swelling

Swelling
My first question is: Is your husband on any steroids (Decadron, Prednisone, others) while he was undergoing radiation and/or chemo? If so, that could be the cause of it. I am on Prednisone and it has caused me to swell a bit under my chin. My doctor always checks it when I see him every 3 weeks to monitor how I am doing.

If he wasn't on medication, then I would say yes that it is caused by the radiation and/or chemo. I remember when I had radiation many years ago, that before I started on steroids, I started swelling really bad (chin, joints, muscles, etc.) and that was one of the reasons they put me on Decadron in 1996.

If your husband is done with his treatments, you should start to see a decrease in his swelling (assuming he doesn't have edema) over the next few weeks. But remember, it does take time.

I would make sure that you keep a log of all his symptoms and his reactions to the medications or lack thereof. If the pain medication isn't working, see about upping the dosage. For instance, a Tylenol bottle says only to take 2 tylenol, but my own doctors have told me that on occasion it is perfectly okay to take 3 at a time. Talk to your doctor though about what will work for your husband. Be persistent and make sure the doc understands that you aren't going to stop asking about this.

Best of luck to your husband.

Teresa

sue5749 said:

swelling
palmkyrafan, thanks for your responds. My husband was on Prednisone while he was taking his rad treatments, but he is a diabetic and it made his sugar go up so he said not to take it anymore. He said the Prednisone would take the swelling down, it did for awhile but like I said he is a diabetic so he can not take it anymore. His swelling is under his chin, and like I said earlier he has a track and it really makes it hard for him to breath. He has been seen by his doctors but they just seem like it is no big deal. He has doubled up on his pain pills though. That seems to help him for about 4 hours, then he needs 2 more. The doctor said to call Monday and they would see about changing his pain meeds? So we will see. He has had a really hard 6 months of fighting this cancer. He has a track and J tube and has not had anything to eat or drink by mouth for 4 months. Just using liquid can foods, nothing else. The ear nose and throat doctor said not to eat or drink anything by mouth. So has been really hard, needless to say. Sue

LYMPHEDEMA
Sue -

I finished radiation treatments December 15th. The 1st of March my neck was swollen under the chin. This was dx as Lymphedema - basically that the radiation was rough on the lypmph nodes in the neck area & they did not function properly. Fluid would accumulate because it did not flow properly the the lymph system. I noticed that the swelling was much harder in the morning after sleeping flat. I have been going to a physical therapist that has helped my situation greatly. No longer have the "hard" mass as the therapy has helped. There are "massage" techniques along with deep breathing techniques that help. Shoulder shrugs & other exercises. Also sleeping in a more upright positions. Good luck!

Dino

Turkey Neck Club
Might be a little early, but very well likely he has just been indoctrinated into the Turkey Neck Club....it's a very common side effect of the radiation.

As mentioned, it is from the lymphatic fluidsnot draining they way they did prior to radiation. Eventually they'll find new paths and the swelling will eventually lessen over time...months. Everything you get usually takes months to get through...

Some on here have various methods and techniques for massage and feel that it helps them with the swelling and drainage.

Another side effect that many of us get is L'Hermette's Syndrome. A shoucking or tingling sensation that you get from slightly bending your head or chin down toward your chest. Again, another side effect that most seem to get and takes several months for the sensation to lessen.

Best,
John