mouth sores

diane w
diane w Member Posts: 5
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My tongue on both sides has sores that hurt so much they look like white canker
sores, the ones that hurt the most are the ones on the left side of my mouth
where my molar tooth rubs against it.. i have been told they are from the
radiaiton not from chemo (erbitux) tomorrow will be my 20th radidation and
6th chemo then only one more chemo left.. i am drinking carnation shakes at
560 calories a shake, no feeding tube. use magic mouth wash and baking soda
and other expensive tubes of mouth rinse.. but nothing helps the sores
any suggestions PLEASE.. i have not lost any weight but i am sure that is coming
thanks to all for your support
diane w from wisconsin or e mail me at
rlwcpa@execpc.com

Comments

  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #2
    mouth sores
    Diane- I had canker sores, post-treatment, on both sides of my tongue- caused by the tongue rubbing against exposed bone below both (side's) lower back teeth. And I was told there is no cure for them/canker sores, but was given a prescription to apply: Triamcinolone Acetonide. But that was post-treatment. IF YOU ARE STILL GOING THRU TREATMENT- I can't see anybody being able to advise you- this is in your Onco/rad Dr's. jurisdiction.

    Baking soda? Not sure about that. Who advised that? And other mouth rinses? Possibly you are giving the tissue of the mouth and tongue too much to deal with. My radiation Dr. only advised salt water, and my Onco had me on magic mouthwash and Nystatin. That's it. At the end of the 1st week I developed the mouth sores that even extended out onto my lower lip, and I had "scalding" on my tongue, but only used the forementioned to treat those physical symptoms.

    Will send you an email w/further info.

    Believe you can endure this, diane, and you will. Believe.

    kcass
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #3
    I get sores
    Diane

    I'm at end of round 2 induction chemo. I got sores both rounds so far. round 1 lasted a few days - round 2 a week. Very painful, but cleared quickly when they started clearing. I rinse with a water/salt/baking soda mixture. I also used what my dr calls "Miles Mixture" (doesnt' seem to work as wellfor me as people here report on "Miracle Mouthwash"). My dr. ssaid nothing but time would heal the sores. I was even on IV antibiotics when I had the sores round 2. I read someone's post here praising a product called "Debaterol" for mouth sores. I asked one of my doctors about it, and he'd never heard of it.

    Good luck
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #4
    Sores
    Don’t get too worried the sores sounds normal for someone in your stage of the fight. It is had to say if the radiation or the Chemo is the one giving the problem as they both do a lot of damage. Make sure you inform your doctors about the sores each time you see them, and make them take a look, what you don’t want is a fungus to start growing in your mouth. The sores will come and go with treatments or at lease that is how I remember it. All I had was the magic mouth wash, I could not take is straight so I would water it down and use it as a spray

    I am glad to hear you are still able to drink stuff and that you have not lost any weight that is good news. Take care and keep us up-dated on your progress
  • ratface
    ratface Member Posts: 1,337 Member
    #5
    Pam M said:

    I get sores
    Diane

    I'm at end of round 2 induction chemo. I got sores both rounds so far. round 1 lasted a few days - round 2 a week. Very painful, but cleared quickly when they started clearing. I rinse with a water/salt/baking soda mixture. I also used what my dr calls "Miles Mixture" (doesnt' seem to work as wellfor me as people here report on "Miracle Mouthwash"). My dr. ssaid nothing but time would heal the sores. I was even on IV antibiotics when I had the sores round 2. I read someone's post here praising a product called "Debaterol" for mouth sores. I asked one of my doctors about it, and he'd never heard of it.

    Good luck

    Providone iodine diluted 7-15%
    I used providone iodine diluted 7-15 % as a mouthwash gargle and had only two mouth sores the entire time. The stuff is used for topical surgery preparation and wound care. I have been gargling with iodine most of my life whenever I got a bad tonsil infection or cold. Works great. My oncologist looked at me funny but never told me to stop, said he might have to start recommending it to others. It won't hurt you properly diluted as long as you don't swallow the stuff. Buy it anywhere and its cheap. use a large water bottle and mix to a color of dark to medium tea. gargle several times a day and after any food intake. Spit the stuff out when done.
  • fishingirl
    fishingirl Member Posts: 188
    #6
    ratface said:

    Providone iodine diluted 7-15%
    I used providone iodine diluted 7-15 % as a mouthwash gargle and had only two mouth sores the entire time. The stuff is used for topical surgery preparation and wound care. I have been gargling with iodine most of my life whenever I got a bad tonsil infection or cold. Works great. My oncologist looked at me funny but never told me to stop, said he might have to start recommending it to others. It won't hurt you properly diluted as long as you don't swallow the stuff. Buy it anywhere and its cheap. use a large water bottle and mix to a color of dark to medium tea. gargle several times a day and after any food intake. Spit the stuff out when done.

