1 week post rads

RogerRN43
RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Hopefully my swallowing is as worse as it gets, I can still swallow water but it is a chore to drink my feeds and I recently discovered I could syringe a whole can via my stomach tube if I split it into 2 sessions, 1 hour apart. I used to take a 2-3 hours dripping it through the feed bag and it gave me heartburn that way, so I have since abandoned that method as it just takes too much time to get one can in while I sit or lie immobilized in one place. Not sure why that was because syringing it in gives me no trouble.

I want to start swallowing real food and I am not sure when these rads are going to settle down. Relying on supplements and water is real downer. I will continue to try to sip my feeds but my mouth/teeth start to feel caked up. I have to admit, keeping up with mouth care everyday is very difficult, especially in the evening when I start to feel bad every night, throat is more sore, more mucus and coughing. I almost dread the evening.

I hear rads keep working anywhere from 2-6 weeks post treatment. When did you start or were able to drink or eat anything else after rads?

Comments

  • RogerRN43
    RogerRN43 Member Posts: 185
    #2
    PEG
    Forgot to mention, I have one of those narrow stomach tubes so I cannot put real food pureed into it. It would just clog and I would require a hospital stay to have it exchanged as they would do it under some type of MRI procedure like last time.
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #3
    Thinning
    Not sure exactly what sort of bag you have, but if by syringe you mean the sort of large plastic thing you stick into the tube that looks like a syringe, I am with you there. Mine came with a valve for flow control, which was helpful, and two beakers. I was supposed to down two cans of Jevity three times a day. The nurses showed me how to do it using a plunger for the syringe, and this was slow and, frankly, a pain.

    I solved it by adding one can of 'feed' to each beaker and filling the remainder with water. By thinning it this way it flowed much more quickly and I no longer needed the plunger, with the bonus of supplying some additional hydration. Even if you don't have beakers, of course, you can thin the feed by mixing with water in a tall glass.

    Hope this helps.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #4
    Roger
    I am now about 6 weeks post rads. My throat is still sore especially at night but I think I am past the rad peak because it has not gotten any worse for at least a couple of weeks. I am just surprised at how long post rads this takes. I am gaining taste but no saliva. I bet in a couple of weeks you will feel much better, at least to the point of being able to take liquid supplements orally. I still rely on Ensure for part of my diet even though I can eat solids. It just is not very appealing when every bite needs to be washed down. My wife has been making smoothies and great soups using a Vitamix. I have never tasted such silky cream soups in my life and they slide down real good.
    Take care,
    John
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #5
    So weird how every one is different.
    I had to let mine drip in slowly, I could not use he syringe because I would have uncontrollable nausea and heart burn.


    Jtl, don't you just love those velvety smooth soups. Some nights, when I don't feel like working so hard eating my dinner, I justice soup and blitz it in my healthmaster. Easy to swallow, and nutritious.
  • jtl
    jtl Member Posts: 456
    #6
    sweetblood22 said:

    So weird how every one is different.
    I had to let mine drip in slowly, I could not use he syringe because I would have uncontrollable nausea and heart burn.


    Jtl, don't you just love those velvety smooth soups. Some nights, when I don't feel like working so hard eating my dinner, I justice soup and blitz it in my healthmaster. Easy to swallow, and nutritious.

    Soup
    Soooooo good. We even made what started as a traditional shrimp chowder and ended up putting it into the blender to get that creamy texture. Very easy to swallow, actually feels good in the mouth and throat. Smoothies are pretty darn good also, trying to have a different variey every morning.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #7
    jtl said:

    Soup
    Soooooo good. We even made what started as a traditional shrimp chowder and ended up putting it into the blender to get that creamy texture. Very easy to swallow, actually feels good in the mouth and throat. Smoothies are pretty darn good also, trying to have a different variey every morning.

    I went through my smoothie a
    I went through my smoothie a day phase for over a year. Kinda sick of smoothies now. Only have them occasionally now. More as a meal replacement if I'm on the go.
  • KTeacher
    KTeacher Member Posts: 1,103
    #8
    Food, yum
    I had made plans to go to a presentation at the end of October, I called ahead to find out what was on the menu thinking that I would need to bring my own liquid food. I met my sister and a friend the day before and went to a restaurant for lunch. I figured soup if nothing else--to my surprise, I was able to eat, granted there was a lot of sauce, but it was food and it tasted so good. I believe I was 2 weeks post. I never had a feeding tube, was never offered one. I was able to eat Wonton soup and smoothies during treatment and of course my magic mineral broth. Lots of yogurt, tapioca, applesauce.
  • Marty36
    Marty36 Member Posts: 84
    #9
    KTeacher said:

    Food, yum
    I had made plans to go to a presentation at the end of October, I called ahead to find out what was on the menu thinking that I would need to bring my own liquid food. I met my sister and a friend the day before and went to a restaurant for lunch. I figured soup if nothing else--to my surprise, I was able to eat, granted there was a lot of sauce, but it was food and it tasted so good. I believe I was 2 weeks post. I never had a feeding tube, was never offered one. I was able to eat Wonton soup and smoothies during treatment and of course my magic mineral broth. Lots of yogurt, tapioca, applesauce.

    Eating Out is a Good Distraction
    I never had huge problems with eating and swallowing, but I know eating out really helped me food wise. I could look at all the options, I was spending time with friends, and I could concentrate on something other than how annoyed I was about eating. I also found, since we tended to linger, that I ate more.
  • Bigfuzzydoug
    Bigfuzzydoug Member Posts: 154
    #10
    4 weeks
    For me it was like a light switch. The first 2 weeks post rads were the worst. Even worse than during treatments. The third was a little better. And then I woke up one morning 4 weeks post and could suddenly talk and the pain was dramatically gone. I ended 9/30/10, by Halloween I was able to eat and feeling better and by Thanksgiving I put myself into a triptofan coma!

Discussion Boards