just wanted to say hi!!!

MarineE5 said:

Baking Soda and Salt Solution
Charles,

Yes, you are correct, everything tastes like S*** at the stage you are at. My taste left me about the 4th treatment. All food tasted like cardboard and the liquids tasted like aluminum, Yuck. But the most important part of that is to continue to take in the number of calories you need daily. At the present time, multiply your current weight by 12 and that is the number of calories you need to take in, to maintain your weight.

Baking Soda and Salt solution. I swear by this as I didn't take any pain med's until about week 5. And even at that time, my Radiation Oncologist said for me to stay ahead of the pain that will eventually come. I was told by the Nurses to put 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt in 1 quart of room temperature water, mix, then rinse and gargle at least 3 times a day with it and it was suppose to help with the discomfort in my mouth and throat. I tend to over do things. The solution made my mouth semi-numb and took the edge off of the discomfort. So, not being able to taste it anyway.

I increased the amounts to 1 tablespoon of each in the quart of water. And I rinsed and gargled as often as every 30 minutes. Allowing some of the solution to slide down my throat and it really helped me. At week 4 or 5 when I visited the Radiation Oncologist, he asked me how many pain pills I was on per day. I told him I hadn't started taking any yet. He looked in my mouth and said " You know you have sores the size of quarters in there ? "

I said yes, but I am using a higher dose of baking soda and salt and using it every half hour. He started taking notes : ). I did start to take the pain med's which was neuroten (SP ) and the pain did come for a short period for me, roughly 3 weeks and I weaned off the pain med's and continued with the baking soda until the sores were gone.

My Best to You and Everyone Here

D Lewis said:

Baking soda/salt solution worked for me as well
I'm with MarineE5 on this one. The recipe I was given was one teaspoon salt and one teaspoon baking soda in one CUP of water. Cut the mucous, and calmed the sores very quickly. I still use it several times a day for mucous ( 1-1/2 week post treatment). I also used the hydrocodone solution (one tablespoonful every six hours) as needed for pain, and frankly, I never used it continuously. There was a period I used it every night before I went to bed, but I never needed it round-the-clock. Not using it now. I also had a form of the magic mouthwash - benadryl, lidocaine and malox - for mouth sores, also very effective. That stuff can be swallowed, but I mostly swished, rinsed, and spit. Mouth sores are healing up nicely, so I haven't used that one for the past week.

Keep up the good fight, Irishgypsie!

Deb

dennis318 said:

Hope this helps
I gained some of my taste back....Creme Soups where a comeback, Wierd too, things I thought I would never eat, I started to eat, I gave up coffee. bummer, I loved the stuff, Choclate, at first I gae it up, Mt favorite thing is Cream of Wheat, sugar and half and halft anf Butter. Old Time Chicken Noodle soup, crackers and butter, The diced peach cups are good, Hots Dogs are good, please use caution, if it isn't small enough you chokelike @#$!, and I gag. Grits, Cheese and Butter, And Malts made with Ensure, Add whole Milk..Like I said I gained 7 lbs finally, they where more afraid of my weight loss than the cancer taking my life....Hope this helps, let you go. Take Care. Dennis

Joel4 said:

Sounds Good
Charles,

Sounds like things are going pretty well for you. Keep that positive attitude and I'll keep praying for you.