Hi:

I was wondering if anyone could help me. My dad got his Pet Scan results about 2 weeks ago, all clear thank God. However, His throat got all congested over the past few days. We just took him to the hospital and they admitted him. My dad claims that his tongue is swollen (he never said anything before about this). The doctors thought his throat sounded congested. Does this seem familiar to anyone? His labs came back fine. Does this disease ever end? Please respond.

Chris

I have congestion a lot.It seems to be from the mucous we get and from ear and nasal drainage to me. Just another have to put up with it problem. It could also be nasal drip which I also get. I bet most in here get the same.

Try a humidifier and keeping his head propped up on pillows. Not a cure all but seems to help me when I have those symptoms (Which used to be more frequent after my treatment).

Hi

Update. My dad got an emergency tracheostomy last night. His throat was almost completely closed. His tongue swollen and his vocal cords all swollen. Drs think it could have been from a cold, virus or from the radiation. I will update.

Glad your Dad got the care he needed.

Sorry to hear about your dad, he's in the right place

My husband is out of radiation treatment for four weeks now. His congestion and extremely sticky mucous in the throat are still persistent. He still has his PEG tube and has yet to be able to get anything to go down by mouth. When can I expect that he will be able to begin eating by mouth? I honestly feel that his recovery will be a quicker one when he can begin eating again. Am I wrong? Taminole in Arkansas

As far as I was concerned you are correct in assuming recovery will go better once he starts eating again. It was definately that way for me. I too had the thick mucos through out treatment and it persisted really bad for about 6 weeks post radiation. However, subborness made me start eating soft salty items at about 4 weeks. Salty because that was the only thing i could taste. Once I started eating, my recovery really sped up. I had my PEG removed at 9 weeks post treatment, Good Luck to both of you. I thank heavens daily for my good husband's care and cheerleading.

Taminole,

Has he not eaten by mouth by choice, pain or stricture?

1. If by choice he needs to start swallowing ASAP and gradually build up to some solid stuff.

2. If by pain, then that needs to be death with and then follow number 1. above.

3. If by stricture, then he needs to be seen by a competent doctor ASAP.

Thanks David and Carmen:
I will be showing this to my husband as soon as I get home this evening. I am not sure exactly why he has not yet decided to eat. I have tried to get him to begin with broth and work up to some solid stuff, but he has just had no interest in trying. I think he is scared to try. He continues to get 4-5 cans of the Tube Feeding formula down, but I feel that he should start working on eating so that he can heal a bit faster.. He does not return to his doctor until November 17, so that is a ways off. I can't tell if he has a stricture in there or not, because he won't try to eat anything. If he does, we will certainly get him to Little Rock to see his doctor ASAP. Thanks for the advice and God bless you both.
Taminole

Look I am not any kind of doctor but we have discussed this "no swallowing" issue many times since I have been associated with this site and it appears that the longer one doesn't exercise their swallowing muscles, the more prone they (the muscles) are to forget how to swallow. Add to that the damage that radiation can and does do to those throat muscles and the stage is set for some permanent damage to form. So if I were you I would get him to talk to some doctor he trusts that is knowledgeable in the issues we are discussing before it's to late. Absent strictures issues already preventing him from swallowing, I see no reason not to start and I see plenty reasons why he should start.

It's been quite some time since I've been on the boards...just keeping busy and trying to make things better. My husband is 8 mos post radiation and 3 months post RND and the swelling and mucous is still an issue. He tries to eat but it takes him over an hour to get thru a meal and by then he's just exhausted! Had the swallowing studies which came back fine but his tongue is difficult since they removed the hypoglossal nerve and he's not restricted in foods by spice only by texture. Last night even fish and mashed potatoes were difficult for him to get down. I'm wondering if this does get better as it seems that ever since his surgery the symptoms have been pretty consistent...the Dr's just say 'all is ok' and send us on our way! He gets so frustrated as he has to cough and choke his way thru many meals therefore using the feeding tube is still an integral part of our day!
Is there light at the end of this tunnel???

Jeani,

All of us find eating and swallowing post Tx to be different and how much so depends upon many many factors unique to each person and to their exact cancer and Tx. Taking more time to finish the same quantity of food we used to eat is certainly one of the challenges we all face. I found it helpful during this transition to supplement each meal with a can of VHC mixed with an equal part of whole mile just to make sure I was getting enough calories. I also picked foods that I was more able to eat, paying ZERO attention to the healthiness of the food. For me it was 15 months post Tx before I started to remotely enjoy eating again and I kept drinking the VHC well into my 2nd year of recovery and ALL I had was the concurrent chemo/rad. I am now 95% back to "normal".

My husband has also slowed his eating time.
Now it just seems everyone eats soooo fast.

It got easier for him to eat each month.
Just a little slower, lots of liquid.

I find the only way I can get fish down is with a bucket full of hollandaise or tarter sauce. Mashed potatoes need lots of butter and gravy. Baked potatoes are still impossible. And yes it takes a long time to eat anything. You need to concentrate on foods that have a lot of liquid in them or with them. Makes them easier to swallow.

Take care,
Eileen

Thanks so much...yes, he has had TONS more milk than ever before which is great! And Diet Coke works well too! I really focus on how much he consumes every day (which I never worried about before!) and try to keep it balanced...also try to watch the sugar consumption (cancer loves sugar) which is always the easiest calories to get!

Time will help, I know that!

Update: My dad's trach should come out in a week or so. He developed a infection in his lungs that caused the swollen vocal cords. Be aware everyone, his ENT claims this is very common. So, if you think anything feels a little funny in that area run don't walk to the er. As for the food issue. My dad had good luck with french toast from Trader Joes (in the freezer dept) with losts of syrup. Just make sure you cook in microwave not toaster. His speech therapist had him eating open face sandwiches on whole wheat bread (I guess it is easier to swallow than white bread).He seems to have gotten most of his taste back. Well I hope everyone has a great week and stays healthy!

Boston

Hi Boston,

That sure does sound scary with your father. I'm glad he seems to be doing ok..good think he was at the hospital. I agree with you, does this disease ever stop?