Swallowing after treatment

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Vivi C
Vivi C Member Posts: 70
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I am two weeks post radiation treatment and was able to swallow until the last week of treament. Today for the first time in three weeks I tried to swallow and even though it hurt like crazy I was able to swallow a tablespoon of melted vanilla ice cream and a few sips of Ensure (yuck!). Even though I was able to swallow it, it is obvious that it is not doing down and is just sitting someplace and then it comes back up with my phlemg? Was that anyone's elses experience? I am not sure if I should continue to try to swallow or if somenthing is blocked and not letting the food go down. If you could share any similar experiences I would really appreciate it as I was so dissapointed. Thank you!

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  • Kent Cass
    Kent Cass Member Posts: 1,898 Member
    #2
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    Rule of thumb
    Is to keep trying to swallow. Rule of thumb is to keep swallowing thru treatment, if even only melted ice/water, to keep the muscles, etc., involved in the swallowing function active.

    kcass
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #3
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    Don't Stop
    Please do not stop swallowing. It is going to be hard but it will get better. I had the same problem. Little sips more often. I also found room temp drinks are much easier. The just sitting in one place will feel that way for sometime but again it will get better. One thing that helped a bunch with my phloem problem was using over the counter saline solution, tip your head back and spray in each nostril until you feel it in the back of your throat. This will loosen the phloem and help you spit it out and blow your nose. Do this before eating and drinking. It will also help you breath.

    Two weeks post treatment your radiation is continuing to work and will for a couple more weeks.

    Never never never give up!

    John
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #4
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    fisrpotpe said:

    Don't Stop
    Please do not stop swallowing. It is going to be hard but it will get better. I had the same problem. Little sips more often. I also found room temp drinks are much easier. The just sitting in one place will feel that way for sometime but again it will get better. One thing that helped a bunch with my phloem problem was using over the counter saline solution, tip your head back and spray in each nostril until you feel it in the back of your throat. This will loosen the phloem and help you spit it out and blow your nose. Do this before eating and drinking. It will also help you breath.

    Two weeks post treatment your radiation is continuing to work and will for a couple more weeks.

    Never never never give up!

    John

    another
    I forgot to share when swallowing. When you swallow and you think you are done add one or two more dry swallows. This will help your muscles tone up and work better. I learned this from my daughter who is a speech pathologists and was confirmed with one at a hospital.
  • micktissue
    micktissue Member Posts: 430
    #5
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    Keep swallowing
    Hi Vivi. I have a similar (albeit sightly worse) problem. I can swallow however I have a stricture that has completely closed off my esophagus. All my swallowing structures work, but nothing goes down. I cannot even swallow my own saliva/mucus. I cannot burp. Make sure your Dr/ENT/medial team knows about this so that an endoscopic intervention can keep a stricture from forming.

    Best,

    Mick
  • Fire34
    Fire34 Member Posts: 365
    #6
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    Swallowing
    Viv
    I am nine months post and things still feel and sometimes do, like they are getting stuck. Like they are just sitting there and I have to cough them up. I have a swallow study scheduled for later this month.
    I was able to keep the swallowing alive by exercises that were given to me during my consults and were done all thru treatment.
    I will agree about the taste of Ensure, LOL but that seemd like it was the only thing that kept me from losing more weight than I did. I had a peg, that made things a little easier though, but keep doing your exercises and you will get thru this.
    Best Wishes & Prayers on your recovery
    Dave
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #7
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    Hi Vivi


    I agree with everyone here you need to keep trying don’t give up even if you just try water, everyday it will get a little better.

    All the best to you
  • j3rey
    j3rey Member Posts: 57
    #8
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    swallowing
    Hi Vivi C
    I haven't been on the site in a while. Husband is about two months post treatment. We had a throat and neck physical therapist tell him that pulling his head forward to swallow will help retain swallow structures and guide things down the right way.
    Worth a try?
    Hope it helps.
    Jen
  • navvet
    navvet Member Posts: 2
    #9
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    j3rey said:

    swallowing
    Hi Vivi C
    I haven't been on the site in a while. Husband is about two months post treatment. We had a throat and neck physical therapist tell him that pulling his head forward to swallow will help retain swallow structures and guide things down the right way.
    Worth a try?
    Hope it helps.
    Jen

    Chloraseptic helped me...
    It has a numbing effect when sprayed to the back of the throat. It may reduce your swallowing pain so you can practice swallowing more often. Try to avoid getting it on your tongue though, as it will be the only thing you taste for a 1/2 hour.
    BTW I was not warned about how painful a sneeze would be. The first time I sneezed was very nearly a religious experience. :-) Intense and sustained pain like I had never imagined possible. It's hard to get used to, but try to regulate how you let the sneeze go. You will be OK, and you will be an even stronger person for the experience. Best Wishes.
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #10
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    navvet said:

    Chloraseptic helped me...
    It has a numbing effect when sprayed to the back of the throat. It may reduce your swallowing pain so you can practice swallowing more often. Try to avoid getting it on your tongue though, as it will be the only thing you taste for a 1/2 hour.
    BTW I was not warned about how painful a sneeze would be. The first time I sneezed was very nearly a religious experience. :-) Intense and sustained pain like I had never imagined possible. It's hard to get used to, but try to regulate how you let the sneeze go. You will be OK, and you will be an even stronger person for the experience. Best Wishes.

    Eeeeeek, the sneeze!
    The horrible dry 4-month-post-treatment no-saliva sneeze! It sounds and feels like a small explosion!

    Deb
  • Una
    Una Member Posts: 12
    #11
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    micktissue said:

    Keep swallowing
    Hi Vivi. I have a similar (albeit sightly worse) problem. I can swallow however I have a stricture that has completely closed off my esophagus. All my swallowing structures work, but nothing goes down. I cannot even swallow my own saliva/mucus. I cannot burp. Make sure your Dr/ENT/medial team knows about this so that an endoscopic intervention can keep a stricture from forming.

    Best,

    Mick

    Hi Mick
    Hi Mick. Sorry to hear about your problem. It sounds similar to my own. I had been seeing a speech therapist up until last week but it seems now like you I can swallow but an upper oesophical stricture is stopping any food going down. I got no indication of if this will improve. Have you made any progress since.
    Thanks

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