Day 12 - Pain and what I ate today

fbcuthguy said:

Cookies! Seriously!
Mick-

I had treatment 14 today. The worst moment of the cycle for me so far was the day the Girl Scout brought over my Thin Mints & I couldn't eat them! I finally crushed a sleeve up in milk & forced it down just for pride's sake! I'm down about 5 pounds this week. I have PEG supplies coming tomorrow. Soup & other equally smooth things are all that's going down for me now. They tell me I'm still doing well compared to most. I'll take their word for it. I haven't had to take any real pain meds yet, so I'll call that a victory.

Keep eating. That's my goal. There are obviously several of us in this together. It helps to hear how others are doing!

Rob

rob
you are doing well if you are still taking in things by mouth. make sure you get the calories in your PEG if you don't get enough in by mouth. no pain meds yet is pretty darn good. hope you keep doing well!

best of luck.

micktissue said:

Rob - more cookies
Hey Rob. Bummer about the cookies. I am fortunate I guess in that my symptoms aren't too bad yet. yesterday was treatment day 13 and I do have MAJOR PAIN on swallowing and tons of mouth sores, but I do not have a PEG so I am super motivated to eat what I can. Yesterday a friend brought over animal cookies, to my wife's disappointment, but I'm eating them AND I ate 1/2 pint of B&J mint chocolate cookie AND I gained .5lbs!

I did get morphine yesterday mostly because my wife can't stand to watch me eat (lots of wincing and cursing) and she insisted. We'll see how long I can do this with little other than tylenol and motivation. My weight will be the measure.

Best,

Mick

Animal crackers in my soup
Hey, Mick!

Great to get an update. Your blog has been silent for a couple of days and I've missed you. I picked up a couple of boxes of Girl Scout cookies last night, along with some Haagen Dazs Mint Chip and Rocky Road to supplement the Haagen Dazs Vanilla Honey Bee already on hand. I'm wondering if "no peg" is becoming a trend. Yesterday, my ENT, Med Onco, and Rads Onco all expressed the opinion that a peg wasn't needed in my case, owing to where the radiation fields were going to fall. I'm going to email my team captain at Stanford today to see if he concurs. Chef did mention the other day something about "fentanyl lollipops" and how effective they were to quickly stop mouth and throat pain. I've already asked for them to be ordered for me, because I'd rather treat the pain directly than to apply a patch or take a pill and wait for it to kick in. Yesterday, I got my head, neck and shoulders melted and shrink-wrapped to the table underneath a mask that reminded me a lot of the upper lid of King Tut's sarcophagus. So far, still on track for the March 15 launch date.

warmly,

Deb L.

MaryRC said:

Hi Mick and Deb
Hi Mick, I didnt know you didnt get the PEG tube. I dont really want one either though I will if the doctor says too. I dont know whats going to happen yet since I am still waiting for the surgery!!!! Last week my 6 boxes of girlscout cookies came and they are all gone now. I think I ate a good portion of them. I told everyone it might be awhile before I can eat cookies again. Since I havent eaten sweets and saturated fats in a long time they kind of made me sick to stomach but I enjoyed them while I was eating!
Deb and Mick, and Steve too, I think of you guys and want it all to go well for you.
Mary

Mick
Mick, I left a message on your other thread. Denis

staceya said:

eating
Tommorrow will be rad 31 of 35! Today I ate solid food for the first time in a week!!
A bit of mac and cheese, and it even sort of tasted like mac and cheese. I am so grateful, I could cry.

Wow, Staceya
I know how you feel - I'll be doing 29 of 35 tomorrow. Got no flavor on mac and cheese a couple weeks ago - glad you can taste it. Had 4 bites of chili tonight - I could taste it, but it burned, and my body has considered getting rid of it ever since.

One more week - good to hear. Hope is passes quickly for you.

sweetblood22 said:

staceya and pam
you girls are getting to the home stretch. i am so glad that you can at least eat some food still. i wish the very best to you both. it was such a relief to get to the end and know that while you still have to deal with the side effects, at least they are no longer cooking you. hang in there, we are all pulling for you.

Staceya / Pam
I have to second what sweet just said, I am amazed at how good you are both doing and to know you are now on your way to the finish line.

All the best to both of you.

sweetblood22 said:

staceya and pam
you girls are getting to the home stretch. i am so glad that you can at least eat some food still. i wish the very best to you both. it was such a relief to get to the end and know that while you still have to deal with the side effects, at least they are no longer cooking you. hang in there, we are all pulling for you.

Sweetblood and Hondo
Thanks for your encouragement. I read your messages while dreading going in to the office. I've only been working part time, and I was "let go" at work (position terminated) at the the end of Feb. Well, the DOO and second in charge realized I do several things that no one else knows how to do, so asked if I'd be willing to come in and do some things (to get them ready for an audit at the end of March), and teach the DOO and remaining office workers how to do some others. My energy levels have plummeted, and last week I only got in about 12 hours (but not getting 12 hours of wrk done - I'm much slower); I HAVE to make it in this week, but can only do a couple hours at a time. So, it helped to hear you say I'm doing well when I'm trying to get up the gumption to hit the office. I'll be finished this week at my "old" job. I haven't even applied for unemployment yet - glad I can do that online.