My long-time boyfriend will be starting his radiation treatment next week, after having surgery to remove cancer from the right tonsillar region and three cervical lymph nodes. One hears (reads) so much about the mouth/throat pain. Do the docs prescribe much in the way of pain pills or patches (think patches would be better, not having to swallow them). Do the xylocaine/lidocaine washes work?
Thanks for any input.

The mouth washes work for me. Not very pleasant, but they do the job. Good luck to the both of you. How many weeks of Rad?

One thing that you will find as a common thread on this site is what works for one never works for all and how someone fares during Tx will be up to that individual as we all can be different so if you try something and it doesn't work, keep on trying different things. Unfortunately sometimes nothing works but the good news the bad part of this Tx usually only last 6 to 7 weeks.

Actually don't know for sure how many weeks! Rather little info; it is going to be 5 days/wk which seems to be the usual based on what I've seen posted here.

David, my husband is sweating a lot. Is this common? IS it the meds?
Glenda

My husband is sweating a lot throughout the day. Is is the meds or cancer. He is finished with radiation yesterday.

There are meds that can make you sweat, but I doubt he is on them yet.
(Salagen, Exovac)

What is he taking?

Gretchen:
Doctors will provide all/any medication needs for pain. They do not want you to suffer, but they will scale it up as the pain increases.

So don't worry, they'll take care of you.

Sandy

Gretchen:
re lidocaine
I am a big fan of viscous lidocaine. MInd you it only works locally and only for a short time. The local part it great the short time effect sucks!
It does not replace a Oxycodone/Fentanyl etc ! but you can use it together with them. I used the lidocaine from week 5 one when I wanted to drink/eat or speak. It allowed me to reduce the other narcotics.

Best

Spouse,

Please start your own post when asking a question you want answered. That said, sweating can be caused by many things including his meds or his thyroid being damaged due to the radiation which is VERY common but usually takes months to show up. A simple blood test for his TSH levels will determine that and the solution to that is a simple once a day pill.

Gretchen

Pain will delay and hinder both recovery and healing. The problem is not usually over prescription but misplaced fear of addiction. Patches are wonderful, but the are so strong that your boyfriend will have had to have been on the oxycodone pills for while to build up tolerance even to the lowest dose fentanyl patch. The earlier he starts on pain pills, the better he will be. Unfortunately the mouthwashes made me vomit but they have worked very well for others.
Here is a link to a FDA page on fentanyl patches that has some "horror stories" . I stress that it is highly unlikely that your boyfriend will experience any problems with the patch and offer it only so well meaning but ill informed "friends" do not dissuade your boyfriend from getting the necessary pain relief. I LOVED my patches for the exact reason you noted: no swallowing.
Proper Use of Fentanyl Pain Patches

You missed one David, maybe it is just too hot. Couldn't resist an open door. LOL

Sometimes I overlook the obvious. lol

Appreciate the input...
To 'Charm2017': The RO office (the RN there) said they don't use fentanyl patches much, more usually liquid Lortab or morphine. So, we'll see. It seems that fentanyl, with its steadier blood levels, would be a good idea. The fact that it's transdermal is a big plus w/the swallowing issue but I guess other pain meds can go into the PEG tube, assuming there's one in place.

Yes meds can go into the peg tube,but fentanyl delivers a regular level of medication 24/7,keeping pain under control,and oral morphine is then added for breakthrough pain.i dont know why anyone would tell you they dont use fentanyl much any more,as it is and was a life saver for many many people here.why have to wait for the pain to get unbearable and then wait 20 mins for meds to kick in,when you can be comfortable most of the time?

I am very surprised to hear the response of the nurse concerning Fentanyl patches. I was treated at a CCC and that is their "gold standard" for pain control. It is not only very effective but also very convenient. Curious as to why your medical provider prefers liguid morphine. I suggest you ask them WHY? and still push for the patch when appropriate

I concur with Charm on the Fentanyl patches. My RO started me on those around the 3rd week or into tx stair stepping up dosage as pain increased and stair stepping down following end of tx. I never felt loopy but think it helped take the edge off along with magic mouth wash and oxicodine. Good luck to you.

Gretchen

I posted today before heading out to TX and did not expect to see my RO or else I would have waited. He was equally surprised about that nurses comment. Ironically, he then wrote me a prescription for TEN 50 Mg Fentanyl patches - instead of the 25 mg ones I used last time. He wanted me to have them on hand and stressed that they were the best way to keep the pain from interfering with my recovery. Plus he wrote a script for liquid percocet to save me from crushing them like I do now for the PEG. I did have to have them both filled at the Hospital pharmacy as the chain pharmacies in my area had already told me it would take a week on special order. Perhaps your nurse knows of issues getting them filled in your area and is trying to help,

I thought fentanyl patches were worhless, They didn't even smile at the pain, I have some in the drawer LOL Just quit taking them. Went back to half a perc and MMWash

By these posts, it appears that different things work for different people...as with many things, I guess.

sorry, new to this.

I was shocked at the fentanyl comment as well. It's much stronger then morphine on a per mg basis and in a lot of cases stronger then most street heroin. It's not a drug to play with as it caused several deaths a few years ago when given to heroin addicts as heroin...to put it in perspective. I've been on it for over a year now and finally starting to dial down from it but for me it worked when nothing else did (hydro, oxy, morphine, you name it they had me on it). I agree with the others when they say it's the gold standard.

Jim...you're just a different guy...the man of steel! That's why it didn't work for you. I love ya big guy.