Hi Folks,

Well I just finished 10 weeks post TX. I am doing IK, I eat lots through my mouth and will get the PEG aka Umbilical Cord out in a couple of weeks. I am still wek and need naps but I look better and I feel more positive, So here is a question. I am eating most anything I want, meat, pasta, vegies, bread and evan chocholate. I almost always need a sip of fluid with each swallow. I can handle that, What does bug me is how coated my theeh get when I eat. There is almost a meal caked to my choppers. I need to floss and brush after every meal. I guess it is a good thing. I am even gaing some weight back, I think, I went from 195 to 160. Also my taste buds aere comming back

I eat bird sized bites and do take a while to consume a meal. I use to be the fastest eater, I am dead last now.

So todays Thanksgiving dinner will take a while to get down, but it sure will be good!

Happy T'

Steve

Some day, I'm sure Water Pik will recognize all the advertising I have done for it and pay me, but until then - this is still free advice I don't go anywhere without my Water Pik I use it to cleanse my mouth BEFORE I brush. At night, I use it twice - 1st to cleanse all the areas of my mouth, then I brush, then I put biotene mouthwash in the water pik and have another go.

It is a Godsend for getting into all those nooks and crannies that surgery has created in my mouth. Let me know what you think if you try it

Donna

I do have one and will try and report!

Steve

I have the same problem with the particles in my teeth. Hadn't thot of the water pik - Great Idea! Steve, I can sure relate to your comment about being the last one done - it takes forever to get a meal down. Sometimes, I just loose interest and quit. But I guess I am just grateful to be able to eat again, so I need to be more patient.

Steve,

You are doing fine. Your saliva now doesn't contain the same ingredients as it did pre Tx and that affects everything about how you eat. It should improve over the next 2 years so just be extra diligent about keeping your choppers clean. I don't (never did) use the Water Pik but I do try and rinse my mouth out and floss after every meal. I find that the longer food stuff stays in my mouth I continue to produce thick saliva so rinsing also stops that as well.

Steve

Not really a bad thing to brush and floss after every meal. While those days are only a memory to me now, my oconological dentists kept repeating: Meticulous Oral Hygiene was now a requirement. That included using fluoride trays every night also. If you have not seen a dentist who specializes in post TX cancer patients, you might want to ask for a referral from your medical team. Without proper saliva you are at a very high risk for dental caries. And let me assure you that no matter how slow you are eating, you are a speed demon in comparison to my steady drip drip drip down the old PEG.
It will get better and better as time goes bye.
Charm

I did try the waterpik this am and my teeth feel quite clean. Thanks for the tip.

MY RO did require I go to a dental oncologist so I do use the floride tray...everyday for the rest of time. O do want to keep my choppers, after so long I am attached to them
Thanks all! Steve

I also have a perio brush, a small brush on a handle, from Dentec Company that I get free from my periodontist. I use this before flossing to push the goop out from between the teeth. This is also handy when you are someplace where you cannot do full dental hygienge after eating. I also floss after every meal and even have be known to brush and floss between courses depending on what I'm eating. I just don't like the main course in my dessert. Ask your dentist or periodontist about the perio brush.

Take care,
Eileen

I have used the water pik for several days and I am hooked on it! Thakes all thak sticky goop and down the drain, thanks for the tip!

Steve

There's a $5.00 coupon on the website, good 'til year-end.

Thanks for askign this question, I'm gonna get me a waterpik now!

I am 8 weeks post tx. Scheduled to have peg removed on 12/16. Started out eating good, but now feel nauseous, mouth so dry. Tongue hurts, feels like it is on fire when it pushed on roof of mouth, gums. Depressed, at first started cooking, feeling good, now depressed, tired. Went for scan, come back in two months to repeat. Said I was a little early having it done. Does any of this sound normal?

It sounds about normal to me, and I had a relativly quick recovery. You need a signature, so we know what treatment you had, but you need to give the eating some time. I did not have a PEG so I had to keep it up.

Joanie,

Have you by chance stopped or decreased any meds recently?

Everyone can react differently to the Tx and we all have our good and bad days post Tx especially early on and 8 weeks is "early on" but I would pass this factual situation by your RO and see what comments he/she has.

If you have had recent blood work you might want your TSH levels checked. It's a tad soon for your thyroid to have crapped out (if it's even going to) but it's worth a look.

I know you are new but it's best to start your own thread instead of tacking on to someone else's. So next time you have a different question go to the Forum that best describes your question and then click on New Topic and post away.

As Flip mentioned above it also helps responders to read your Signature Line (see mine as an example) along with each post you make. It's easy to do just go to your Profile and edit your Signature Line.

Welcome to the site.

The Water Pik ROCKS!!!! It's a God send!!! Been using mine for years!!

I started using a water pik during Tx. Now I just use it once a day at night before the trays.

I put about a quarter teaspoon of 50/50 salt and baking soda in the (warm) water.

I have gone from getting cleanings every three months to every four months. Even at that there is hardly any plaque buildup, but it is good to get checked out frequently by the Dentist.