Soreness to esophegus after radiation.

radiation esophagitis
I too suffered from not being able to eat or drink due to extreme pain in esophagus. after several months I finally saw a gastroenterologist who scooped me and found several ulcers on my esophagus along with thickening due to radiation. He put me on a soft, liquid diet for 2 wks. cream of wheat very thin, soft boiled egg, egg custard, soft mashed potato, potato soup without lumps, carnation instant breakfast was good. use the magic mouthwash if it helps.by the 3rd wk I was able to tolerate other things in tiny increments. take it easy as it will improve slowly. I was down to 114lbs from 150. I slowly gained the weight back, plus.
I was put on Nexium during that time and am still on it. as I recall the gasto doc prescribed a lo dose morphine patch which helped. it took about one year to feel like my old self again. it does get better so don't give up. take one day at a time.
hope this helps you

dewing57 said:

Burns like the devil
I try to eat this kind of food but it burns going down. I have tries Marion's Magic Potion with no luck. I also swallow a lot of air with liquids and solids alike. Then by the end of the day I feel like I have a lump at the top of my throat and eventually I throw up. Any advice on that?

Thanks.

been there
Hi Dewing, Aside from the burning from radiation (luckily mine was not severe) acid reflux can also cause burning, the 'lump' feeling and throwing up. I get it in spurts; I take antacids and don't eat before bed. Maybe check with your doc on what kind is best for you.
Good Luck!
Medi

Arvell said:

Swallowing
I sure know what you are going thru with the swallowing. I too had the same problem after my third week of seven radiation treatments. I actually became dehydrated and wasn't able to eat enough to avoid anemia. After a couple of trips to the hospital I was able to start eating Ramen noodles and scrambled eggs. I also was able to eat chicken noodle soup and tolerate it pretty well.
I now am able to swallow with few problems and and eating most anything I want. It seems it took about six weeks after my last radiation treatment for my swallowing to return to normal. Hang in there it will get better or at least it did for me. The magic mouthwash didnt work for me...

My mom dealt with the same
My mom dealt with the same thing. She is almost 3 months post radiation and she has always been so thin we were scared of this side effect. She weighs at the most 95 lbs and so it was my mission to keep her eating and gaining weight.

A few of the things we did...
I made many batches of homemade mashed potatoes with a lot of full fat butter and milk. It was bland and went down smooth. We also made a lot of carrots and drenched them in butter - a plus was vitamins and fat! She was able to tolerate all plain chicken and chicken soup with mild seasoning. Luckily she loves bread and butter, so we bought her fresh loaves of bread all the time and made sure she had some bread and butter with lunch and dinner. She did eat cream of wheat through chemo and radiation, and that's another thing you can load up with butter and maybe even top with a little brown sugar.

I was very persistent that she take a supplement called whey protein. If you're not sure what it is, it is a protein powder that you can get and mix it into things to gain weight. Of course always ask your dr before trying anything. She didn't like it that much but knew she needed to keep her weight up. It is a lot of protein per serving and you can mix it into things like the mashed potatoes, milk, ice cream, Wendy's frostys and milkshakes. At a certain point we were filling my mom up with anything that had loads of calories.

This weekend is 2.5 months since she finished radiation and she was able to eat a mild spaghetti sauce. Even if you can't eat sauce, you can make pasta and then put butter and parm cheese on top and that tastes great. We also used alfredo sauce from a suggestion I picked up here.

It will ease up eventually. My mom still takes an acid reducer, but she manages. Hang in there and think of all the fattening stuff you might be able to tolerate and eat it! Good luck!

me too
I am having issues with swallowing as well. I completed radiation about 3 weeks ago. I tried so many of these suggestions and some worked, some didn't. The Magic Mouthwash doesn't last long and it upset my stomach. My doc prescribed me liquid loritab along with 600 mg ibuprofen 3x a day, which last longer. It taste awful, but it works. I am now only taking the ibuprofen. What I can swallow easily and what is difficult is so bizarre. I can not eat red meat at all, I vomit. Same with protein drinks like Boost and Ensure, even Carnation Instant Breakfast drinks. Anything cold gives me a "brainfreeze" in my chest. However, if I take very small bites of yogurt or ice cream (just enough on the tip of the spoon), I can get it down without pain. I eat jello, waffles, applesauce and rice ALOT! I also drink 2-3 2oz of aloe juice every day. I try to take it before each meal. It coats the throat and also helps with constipation. As for acid reflux, as someone else said, don't eat before bedtime. I had it real bad for about a week and found if I did not lay down for at least 1/2 hour after eating, it helped. That can be challenging when you are facing tiredness as well, but it will help. You can also try drinking through a straw, it helped me as well.
I don't know the results of all my treatments yet, but I congratulate you on the shrinking. I am hopeful for favorable results which I will get at the end of the month.
Please don't eat the dog, you'll get indigestion for sure with all that hair! Hang in there and know we are all pulling for you and this too shall end.
Best of luck
Nat

Soreness to esophagus
We're experiencing the same problems (swallowing and burning sensation). My doctor has put me on TPN (total parenteral nutrition), i.e., feeding through IV. This is a home care service where a nurse will come to your home to do initial set up. This way, I am still able to take in minimum amount of nutrients.