Better already

Mattie65
Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
edited December 2020 in Head and Neck Cancer #1

I thought this might give a bit of hope: I had my last radiation session on Monday. 60 gy between my left tonsil and left ear, 51 gy to my neck and left jaw.

Felt sick for the last two days, worst being yesterday, which really felt like a bad hangover. I felt sick, dizzy, weak and very sensitive to light and noise.

Today, I already feel much better. Literally like the day past hangover, when you still feel weakish, but not sick and depressed. I think it'll take until next week until I genuinely feel good, but I'm clearly on my way out of feeling bad.

Just thought I might share this. :)

Comments

  • BeagleDad
    BeagleDad Member Posts: 108 Member
    #2
    YEA!

    For a guy staring down the road of this entire thing in 10 days, I was glad to read this!  THANKS!

    Don (Beagledad)

  • ERomanO
    ERomanO Member Posts: 323 Member
    edited December 2020 #3
    When anyone feels better we

    When anyone feels better we all feel better!  So does this mean you are completely finished with your treatments?  It seems like you just introduced yourself not very long ago.

  • LASNYDER
    LASNYDER Member Posts: 15 Member
    edited December 2020 #4
    So Glad to hear!

    Mattie thats wonderful news. You are on you way to having all this behind you and on to a great 2021. Had my last treatment tuesday and hope that by next tuesday the pain from it all will start to fade. Getting iv fluids due to dehydration now. Still hoping to avoid peg tube which if pain tapers by monday I wiil not have inserted. Otherwise its going in. Pain swallowing is still a 8-10 and feels like someones pouring hot wax into my ears and down my throat. I suppose it could still get worse for a couple days but I am waiting for that morning I wake up and can say this morning was better than yesterday. Eat a piece of pizza or drink a pint for me- Cheers!

    Larry

  • Mattie65
    Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
    edited December 2020 #5
    BeagleDad said:

    YEA!

    For a guy staring down the road of this entire thing in 10 days, I was glad to read this!  THANKS!

    Don (Beagledad)

    Glad to comfort you …

    Happy to hear. I'm still far from good, yet. Neck burns, Taste is awful today, and I sense a bit of thrush in a corner of my mouth. Not certain. But it's fine.

    Only getting really fed up from the taste of those calorie drinks. ?

  • Mattie65
    Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
    #6
    ERomanO said:

    When anyone feels better we

    When anyone feels better we all feel better!  So does this mean you are completely finished with your treatments?  It seems like you just introduced yourself not very long ago.

    Yes, I am …

    … completely finished with the core treatment. When I introduced myself, I was already at 2/3 of treatment. Had been lurking for quite a while, until I started to participate. It's been 5 months, all in all.

  • Mattie65
    Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
    edited December 2020 #7
    LASNYDER said:

    So Glad to hear!

    Mattie thats wonderful news. You are on you way to having all this behind you and on to a great 2021. Had my last treatment tuesday and hope that by next tuesday the pain from it all will start to fade. Getting iv fluids due to dehydration now. Still hoping to avoid peg tube which if pain tapers by monday I wiil not have inserted. Otherwise its going in. Pain swallowing is still a 8-10 and feels like someones pouring hot wax into my ears and down my throat. I suppose it could still get worse for a couple days but I am waiting for that morning I wake up and can say this morning was better than yesterday. Eat a piece of pizza or drink a pint for me- Cheers!

    Larry

    Ugh, IV-fluids …

    Been on those for weeks. The worst part, in my opinion. Always hungry because the stomach is empty all the time. Had to watch my hospital companions eat delicious looking meals while I was fed from a bag of white liquid. Some of the worst days and I lost a lot of weight during that time.

    I really hope I will be able to eat that pizza and drink that pint pretty soon. I'm certain 2021 will be great, sitting outside, enjoying some treats. Burger and fries, maybe.

    I hope you'll be fine soon enough. Terrifying thought to me, not to be at the end of that journey. If someone had told me about what was expecting me, I would have been desperate and terrified. But when it's happening to you, you become rather pragmatic. Sorry to hear about the pain in your ears and throat. I believe this to be typical of chemo side effects. I am lucky to be, at least, free from pain. Just struggling to eat. Those calorie drinks are really horrible. But these are luxury problems, as we say here.

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,451 Member
    edited December 2020 #8
    LASNYDER & Mattie

    You guys are very close together and I wish you both continued recovery.

    Glad you can both help support each other and get support on this forum.

    LASNYDER the iv fluids usually help you feel better and here is hoping you can get through without a feeding tube since you got this far but i can't imagine the pain you are in swallowing.

    Mattie glad you don't have any pain just keep enough of the calorie drinks going in to stay even and not lose.

    OK guys-Take Care-God Bless-Merry Christmas-Russ

  • Mattie65
    Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
    #9
    wbcgaruss said:

    LASNYDER & Mattie

    You guys are very close together and I wish you both continued recovery.

    Glad you can both help support each other and get support on this forum.

    LASNYDER the iv fluids usually help you feel better and here is hoping you can get through without a feeding tube since you got this far but i can't imagine the pain you are in swallowing.

    Mattie glad you don't have any pain just keep enough of the calorie drinks going in to stay even and not lose.

    OK guys-Take Care-God Bless-Merry Christmas-Russ

    It's true

    I'm talking bad about the IV fluids, as I was about PEGs, and I shouldn't. Those things are there to save my life, just like the radiation treatment. I thought a couple of times about what an unthankful job Radiation Oncologist must be, given that many patients see this kind of doctor as someone who harms them.

