Has anyone had such a strong gag reflex that anything trying to get down including water wants to come up. Trying anything they tell me but waking up sick and have thick mucus coming up and anything I get down comes back not the swollowing but the taste is making me sick.

Donna, I am having the same problem right now. I don't have any good solutions, except *constantly* wiping mucous out of my mouth, and I'm doing more and more, including water, through the tube. But I'm interested to hear what other people say.

The mucus problem was something else when I was at the end of the radiation treatments and for several weeks after. I gag real easily and it frustrated me that I would gag, cough and then throw up an entire tube feeding, which wasn't pleasant.

Even now, sometimes I'll have a mucous type episode, I'll gag and try to throw up whatever is in my stomach.

Then again, I've always been a gagger. My husband knows it's a miracle that I was able to change the kids diapers. When the dog or one of them threw up though, I'd be right next to them throwing up myself.

It's one of the reasons I was NEVER a good alcohol drinker. I learned to accept that and just didn't appreciate alcohol the way most people did. It wasn't worth the puke fest.

Lately when I get all gaggy and wretching, I try to calm myself down and get a cold washcloth and do mental exercises to just STOP before I lose a tube feeding or medication. It doesn't always work, but I try to hold it together.

Jen

Jen, what are the mental exercises you do? This is so much like me-gaging and throwing up entire feedings has been a big issue for me in the last week. But in fact, I can gag and get the dry heaves for 5 minutes if there's no food in my stomach and I'm not sure which is worse.

I do find a cold washcloth sometimes helps but I'm curious if you have a mental trick that helps too. Did you find any type of breathing technique that helps?

Jan yes what type mental exercise. I use to even see a fear factor ad and almost get sick now I do. Ended up in ER last night to get IV as had not been able to keep or get anything down in 48 hrs and hadn't peed in about 24. knew was dehydrating guess tube is next i'll have to see about as not keeping anything down by mouth but I also have dry heaves when nothing there.

Jen, I went back and read the posts that were made when you were undergoing "Flem attacks" (good description). There's some good advice there. I actually found Mucinex in pill form and tried it the other day but didn't notice a big change--maybe I need to give it a day or two. Actually, though, it may be that it did make my mucous thinner but didn't make it sit any easier on my stomach!

I just had a really full scale episode of gagging from a big gob of mucous then vomiting and I think most of what I vomited was more mucous already in my stomach! It's been almost 2 hours since my last tube feed so I think most of that got through. Anyway, I have nine more days (about a week and 1/2) of radiation left and one more chemo but then I know there are weeks after that when I'll also be dealing with this.

It seems like an eternity in front of me with no clear end in sight. I was really struck by something you said when you were close tothis point in that other thread:

"I just wish I had a "feel good" point. Half the time I'm surprised I made it this far, but man.....I'm not about to take feeling good for granted anymore.

I just wish I could predict a day that I can say "hey.. I feel good"

Maybe that will come in a couple months."

And my question is, when DID that point come for you? I mean even for like half a day or something? I just need to know, realistically, what a recovery after the treatment is over looks like. I've heard what Gary said--3 weeks of feeling worse and then improvement in three week increments BUT, for example, when did MOST of the flem episodes go away (I know you say you still have them once in a while but hopefully not nearly like they were then)?

I think I rememeber reading somewhere here that you also had neck surgery after the radiation, which I won't face, I had mine before, but I'm still interested in how things felt for you after the rad and chemo.