Made it through 1st week

Hi Steve
It's great to hear from you and I'm glad you made it through week 1. As for the mouth sores, be sure to bring this up with your oncology nurse. Mouth sores or a sore throat is no fun and will have an impact on your ability to eat and get adequate nutrition. I never got sores, but instead had thrush, a yeast infection in my mouth. It was awful, but they gave me a prescription mouthwash called "Magic Mouthwash" and that took care of it. You may want to try frequent swishes with tepid water and baking soda until you can get a prescription remedy. I would also suggest using Biotene toothpaste, which will not cause stinging in your mouth like regular toothpaste. Please keep us updated on how things are going. I wish you a smooth journey with minimal side effects. Take care.

Congratulations to you on surviving the 1st week!
Congrats! One week down Thanks for the info also, this will be my first week, so it's nice knowing what you are experiencing....

Cathy

z said:

steve
Steve, After I read the others posts, I did have mouth sores also from the 1st chemo week, they came out in the second week of treatment. At that time I had meds to treat them. They took about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to go away. Like the others said use the magic mouth and any other meds they give you to treat them, if you get them. Lori

Steve
Congrats on completing week one. The bad taste in the mouth goes away but usually post treatment. I think I got my taste buds back about 6 weeks or so after treatment. Ginger ale is the only thing that tasted good to me and it helped to settle my stomach. I rinsed my mouth 4 - 5 times a day with baking soda and water and used Abreva on my lips when I felt a cold sore coming on. Seemed to work for me, I didn't get any sores.

Fatigue will set in and my advice is to listen to your body and rest when you need to. It was hard for me because I was always on the go. But I learned that to listen to my body and took naps and watched brainless television shows. Also, drink ALOT of water, very important to keep your kddneys functioning well.

I also used a calendar and marked off the days. Helped me see the progress.

It will pass faster than you think.

Healing thoughts and prayers to you!
Liz

steve714 said:

week 2 was hell
Man how did you all do it??? My 2nd week put me in the hospital. My mouth went far south on me and I could not eat or drink anything! After 4 days of IV fluids they let me out. Im glad to say my thirst and the ability to drink came back. I still can not eat anything and that is starting to scare me. Dr says keep with the soups and ensure and be calm taste will come back. I just didnt expect to lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks!!!I think I would have given up if you'all hadnt been kind enough to share your stories. God bless all of you and I think of you daily.

Wow, Steve, it sounds like
Wow, Steve, it sounds like you went through the wringer on week 2! I'm so sorry to hear of all your side effects and hospitalization. I'm glad you are able to take in fluids again, as this is SO very important! A 20 pound weight loss in 2 weeks is not good, so I hope you can up the calories now. Fortify those protein drinks with extra calories by adding whey powder or Instant Breakfast, or make shakes with soy milk and ice cream (if you can tolerate the cold). Yogurt will give you some protein also and should be easy on your mouth. You should see some improvement with the mouth sores before the next round of chemo. During the second round, do frequent swishes of water and salt or baking soda, and if you don't already have it, the prescription Magic Mouthwash or Diflucan. Take care and keep us posted on how things are going. I hope round 2 is kinder to you.

steve714 said:

week 2 was hell
Man how did you all do it??? My 2nd week put me in the hospital. My mouth went far south on me and I could not eat or drink anything! After 4 days of IV fluids they let me out. Im glad to say my thirst and the ability to drink came back. I still can not eat anything and that is starting to scare me. Dr says keep with the soups and ensure and be calm taste will come back. I just didnt expect to lose 20 lbs in 2 weeks!!!I think I would have given up if you'all hadnt been kind enough to share your stories. God bless all of you and I think of you daily.

Hi Steve - we're thinking of you
Steve,

I just wanted to let you know that we are all thinking of you and sending positive thoughts your way. I was sorry to hear that you had such a rough Week 2. I hope the IV fluids they gave you have helped to get you feeling a little better.

We are here for you - even if you just need to vent about things.

Take care.

Chris

steve714 said:

Thanks for positive thoughts!!
Wow never thought Id be so excited about eating mac and cheese but I did and I am, Most foods still no flavor but at least I have one thing I can taste now! Dr says he needs to revaluate future chemo rounds since I reacted soo strongly to this round, Thanks to all for the encouragement IT HELPS! Im going to the kitchen and taste a few things lol steve

Hi Steve
Yay for mac & cheese! I'm glad you have found something you can eat that actually has some taste. I ate a lot of that too while I was in treatment. I also ate a lot of those instant lunch Ramen noodle things. I think I liked them because they were very salty and I could taste salt. I ate a lot of canned soup too and to this day, I can't even look at a can of Campbells! Keep eating whatever you can, keep up with the fluids and plenty of rest. I hope your doc can dial in better on your next round of chemo so you don't repeat round one's experience! Please keep us posted and take care.