    It's hard to see clearly when you're still in pain. I think it's also natural. I'll see things very differently in a couple of months, I'm sure — once the dust has settled, and I'm feeling normal again, whatever kind of normal it will be.

    Merry Christmas to you too, Russ.

  • Eileencj
    Eileencj Member Posts: 14
    #10
    Happy New Year everyone!  My

    Happy New Year everyone!  My husband had his last radiation on Dec 23rd. The only thing he can tolerate is ensure to drink and 2 swallow of food during meal times. His radiation burn on his neck is very tender. Can anyone recommend what he can use for the pain?  I will encourage  him to come on this site.  Thank you!

  • LASNYDER
    LASNYDER Member Posts: 15 Member
    edited December 2020 #11
    Eileencj said:

    Happy New Year everyone!  My

    Happy New Year everyone!  My husband had his last radiation on Dec 23rd. The only thing he can tolerate is ensure to drink and 2 swallow of food during meal times. His radiation burn on his neck is very tender. Can anyone recommend what he can use for the pain?  I will encourage  him to come on this site.  Thank you!

    Some tips- I just finished 6 weeks radiation

    Hi Eileen

    I just completed 6 weeks of chemo- cisplatin and radiation treatments to my neck- particularly vocal cords. Had stage 2/3 vocal cord cancer that recurred aftet 8 years.  What I can say is everyboday has differing side effects, I finished my last treatment Dec 22nd. Every morning I wake up hoping for even a modicum of pain to be gone- alas after 5 days no such relief yet. The pain is in the center of my throat behind my adams apple. Here is how I have managed to muddle through each day. 

    First thing when I wake up I take a swig of Magic Mouthwash to numb even if just a little of my vocal cord area so I can swallow all my pills. Stool Softener, Omeprozole, steroid etc. Look Up magic mouthwash- a compounding pharmacy can make for you. I use this before every smoothie also just to loosen up my esophagus for the swallowing process. 

    I can only eat smoothies made with 8 oz BOOST- VERY HIGH CALORIE, ( available on amazon) 4 oz milk and 4oz ice. Blend until smooth will be about 610 caloris in 16 oz. I drink 2 a day. I am able to maintain weight if I follow this food regimen. 

    I tried several things to control the swallowing pain- i have moderate luck but this is no doubt the worst part of the radiation. SEVERE pain started in week 4 and continues to this day. When cranky and swallowing I would rate it and 8-9 on the pain scale. 

    I have tried fast acting oxy, long lasting etc. Finally ended up in hospital the night of the 23rd dehydrated and had a great doc/nurse that have helped. I have a perscription for Dilaudid- 4 mg I believe- I take it every 5 Hours. At the 2.5 hr mark I switch to a advil/tylenol cocktail- 1000 mg tylenol and 400 advil. 

    I also was sent home with extra packs of Saline so I hook up a bag of saline in the morning and one in the evening to stay hydrated. Good friend is a doc and he showed me how to flush the line etc. Staying hydrated is so important. But it was so pianful to swallow I just wasnt getting enoogh fluids in. If your husband can get 2.5 liters of water in himself ontop of the smoothie he should be good unless he is a large man or something. 

    Food still tastes terrible but i dont care- once the pain from swallowing goes away I will be satisfied with eating and swallwing pain free and toss all the pain meds and IV's away. 

  • PipLily
    PipLily Member Posts: 127 Member
    edited December 2020 #12
    LASNYDER said:

    Some tips- I just finished 6 weeks radiation

    Hi Eileen

    I just completed 6 weeks of chemo- cisplatin and radiation treatments to my neck- particularly vocal cords. Had stage 2/3 vocal cord cancer that recurred aftet 8 years.  What I can say is everyboday has differing side effects, I finished my last treatment Dec 22nd. Every morning I wake up hoping for even a modicum of pain to be gone- alas after 5 days no such relief yet. The pain is in the center of my throat behind my adams apple. Here is how I have managed to muddle through each day. 

    First thing when I wake up I take a swig of Magic Mouthwash to numb even if just a little of my vocal cord area so I can swallow all my pills. Stool Softener, Omeprozole, steroid etc. Look Up magic mouthwash- a compounding pharmacy can make for you. I use this before every smoothie also just to loosen up my esophagus for the swallowing process. 

    I can only eat smoothies made with 8 oz BOOST- VERY HIGH CALORIE, ( available on amazon) 4 oz milk and 4oz ice. Blend until smooth will be about 610 caloris in 16 oz. I drink 2 a day. I am able to maintain weight if I follow this food regimen. 

    I tried several things to control the swallowing pain- i have moderate luck but this is no doubt the worst part of the radiation. SEVERE pain started in week 4 and continues to this day. When cranky and swallowing I would rate it and 8-9 on the pain scale. 

    I have tried fast acting oxy, long lasting etc. Finally ended up in hospital the night of the 23rd dehydrated and had a great doc/nurse that have helped. I have a perscription for Dilaudid- 4 mg I believe- I take it every 5 Hours. At the 2.5 hr mark I switch to a advil/tylenol cocktail- 1000 mg tylenol and 400 advil. 

    I also was sent home with extra packs of Saline so I hook up a bag of saline in the morning and one in the evening to stay hydrated. Good friend is a doc and he showed me how to flush the line etc. Staying hydrated is so important. But it was so pianful to swallow I just wasnt getting enoogh fluids in. If your husband can get 2.5 liters of water in himself ontop of the smoothie he should be good unless he is a large man or something. 

    Food still tastes terrible but i dont care- once the pain from swallowing goes away I will be satisfied with eating and swallwing pain free and toss all the pain meds and IV's away. 

    Hello...

    wishing you relief soon. Blessings to you!

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