Buzz had #15 of 33 IMRT today, and has had #3 of 6 chemo...doing extremely well, except has developed mouth/throat pain today.

There are a gazillion posts relating to this topic, and I've read many and will continue to read further! What rx should Buzz ask the radiation dr. for when he goes in tomorrow? I understand few get results with use of 'magic mouthwash'....He has oxycodone & hydrocodone...both cause him to hallucinate!

Thanks! Lois & Buzz in NC

Oh Boy, Lois, when I saw the word "hallucinate", I cringed. DEaling with bad reactions to drugs was one of my worst experiences with John's tx. And caused many sleepless nights- sitting with him-trying to keep him in bed- talking to the "people" in the room with him, remakeing the bed 10 times a night. You will need to be VERY firm with the Docs about trying ato come up with a pain med athat Buzz can tolerate- and each time he tries a new one, get someone to explain the posible side efects to you first- and how to quickly recognize them. Have you discussed the fentanyl patch? [many love it-John went bonkers on it]If some of the pain is thrush related or mucositis-treat for that. But the over all pain that comes with radiation is a challange. This is going to be trial and error for sure, and I feel for both of you because you both are going to get really tired. Amy in the Ozarks

Liz & Buzz,
Hallucinations, I sort of remember those from my morphine...not fun.

Mouth/throat pain: The answer is whatever works ...not everyone has the same result from a specific product. I would ask about, Benadryl/Kaolin pectin rinse, A rinse with some topical anesthetic (lidocaine or benzocaine), and you can try the magic mouthwash it may work and is fairly inexpensive.
I'll do a little looking to see if I can find any other suggestions and let you know.

Jerry, any other ideas?

Cheers,

Mike

Magic mouthwash appears to work most of the time. I think Buzz should give it a try.

Jerry

Please don't ask my wife about my hallucinations. It just rehashes the arguments from that period in our lives. I assure you I was trying to throw up and spare my carpet in my Pathfinder...even though it was 60 something MPH! She still insists I was trying to get out of a moving vehicle. I finally succumbed and decided if I was going to use morphine suppositories or liquid for the breakthrough pain, no more dexamethasone. Everything worked out and all those damn people I talked to in the hospital room disappeared so it must have helped.

I had so much pain, some from mucositis and some from thrush. My thrush was and still is very distinct because it is very brownish/yellow. I think it hurt the most. Make sure which is most prevalent and deal with each separately. I used the fentanyl patch and kept increasing it until it hurt less and used morphine or liquid loritab for the breakthrough pain. Once you have it under control it will make life much better. I also used a lot of miracle mouthwash even though some of the liquids made my teeth hurt.

Keep trying things until you find the right combination and find a good pharmacist to consult with.

Ed

Many patients do better on fentanyl (Duragesic) than on oxycodone, as regards pain control -- however it is not uncommon to have issues adjusting -- issues which might include vivid, scary dreams or even strange hallucinations -- my husband had the dreams for about 5 days and then adjusted. He had had problems with oxycodone and found he functioned better, had less digestive issues, and had his pain much better controlled by the fenanyl.

As regards mouth pain, several things are worth trying besides the "magic mouthwash" which our nurses hated as it led to a number of cases of aspiration (throat numbed TOO much): Gel-Care (or OTC sibling, Rincinol) -- this is a coating agent; l-glutamine rinse (5% solution, powder available at GNC) -- there is a promising anti-mucositis drug in trial which is based on l-glutamine but in a proprietary formulation which delivers more of the amino acid to the mouth mucosa -- and for those who live in countries where it is approved, that is, UK, Australia, NZ, Canada and about 30+ other countries, benzydamine hydrochlorite -- considered the best to reduce severity and duration of mucositis -- in the over-the-counter rinse, lozenge or gel named Difflam or (in Canada) a prescription drug called Tantum.

Gail