    When I had sores inside of
    When I had sores inside of my mouth I was told to use salt and baking soda mixed in water and swirl and spit. I was told to do that often through the day. It seemed to work for me. They will eventually go away. But I know...in the meantime, it's very uncomfortable. Hope this helps:)

    Cindy
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #7
    I get sores
    Diane

    I'm at end of round 2 induction chemo. I got sores both rounds so far. round 1 lasted a few days - round 2 a week. Very painful, but cleared quickly when they started clearing. I rinse with a water/salt/baking soda mixture. I also used what my dr calls "Miles Mixture" (doesnt' seem to work as wellfor me as people here report on "Miracle Mouthwash"). My dr. ssaid nothing but time would heal the sores. I was even on IV antibiotics when I had the sores round 2. I read someone's post here praising a product called "Debacterol" for mouth sores. I asked one of my doctors about it, and he'd never heard of it.

    Good luck
  • delnative
    delnative Member Posts: 450 Member
    #8
    Thrush?
    Are you sure you don't have thrush? The fact that you described these as "white" made me wonder. If that's what you've got, it's easily treated with various anti-fungal prescription meds -- but it sure is miserable until you get rid of it.
    Good luck!

    --Jim in Delaware
  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #9
    delnative said:

    Thrush?
    Are you sure you don't have thrush? The fact that you described these as "white" made me wonder. If that's what you've got, it's easily treated with various anti-fungal prescription meds -- but it sure is miserable until you get rid of it.
    Good luck!

    --Jim in Delaware

    Thrush
    I was on Nystatin for the Thrush, which is a yeast infection. Periodontist and Onco spoke of the two in the same breath, like that's how they deal with.

    kcass
  • SASH
    SASH Member Posts: 421 Member
    #10
    Kent Cass said:

    Thrush
    I was on Nystatin for the Thrush, which is a yeast infection. Periodontist and Onco spoke of the two in the same breath, like that's how they deal with.

    kcass

    Thrush
    I prefer Diflucan for thrush as it is a once a day pill and doesn't taste bad like the Nystatin. Just my opinion, but both worked for me.
  • Landranger25
    Landranger25 Member Posts: 210 Member
    #11
    SASH said:

    Thrush
    I prefer Diflucan for thrush as it is a once a day pill and doesn't taste bad like the Nystatin. Just my opinion, but both worked for me.

    Diflucan
    My oncologist prescribed the Diflucan for each chemo as a preventative for thrush. I never got it but had terrible sores on my tongue and a very sore mouth and lips. Was not exactly easy to swallow a pill just then but I managed to get it down.I think the scrip was for 3-5 days in a row.

    Mike
  • RockyJim
    RockyJim Member Posts: 4 Member
    #12
    Thrush and Mouth Sores
    My medical oncologist thought Thrush as what was behind my mouth sores. I've had severe mouth sores through my treatment and they've been the worst part of this.

    I had bouts of the sores during induction chemo where the sores went away, but since then and starting chemo-radiation they've come back and are lingering.

    For Thrush, my doctors prescribed Famclovir/Famvir and Flouconozole. That seemed to have helped, but like I said, the sores came back.

    For rinses, I've used the salt+baking soda rinse frequently through the day and with tooth-brushing. I've used"BMX" (Benadryl, Maalox and Benzocaine) with some effect. For just topical relief "OraMagic" and UlcerEase" did help.

    Have never tried the Povidone Iodine dilute rinse.

    All the above said, I do still have mouth sores and do hope they go away soon.
  • kit0
    kit0 Member Posts: 9
    #13
    caphosol
    what you are describing sounds like mucositis. 2 wks into rad treatment my husband had it everywhere in his mouth, on his gums, tongue, lips, etc. it was extremely painful, but found some relief by rinsing regularly with Caphosol, its a Rx to treat mucositis, and alternate with salt/baking soda 1/2 tsp each mixed with 38oz water. He also would use a cotton swab and apply the magic mouthwash directly to the sores. The lidocaine will numb it for some temp. relief. You can try that during eating and reapply as needed so that you can finish your meal. It will heal in time. Seems to me like each sore took approx. 2 wks to heal for him. You are doing a great job with the shakes, keep it up and hopefully you will not need a feeding tube. Hang in there.

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