Nausea

You probably guessed this topic would rear its ugly head at some point.  It’s the elephant in the room when the talk of chemotherapy or radiation comes up.  People get spooked by cancer issues because of the stories they’ve heard about friends getting sick from cancer treatment.  Yes, some patients still get nauseated from treatment, but not as much anymore.  Advances in anti-nausea medicine have helped a bunch, but mind over matter still makes a big difference.  Like a lot of things, convincing yourself one way or another effects your well being.  If you think you’re going to get sick, then guaranteed you will.  After 35 years of getting all kinds of toxic chemicals pumped into me, I can tell you I get nauseated more from Tequila then chemo.  So your attitude makes a huge difference with keeping nausea under wraps.  Unlike Tequila,  I feel chemo is helping me get better so I believe I don’t get sick because of that attitude.  Easier said then done given  some people get nauseated at a drop of a hat for the strangest of reasons.

You won’t find any solutions with little kids, they’re just random puking machines.  When Devin was around 7 years old I took him to the driving range along with David and Dillon.  We were smacking balls and tearing up the course like rototillers until this huge yellow rat snake crawled out of the grass behind us.  Devin sees the snake and then all of sudden vomited like Regan on The Exorcist, scaring the bejesus out of us and the snake.  I still don’t get the connection between the snake and vomiting.  It may fall into that category of people who have an intense gag reflex.  One friend who comes to mind, Eric Waller, is a rough and tumble manly man; he’s the last person you’d think has a lily lined stomach.  Eric has such a bad gag reflex that I can just talk out loud about different topics; ie. Hospital smells, cooked spinach v. Spinach salad, restaurant buffets, etc and he’ll lose it.  I know he’s gagging just reading this post.  But this same person can chew tobacco while drinking a beer.  Mind over matter?  Absolutely.

You get nausea from a variety of sources; normally it’s something bad like expired milk, too much booze, or rotten food.   I bit into a bad oyster years ago that tasted like a soiled baby diaper.  By choice I’ve neither had oysters nor bit into another baby diaper since.  Normally the bad smell of something will warn you not to eat it, so I’m confused why people eat Limburger cheese.  Regardless, the worst nausea is produced by the media – morning talk shows, political fights, reality TV, etc.  I immediately feel better by turning them off which is my choice. When you’re sick, however, you don’t have much choice on what your doctor recommends.  You do, however, have a choice in your attitude towards it.  Believing your treatment helps you and focusing on a future being illness free will help ease your nausea.  No matter how bitter the pill, however, at least it’s not a soiled baby diaper.  Slainte.