Deb,
Thanks, I made some notes on my calendar ... week four!!!! Tomorrow starts my third week, so I better eat eat eat while I can.

Saw my RO today and he said my mouth and throat were really holding up well (surprised me) so maybe I will get an extra day of two.

Still hoping I will wake up and this will all have been a bad dream (nightmare)!

Markus
Thanks

Also, what was your daily regiment in clearing and cleaning your mouth?

My Periodontist said my mouth might be too sore to use the fluoride teeth molds and if so to just brush or rub the fluoride on... any comments?

Don,
Regarding oral care...I stopped using the flouride trays about 3 weeks in to treatment because my mouth started getting sore. In addition, I continued flossing and I used Biotene toothpaste with my electric toothbrush every night. Also, I used the Biotene toothpaste with a regular brush after every meal throughout the day. Periodic and frequent rinses with the saline/baking soda mixture and separate rinses with Biotene mouthwash were required in order to get some comfort. I also used the "Stanford Mouth Wash" regularly whenever there was any sign of a sore or discomfort in my mouth. Despite not feeling well I made myself stick to a regular routine and I am convinced it helped my mouth stay free of sores and contributed to a quicker recovery within the mouth.

Don:

Without doing the chemo, you might not have as many problems as someone who is doing chemo and radiation together. At least, I hope you dont.

The constipation can be caused by many factors including dehydration and pain meds and it's not limited to Peg users. I had it for 2 weeks or so and it can become very intense so deal with it early and as often as you need to.

Re fluoride trays and rinses.
Initially I used a fluoride rinse (for 2-3 weeks into rads) and then I stopped Biotene mouthwash, regular brushes and regular toothpaste and switched to Biotene toothpaste and brush.
There was a time when everything burned, even water, the one exception was a baking soda/salt solution. Even so, I lowered the salt concentration to make this tolerable. I made gallons of the stuff with daily varying composition.....
There was also a pink concoction from the pharmacist.... which burned like hell and was never used.
It took a while before I went back to a regular brush and before could use mouthwash again. I still have problems with regular toothpaste. However, I expect that this should soon be reasonably tolerable as well. Depending on what you define recovery to be it can take a long time. This has to be put in context, you have to be alive to bitch about minor stuff like that!

M

Victor & Don

In addition to the good advice you've gotten, my tip is to watch the radiation burns very very closely and press the doctors on what creams or ointments you can use. There are specialty gels for radiation out there that I found out about too late The aquaphor did not cut it for me, and I ended up having to use Vigilon second skin burn dressings. Also cannot stress enough the importance of keeping up the jaw exercises - if you are lucky like I was, then you won't need the therabite. Finally, take the pain pills - they really help swallowing and sleeping - for constipation I found suppositories the very best - much better than laxatives or stool softeners. Good luck and there really is light at the end of this tunnel.
Tom

I started using the Biotene toothpaste during Tx and started using my fluoride trays before TX. I still use both to this day and my dentist recommends I use them for the rest of my life.

One more thing I can offer to all the great advice that you've gotten so far is a cheaper alternative to a therabite. During your next visit, ask the Doctor or nurse for a couple of dozen tongue depressors. Take them home and stack up as many as you can fit into your open mouth without straining unduly. There should be a bit of strain to get them between your teeth; just not too much. Then secure them together with an elastic band at one end. Slip them between your teeth several times a day, and levae them there for as long as you can each time. It'll probably only be for a few minutes, but if you do it multiple times a day, you'll keep your jaw muscles loosened. In between uses, drop the ends you had in your mouth in a very dilute peroxide and water solution to keep them as germ free as possible.
They do effectively the same thing as a therabite, without the cost, and are very easy to come by.
Lastly, be prepared for the effects to hit early. I only got 5 days of rad in before I lost my sense of taste, and had burns in my mouth and on my neck within the first 10 days. The following few months were really tough, but I managed to get through them without a PEG. Remember to keep swallowing, every day. I think taking your water orally is a really great idea, since it maintains muscle memory in your throat. Don't try and tough out the pain; you will be really sick, really quickly if you stop taking enough nutrition and fluids because it hurts too much. I wound up in hospital a couple of times, and literally overnight I went from feeling O.K. to being really, really ill.
Much luck...it'll be done, and you'll be on the road to recovery
Wayne

thanks to all for the great advice.