I am worried.

arndog64
arndog64 Member Posts: 537
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My husband has been on pain meds for over a month and started using the pain patch 2 weeks ago and he just started chemo and radiation yesterday. And from what I have read, the pain is going to get worse. His throat hurts all the time!!!!! Especially since they did the biopsy. I don't know how he is going to handle the effects of the radiation?

Comments

  • Dav1965
    Dav1965 Member Posts: 132
    #2
    Where is his cancer? Mine
    Where is his cancer? Mine was on the tongue. After surgery i was on the 100 mg patch, and 10 mg hydrocodone. That worked for me. Talk to your doctor and he will probaly raise the dosage. Do not worry about getting hooked because as long as you follow directions you should be safe. God bless and good luck. David
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #3
    Surprised
    You'll be surprised, you'll both find the strength that you need when the time comes....

    Best,
    John
  • arndog64
    arndog64 Member Posts: 537
    #4
    Dav1965 said:

    Where is his cancer? Mine
    Where is his cancer? Mine was on the tongue. After surgery i was on the 100 mg patch, and 10 mg hydrocodone. That worked for me. Talk to your doctor and he will probaly raise the dosage. Do not worry about getting hooked because as long as you follow directions you should be safe. God bless and good luck. David

    at the base of his tongue.
    at the base of his tongue. T2N2M0.
  • Dav1965
    Dav1965 Member Posts: 132
    #5
    arndog64 said:

    at the base of his tongue.
    at the base of his tongue. T2N2M0.

    My biopsy only hurt for
    My biopsy only hurt for about an hour. I guess i was lucky. Talk to the doctor and see what else they can do. I have been told of a lolypop that has pain medicine in it. That might help. You might be able to sit that on the spot that hurts and get comfort that way. I have never tried it but it is an idea. Good luck. David
  • hjc1961
    hjc1961 Member Posts: 8
    #6
    pain meds
    My husband had rads and chemo 2 years ago for tonsil cancer and always wore a patch, one on each arm to keep pain med constant in hs body. Toward the end of treatment though I gave him morphine through his PEG tube because he was in alot of pain and I wouldn't see him suffer. You can't get addidicted to it so do not worry, it is only temporary and they need it to survive the very grueling therapy, so don't be afraid to ask the doc for more pain meds.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #7
    hjc1961 said:

    pain meds
    My husband had rads and chemo 2 years ago for tonsil cancer and always wore a patch, one on each arm to keep pain med constant in hs body. Toward the end of treatment though I gave him morphine through his PEG tube because he was in alot of pain and I wouldn't see him suffer. You can't get addidicted to it so do not worry, it is only temporary and they need it to survive the very grueling therapy, so don't be afraid to ask the doc for more pain meds.

    Pain patch.
    Yeah, the pain can get pretty wicked. I was on a 75 mcgs fentanyl patch and it was still horrible pain. You just get through it. I don't know how, but you just do. They wouldn't give me anymore because I'm tiny and they didn't want to overdose me.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #8
    He Just Will
    Like the others, I don't know how he'll make it through the pain - he just will. I had a tonsillectomy with my open biopsies, and that pain was more intense than my radiation pain. The surgery pain subsided more quickly than the radiation pain, though. I, too, was stage four - T2N2aM0. Sounds stupid, but one thing I did was make sure I watched some funny, silly or stupid tv whenever I could - humor cuts pain - really. Also, getting in enough water and food helps with pain. Good luck.
  • DrMary
    DrMary Member Posts: 531 Member
    #9
    Pam M said:

    He Just Will
    Like the others, I don't know how he'll make it through the pain - he just will. I had a tonsillectomy with my open biopsies, and that pain was more intense than my radiation pain. The surgery pain subsided more quickly than the radiation pain, though. I, too, was stage four - T2N2aM0. Sounds stupid, but one thing I did was make sure I watched some funny, silly or stupid tv whenever I could - humor cuts pain - really. Also, getting in enough water and food helps with pain. Good luck.

    And everyone is different
    We worried about getting through radiation pain, as Doug throws up with almost every pain medication - he could handle small doses of oxycodone and that was it. As it turned out, the pain was managed by that small amount and by magic mouthwash (which he used mostly right after he threw up, which really hurt).

    So, it might not get that bad, or it might be bad but you'll work out the right combination of drugs to handle it (which is an art in itself, but the doctors are good at this).

    This too, will pass.
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #10
    DrMary said:

    And everyone is different
    We worried about getting through radiation pain, as Doug throws up with almost every pain medication - he could handle small doses of oxycodone and that was it. As it turned out, the pain was managed by that small amount and by magic mouthwash (which he used mostly right after he threw up, which really hurt).

    So, it might not get that bad, or it might be bad but you'll work out the right combination of drugs to handle it (which is an art in itself, but the doctors are good at this).

    This too, will pass.

    Pain
    As Mary says, your Drs. should be able to give him what he needs to make it thru this- that is their job. You must, however, truthfully let them know how he is doing with stressing how difficult it is.

    For me, Morphine worked. It was liquid that I put into my trainwreck mouth, and that might be part of why it did. Thing is, the Morph kinda takes one away, or detaches one, from the physical body that is suffering. Doesn't take a lot to get that done, either. I used for 4 of 5 consecutive weeks, and Hydrocodone helped to ween me off the stuff.

    kcass

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