Hi Stacey,
I'm sorry you and your hubby are going through this battle, but very glad you have found us. You will not be alone the rest of your journey!!
One of the things DavidCPA pointed out was that this pain and whatnot will last for most likely up to 3-4 weeks AFTER the end of tx. If your hubby is having so much pain already, I'm thinking a feeding tube might be in order. Talk to your docs and see what they say, then go for it. It grossed my husband out, but he did use it a few times when things were really bad. He put some of his liquid meds in it too!!
Something we did with the fluid thing...our nurse said one of the signs of dehydration that was easy to find was a low bp, so we got a home bp kit and when he got crabby or groggy I would take his bp and almost every time it was very low so he would have no choice but to go to the docs for fluids. If he can't drink enough and the tube doesn't work either, you can check with your ro and see if they can set him up for fluids a few times a week. We did this throughout our induction chemo and also through rads. Not all docs do it though.
Christine is right, he will need to keep up with the nutrition as well as the hydration in order to stay out of the hospital, but you, as his caregiver, can only do so much. Our guys can be stubborn and sometimes just have to learn the hard way.
One of the foods Kevin could eat for most of his tx was scrambled eggs that were a bit runny. Not gross runny, but just enough that they could slide down! He also ate pasta with lots of butter, also slid down nicely!
I know this is a scary, exhausting and frustrating situation for you and it really sucks, but you can do it. There are many caregivers here who will be here for you. We've all been there and know EXACTLY what you are going through.
I hope this helps a little. Everyone will tell you to try to take time for you. You do need to do that, but sometimes just an extra long hot shower and a good cry would be all I would need to go forward!
Blessings Lady. Hang in there.
Kathy
PS...the 4 bottle idea is a great idea. I think it helps when you know the goal and can see yourself accomplishing it. If you can get past your stubborn self!! ;o)