Mouth Sores, No Tastebuds - How to cope

pluckey

Of all the side effects from chemo, I resent this one the most. My sense of taste is 99% gone. Food in my mouth feels like broken glass and sand paper. I've lost 30 lbs since being DX'd, 40 since symptoms appeared.

I know I have to pull up my big girl panties and just force feed myself, but it's getting old fast. the good news is I gained weight this week, which is a HUGE deal.

anyone else in the same boat? What do you eat that doesn't hurt? I have to eat "slippery" food that can slide easily down my tnroat

Peggy

Patteee

magic mouthwash
Yes, unfortunately I have been there. I would do a couple of different things. Use the magic mouthwash about 10 mins before attempting to eat anything. Warm liquids went down easier- ensure and/or boost warmed up was great. I got to the point I was obsessed with food- reading recipes, watching the food channel 24/7- even was convinced I was going to switch careers and become a chef!

Nana b

Magic mouthwash
You can get an RX from you oncologist. It not only numbs the hurt, it helps it from forming to begin with. Juicing helps.

pluckey

Nana b said:

Magic mouthwash
You can get an RX from you oncologist. It not only numbs the hurt, it helps it from forming to begin with. Juicing helps.

What is Juicing?
Nana, I do have the magic mouthwash. I only used it when my mouth was really sore, not to try and eat. i'll try that for foods that are harder to handle.

what is juicing? I tried some Nectar veggie/fruit juices and it was gross

nudgie

Website
Here is a good web site that may help

www.cancerproject.org

dash4

Mouth "help"...
Hi, I am a caregiver for my husband..(stage IV 10/04) and a dental hygienist. When your mouth hurts or is dry it makes everything harder. My husband has been on chemo for 5 years and mouth problems have never been an issue for him. I trully believe it is because we were proactive from the start, but unfortunately many are not given any direction with mouthcare.

I started him from the day of his diagnosis on Prevident 5000 Booster - a prescription toothpaste by Colgate that has extra fluoride in it. It helps so much in preventing problems and makes it very difficult to get cavities.

Also, all the Biotene products are wonderful! All of their products have anti bacterial effects and enzymes that are naturally present in your saliva and with a dry mouth you are missing many of the natural benefits of your saliva.
Biotene mouthwash is without alcohol so it does not burn or irritate. They also have a "saliva substitute" called Oral Balance that acts like saliva for you. So, you could take a little and swish it in your mouth and then eat your food and it would be easier to swallow and enjoy. You cannot overdose on it -it is just like saliva. You can use it just before bed to help keep your mouth moist while you are sleeping.
Also, chewing any gum that has "xylitol" in it also will give you an antibacterial effect and fight cavities. Whatever you do - do NOT suck on sugar candies or gum- you will end up with lots of decay!

Let me know if you have any other "mouth" questions I can help you with.
Good luck! Hope this helps!
Dash

bdee

Taste buds
I went through this when I was on oxi. After three months of no solid food and 65 pounds weight lose I told my doctor I would rather die from the cancer than from the chemo. I could only drink warm drinks and to me Boost and Ensure were awful heated up. So I drank a lot of hot tea and chicken broth. My onc told me my taste buds were fried and would never come back. I know this is not what you want to hear, but my onc was wrong (once again) and my taste buds did come back after he quit the oxi. I now can eat everything but bread and I've gained 15 pounds in 2 months. Believe me, I really didn't need to gain back any weight but the weight gain has made me look less like a Nazi death camp survivor (I lost all my hair, too.)
The magic mouth wash didn't help with my eating, just with the sores in the mouth. But I also had sores on the outside of my lips that hurt when I would open my mouth. I would put the mouthwash on a Q-tip and wipe it on the outside of my lips.
I did try to force down food, but I ended up throwing it up or gagging on it, so I stopped. You just have to persevere, though. I would try to eat something every morning (like scrambled eggs or oatmeal) until one morning I kept everything down and it was go from there.

Good luck and I hope it doesn't get as bad for you,
Debbie

pluckey

thanks
thanks for all the suggestions!