Gastroparesis, Zofran, and Me!

Life with Gastroparesis means a life spent feeling like you've got the stomah flu...or are on a wicked rollercoaster (except it's not that fun)...or have motion sickness...pick your poison. At any rate, you constantly feel like you're going to throw up. Constantly feel nauseous. You try and find ways to curb said feeling in any manner possible, whether it's laying down, sitting up, standing up, passing out, avoiding life, overdoing life, or finding a medicine that will HOPEFULLY help...even a little. 

Enter in Zofran. 

Ondansetron (INN), originally marketed under the brand name Zofran, is a serotonin 5-HT₃ receptor antagonist used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. (That's Wikipedia's definition of Zofran). My definition of it is, it sometimes helps me not throw up as much. Pretty simple, right? 

There are times when I only have to take one tablet--sublingually (beneath my tongue)--and I'm fine within a half an hour to an hour. There are other times, however, when Zofran just does not want to work with me or the Gastroparesis flare is so strong and it doesn't work. That is when me and the couch become one. 

Another anti-emetic that works for me is phenergan. The only draw back--for me--is that is makes me WAY sleepy. So I save phenergan for times when I am at home and just cannot take it anymore. It is also in tablet form, small, and easy to swallow. I've found this, personally, to be the stronger of the two (phenergan and Zofran), but because it makes me sleepy--VERY sleepy, I only take it when I'm doing really poorly. 

One nonmedicinal option for nausea is ginger. I've used ginger tea and candied ginger as alternatives to medicine. Over the years--okay, it's only been 5, but sometimes it feels like an eternity--I've pumped A LOT of medicine into my body, so finding an alternative to medication is a good thing. Ginger works fairly well and puts a little pep in your breath!