Ok! Just a quick rundown on what is going on for anyone who cares how this TX has affected me so far. I began July 1st weighing in at 200.8 (in the red corner). I now weigh 195.8 and have been eating everything in sight! So far I have had a small bout with thrush which is now pretty much over after taking a couple meds. The left side of my tongue is getting pretty sore and my tongue as a whole is very swollen, you can actually see my teeth marks on the sides of my tongue. I have a couple small white sores starting to form which I have been rinsing with salt,baking soda and water. I have also everynight dipping a qtip in peroxide and swabbing the sores (dont know if thats a good idea it burns like a SOB) Everything I eat tastes terrible! I have yet to find something that tastes tollerable food or drink...any suggestion would be helpful? My mouth of course is dry as hell and my saliva is thickening up. However my doc says it looks pretty good and it might be from the $90 a week caphasol I have been rinsing with 8 times a day!!! My throat has been slightly sore, however I woke up this morning and it was very very dry and burning! Worst morning by far! Glad I will have 2 days off coming! My energy level has not been affected yet, I have been staying very active playing golf and working around the house. I have not been napping however I have been getting a very good 8 hours of sleep everynight thanks to good ole Ativan! I understand the worst is yet to come I said I would give a timeline and keep you all up to date on my situation and I plan on keeping to that! Have a great weekend! Oh and David I was a Sales Manager at volvo not a salesperson...lmao! Always trying to downgrade me...damn CPA's! I will PM you with a couple questions about this years taxes but I have a CPA over here that was a good customer of mine that has done my taxes for the past 8 years.

Jim

why the hell would you put peroxide in your mouth??????It burns like a bitch.I really think it might be a good idea if you found something a little less caustic if you feel the need to swab.I once splashed peroxide solution in my eyes and nearly lost my sight please find out if this is such a good idea.

sorry to nag

love liz

Jim,

Peroxide is not bad in your mouth if you dilute it with water in equal parts, however, you should really be talking to your MO about this. I know that it is a pain to contact them (to say the least) but, you need to.

Sorry Jim.I didn't mean to imply that it was dangerous to put peroxide in your mouth,after all most mouth washes you buy have small very diluted amounts in them.i just wondered why you would want to put neat peroxide on areas that must already be sore.
Be gentle on your self ..bull at a gate can be painful.

love liz

Jim,

As each of us can react differently you are right on course for how you will react. Comforting, ugh? I feel for you as 3 years ago today I had just finished my 5th rad and one chemo and was on my way into my unknown which turned out to be very ugly.

Re the taste thing, have you gotten any VHC yet? When you can't taste anything and the pleasure of eating is all but history, it's time to realize that getting the most calories and nutrition in the least amount of time and pain is the goal. So in the 30 seconds max it takes to swallow a can of VHC you get 560 nutritionally balanced calories. Do that 5 or 6 times a day and you have met your goal. That's the way I approached my calories.

Re the Sales job thing that you just can't let go like Margaret and the 20, 20, 80 thing, you had to be a salesman before you were the Mgr, right?

lol, yes I was a salesman prior...I have the VHC and drink 1 every morning but still want to continue to eat solid foods, I use that as a boost. I played golf today and when I was done I sucked one of those down with a bowl of oatmeal. Peroxide does burn like a bitch but I will tell you it helped it, did it lastnight and its much better today!

Your taste is going to be lousy for a long time. The 1st taste of anything isn't bad, but shame on the 2nd taste on. They have less taste than water and burn the hell out of what's left of your tongue and the rest of your mouth too. None of it will soothe the throat. LOL I want to say something here, but we have ladies . I'll behave for now .

TGIF. Beers, I finished 12 of 27 today.

My mouth is killing me. I am still working full time in the ER. I talk a lot all day. I think that may be irritating my tongue and mouth. I think my days are numbered at work. FMLA here I come.

So, far I have pink magic, Lortab, Motrin and a hammer to smack my thumb with hoping it will distract me from my mouth. But I am going to talk with my RO about Fentanyl patch this week.

I have been eating anything up until last night, minus the sodas and beer. Switch to soups and pudding today. Think I'll look for some VHC this weekend and take David's advice and chug a meal in 30 secs. Who usually carries VHC? Do I have to get it off the internet?

HarleyKenny...You can order Carnation VHC at most pharmacies (Walgreen's, Target, CVS). You don't need a prescription, however, it isn't generally a stocked item. I ordered through Target and they always had it shipped in the next day.

You can also order it through Amazon. If you do that, use the link on this website to get to Amazon and a portion of your order will go to OCF.

I have to tell you, I read your post without reading the ones above it...and, at first I thought you were announcing that you had 12 out of 27 beers today. Then, I realized you were telling JimBeers you had 12 out of 27 RTs. Glad to figure out that you are not loading up on alcohol during treatment. ;-)

I got a kick out of your unconventional hammer pain relief. That's a new one. Are you able to taste foods? My husband was able to manage home-made mac-n-cheese for the first few weeks of treatment (supplemented by protein drinks). If you need a recipe, let me know.

You can definitely get VHC from Amazon -- pretty cheap, too (I got a case for 23 bucks). I also hear you can order it through one of the bigger pharmacies like Walgreen's, though I don't know about price there.

Thank you Margaret. I does sound like I have been loading up on alcohol.

12 treatments out 27 completed.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.