need advice on chemo

Cynthia,
Thank you for your advice. Since I have had this week off from chemo "to get stronger", I am feeling better. I still take the Zophran every day because there are times when I feel nauseous. But I am eating everything I can this week. I will be having my chemo closer to home now. I was traveling 40-45 minutes each way before and I think being a short distance from home will help. This oncologist suggested that I don't switch from cisplatin to carboplatin. Instead he is going to give me divided doses a week apart with the Gemzar, then the Gemzar alone the following week. The surgeon I saw suggested the Indiana pouch. Can you give me any information on that? How often did you need to cath initially? Are you able to sleep most of the night? Have you had any serious issues arise since the surgery? Thank you for being an inspiration to me. I know I will get through the chemo. Then I will get to the next step of having the surgery. Everyone on the site is right - a positive attitude is important, although there are times.....

I was wondering who has gone through the cisplatin/gemzar chemo regimen and how they dealt with side effects, etc. I started my chemo last week and two days later was admitted to hospital for four days. I could not walk, nausea and vomiting really bad and I lost over 7 pounds in five days. The day after chemo I started having ringing in my ears. I had a hearing test and they said I had high frequency hearing loss. I was advised to skip chemo this week as I am so weak and will start again next week with just the gemzar. Any tips for dealing with this type of chemo? I have been using zophran around the clock, getting up during the night to take it and doing that, I have been able to eat small amounts of food and keep it down. Is there anything else I can try to maintain weight? I have Ensure, not crazy about it, but try to have some at least. Just the sight of anything sweet makes me sick, literally. I guess they are changing my chemo from cisplatin to carboplatin. Is that going to be effective?