl Patch because she was hospitalized for 7 days not being able to eat. I researched these drugs and told him I did not like the idea, but he felt we had not choise. He told us that these drugs have been helpful in cancer patients eating problems. If she lets the patch go more than a day, she has severe stomach pains etc. and she still six months after transplant doesn't care if she eats or not? Any ideas, or similar experience from anyone out there.
The director of the myeloma clinic at Huntsman Cancer Institute, Dr. Guido Tricot, has this response for you:
"It is difficult to answer those questions without seeing her in our clinic. In general, when we have problems with patients not eating, we place them on remeron and megace. I am not aware that zyprexa is helpful. Fentanyl is for pain and sometimes causes severe constipation and stomach pain. The result is that the dose of fentanyl is increased, which causes even more stomach pain."
Hope this helps,
Chat Moderator
Myeloma Program at Huntsman Cancer Institute
