First week past treatments

Laralyn
Laralyn Member Posts: 532
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Sorry I haven't posted this week. I ended up in the hospital again because I couldn't stop throwing up. It turns out it was a combination of the mucus (which I suspected) and the fact that I had been eating so little for so long that my stomach had kind of shut down. They put me on a new anti-nausea medication that is supposed to help the stomach digest foods more quickly, and it seems to be helping.

The doctor also recommended Sudafed if the dryer mouth was worth the reduction in mucus, and it seems to be helping. The pain is holding steady (but not getting worse), and I was glad to come home yesterday.

So it looks like my post-treatments week 1 is definitely of the "cooking" variety rather than the "healing" variety, although I'm hoping week 2 will start to be about healing. :-)

Comments

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,722 Member
    #2
    Feel better
    Laralyn,

    I am sorry you been so sick and in the hospital, but happy that you got to come home. I know how throwing up will dehydrate and exhaust you.

    Post week 1 I was cooking (burned neck) and healing too. It is sometimes hard to tell we are healing, as they say here,” (treatments are) the gift that keeps on giving”.

    Happy mending, drink plenty of water.

    Matt
  • sunshine_64
    sunshine_64 Member Posts: 50
    #3
    CivilMatt said:

    Feel better
    Laralyn,

    I am sorry you been so sick and in the hospital, but happy that you got to come home. I know how throwing up will dehydrate and exhaust you.

    Post week 1 I was cooking (burned neck) and healing too. It is sometimes hard to tell we are healing, as they say here,” (treatments are) the gift that keeps on giving”.

    Happy mending, drink plenty of water.

    Matt

    this is recovery?
    One week from last chemo, 2 weeks from last radiation. Because the chemo's job is to inhibit new cell growth,
    as long as it (cetuximab) is still in my body, no healing is happening--the burns, mouth sores, and mucositis are all
    still with me, perhaps even more irritating than before.

    The mucositis is the worst - causes gagging, nausea, horrible metal taste, regurgitation, and so on.
    Also, because of the mucositis, my diet is more constricted than earlier during treatment - items with
    milk or milk products (like ice cream) just exacerbate the production of mucous, gagging, and all
    that fun stuff. But that's ok, since I have lost most of my sense of taste anyway. I am using a mucous
    vacuum machine, which is helping somewhat.

    Doctors are on my case about losing weight (hey, before I could eat cream, no wonder I was doing well), but
    there's not much I can eat other than Carnation breakfast/Ensure. Mouth sores prevent me from
    eating much of anything --any fruit, including poor old bananas, sting like crazy. This hardly seems like recovery!
  • nick770
    nick770 Member Posts: 195
    #4
    sunshine_64 said:

    this is recovery?
    One week from last chemo, 2 weeks from last radiation. Because the chemo's job is to inhibit new cell growth,
    as long as it (cetuximab) is still in my body, no healing is happening--the burns, mouth sores, and mucositis are all
    still with me, perhaps even more irritating than before.

    The mucositis is the worst - causes gagging, nausea, horrible metal taste, regurgitation, and so on.
    Also, because of the mucositis, my diet is more constricted than earlier during treatment - items with
    milk or milk products (like ice cream) just exacerbate the production of mucous, gagging, and all
    that fun stuff. But that's ok, since I have lost most of my sense of taste anyway. I am using a mucous
    vacuum machine, which is helping somewhat.

    Doctors are on my case about losing weight (hey, before I could eat cream, no wonder I was doing well), but
    there's not much I can eat other than Carnation breakfast/Ensure. Mouth sores prevent me from
    eating much of anything --any fruit, including poor old bananas, sting like crazy. This hardly seems like recovery!

    Tried
    Have you tried muguard? It is by script only but does a really good job with mucous
  • Crazymom
    Crazymom Member Posts: 339 Member
    #5
    Healing
    Hi

    My week two was worse. Then I started getting better the third week. Hang in there. It will start to get better. My stomach took a few weeks to get better also. It is fine now.!

    Ann
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #6
    Ah there you are!!!
    I put an APB out on you earlier. I just knew that the mucous was still being a problem, but was hoping that it didn't require another stay in the hospital...I'm sorry honey, that you having such a hard time with that nasty stuff. I'm glad the Sudefed is working...what's a couple degrees drier in already arid conditions, huh....especially if it helps overload of mucous.

    Sunshine, sorry you're having so much trouble too....we keep hearing the first two weeks out of treatment can be the worst. Doesn't seem right after being thru so much already, does it!! You'll be in the healing mode soon, and this will be a bad dream.

    You both are hanging in there, tho......and that is what gives us who are riding on your coattails the courage to keep trucking on.

    p
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #7
    Hi Laralyn
    Your poor body has just went through a ruff battle (hell) and is now trying to find some kind of normal, it will settle down but may take a few more weeks to do so. Just keep your positive attitude up and before you know it everything will start to come back into place. The body is designed to heal its self that is the way God made it, week two will be a lot better and week three even more.

    God bless
    Hondo
  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #8
    Hondo said:

    Hi Laralyn
    Your poor body has just went through a ruff battle (hell) and is now trying to find some kind of normal, it will settle down but may take a few more weeks to do so. Just keep your positive attitude up and before you know it everything will start to come back into place. The body is designed to heal its self that is the way God made it, week two will be a lot better and week three even more.

    God bless
    Hondo

    Hmmmm....
    I was concerned about being the negative one here ...but let me just share my experience..
    One of the onc told me I will start to feel better 2 weeks after my last rad ...and I absolutely did NOT feel better....I put up with pain and MUCOUS like I have never in my life for 5 weeks before I began to get better.

    Again, I only share that bc I got soooo nervous and anxious as well as irritated that something was wrong, "why aren't I healing like they said" "what is wrong with me" ....but my nutritionist warned me it may not be that quickly ...as did my main onc...and they were correct.

    Now with that said, I pray and want so bad for you to get better asap....but I would rather at least share my exprience so you won't do like me if it does take longer and get frustrated and worried....

    Prayers for you Laralyn....so glad to see your post too!

    Tim
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #9
    I'm With Tim
    Many folks will tell you the two weeks after treatment is over are the worst. Not for everyone, but for many. It gave me hope, and made me (mentally) feel better to think that I was no longer pumping in poison, or getting burned.

    Still, most of us can say we were frustrated that we didn't notice improvement sooner than we did (even though we'd been told to not expect to feel better right away).

    Glad you got some new meds. I agree with docs - I think extra dry mouth for a while is worth it if you get some mucous reduction. You'll get there.
  • Sam999
    Sam999 Member Posts: 319 Member
    #10
    Pam M said:

    I'm With Tim
    Many folks will tell you the two weeks after treatment is over are the worst. Not for everyone, but for many. It gave me hope, and made me (mentally) feel better to think that I was no longer pumping in poison, or getting burned.

    Still, most of us can say we were frustrated that we didn't notice improvement sooner than we did (even though we'd been told to not expect to feel better right away).

    Glad you got some new meds. I agree with docs - I think extra dry mouth for a while is worth it if you get some mucous reduction. You'll get there.

    Hi Laralyn,
    I am so sorry to
    Hi Laralyn,

    I am so sorry to hear about your ordeal, hopefully things will turn around soon. Keep positive as you are. Hope you feel better soon.

    Sam

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