finished chemo & rad - a copy of questions

jim108
jim108 Member Posts: 34 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

completed 5 / 6 chemo (taxol & carbostatin) on 11/16/21 & 33 rads on 12/2/21. the last day i dd 2 sessions, i was having trouble getting in due to floods; one hospital stay which found blood clots in my lungs, very low WBC (which has resolved) & some sort of infection. i'm on a fentanyl patch & oxy pills.

?: i'm having very intense burning on my mouth; sometimes my mouth is wet and at night gets very dry. (I have a cpap which gives me heated air). last night and 2 nights before I threw up after taking a couple of pils (one at a time) - i think because it was too dry in my throat. i sip water as much as i can and before i take a single pill. i spray with biotene dry mouth moisturizing spray. (the mouthwash at night makes everything sting very badly). I'm sipping on water and protein drinks through the day.

  1. Ideas on managing the dry throat so I don't throw up?
  2. chemo doc said it will take 6 weeks before i can stop home precautions: flushing the toilet twice, not sharing glasses, towels, etc; washing clothes separate; etc. what has been your experience about this - just seems a little long to me...

Comments

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,465 Member
    edited December 2021 #2

    Hello Jim.

    As far as the dry throat, you say you are drinking all the time and using spray the only other thing I can recommend for dry mouth is Xylimelt tablets. I use them and they may help your situation. I buy them online at eBay but there are many other places to get them. Some pharmacies carry them.

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    I think the best thing you can do for now to take your pills is go to the grocery store and get apple sauce and stop off at your local pharmacy and get yourself a cheap pill crusher, I have one and they work great. If you are taking capsules just open them and dump them in and mix around and if you are taking hard pills use the crusher and grind them up and put them in the apple sauce. An easy way for people who have trouble swallowing or getting pills stuck or in your case whatever is causing you to throw up this may get your pills down mixed with a sauce-type fruit. I guess you could use pudding too or whatever suits. I do this with all my pills except the smaller thyroid pills I take because I was experiencing the risk of getting pills stuck in my throat and that was no fun.

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    Also as far as how long to protect from chemo at home I found 2 sources pretty quick in a search and one says do what you are doing for 48 hours and the other source says 48-72 hours. I will put the links of both down below.

    One is called Roswell Park Cancer Center

    https://www.roswellpark.org/cancer-care/treatments/cancer-drugs/post-chemo-guide


    The other is The American Cancer Society.

    https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/chemotherapy/chemotherapy-safety.html


    I hope this info helps you in some way-Wishing You The Best-Take Care-God Bless-Russ

  • Remington25
    Remington25 Member Posts: 93 Member
    #3

    I would simply echo what Russ has laid out. My wife crushed pills and placed them in very high calorie boost shakes. The low-dose fentanyl patches helped me over a 9 day stretch that was my absolute worst so hopefully you experience the same. The pain was still pretty bad but it allowed me to swallow enough to get some nutrition and medicine down.

    I'm not sure if you have tried this, but I had no luck with magic mouthwash and actually it made me feel worse and almost everyone else has recommended it so please try if you are allowed.

    Xylimelts are typically available at CVS and Walgreens if you have those nearby to get them quickly. I ordered off of amazon. They helped me get through the night better. I was fortunate that I only had to use them about 3 months post treatment and then I adapted and a slight amount of saliva came back.

    I hope you start to progress better sooner than later. My first 2 weeks post radiation were the worst and then started to improve. I tell people my treatment (which was shorter than yours) was like a volcano building and it erupted the day after my last double rad treatment and then flowed lava for 2 weeks hard.

    My wife was amazing. She helped when needed, pushed me to drink my water and shakes, kept a medicine schedule and also left me alone when I just needed to be left alone. I hope you have friends/family that can do the same.

  • motorcycleguy
    motorcycleguy Member Posts: 483 Member
    #4

    Jim,

    I feel for you, buddy - the first weeks after completing treatment were some of the roughest for me.

    I think it's especially tough, because you just want the whole thing to be OVER, and it takes a few more weeks to get there...

    All I can say, is hang in there - as there WILL come a day when you look back on it all.

    In the meantime, it appears you're actively asking for advice here on CSN, and also getting some answers from your Oncology team. So, it sounds like you're good about communicating what's going on. You certainly should continue to make sure they're addressing what you're experiencing!

    I wish you the best - and I hope you turn the corner soon. I look forward to hearing good news from you - in the near future!

    MG

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