Antinausea Medications Two areas in the brain have been identified as being responsible for nausea and vomiting, and certain drugs and other methods can selectively block these areas. Your doctor can work out a program to combat your nausea, although if one drug or drug combination doesn't work as well as you would both like, you may have to experiment with different programs.
Generally, antivomiting drugs (antiemetics) should be taken 30 minutes before chemotherapy so that they have time to take effect.
• If vomiting has already started and you can't keep a pill down,
antinausea suppositories such as Compazine or Tigan may help.
• Long-acting spansules such as Compazine can be very helpful, since they work for 6 hours.
• Ativan and Decadron may help block the brain's vomiting center. It is also a very powerful combination to
block anticipatory nausea and vomiting. Ativan can be taken under the tongue for rapid absorption during
severe nausea.
• Ativan is also an antidepressant and sleeping tablet that can cause amnesia, which might take the edge off any
memory of vomiting once the episode is over.
• Some forms of marijuana—the natural delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the synthetic Marinol—may
successfully control nausea and vomiting by working on the higher brain centers. But they can also cause
drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, a rapid heartbeat and sweating.
