Welcome to OCF, Amanda. You have found the best place for info and support to help you and your husband get thru his treatments.

It does not help the patient one bit to be in pain. Its actually detrimental to them. Poor guy!!!! Ask the doc for the fentanyl patches. They come in strengths ranging from 12.5 to 100mg. Most of us have used them successfully. Make sure to read and follow the directions exactly. Never bend or fold the patch and your husband needs to avoid long hot showers or baths while using the patch. Those things can cause the patch to release too much medication. The good thing about the patch is that it gets changed every 3 days. So his pain should be under control. He should have some extra pain meds in case he has breakthru pain. I would guess that if he is in a lot of pain that he would need to start at 50mg or 75mg. It will take about 24 hours to begin working after he puts it on. If after one day it doesnt work then ask to move him up to 75mg or 100mg. That should help your husband significantly. When I was had just finished rads, I was on 150mg for about a week.

Just cuz he is finished with chemo and rads doesnt mean he will be better immediately. His body has been thru the war and will need time to recover. Keep up the good nutrition and hydration to help him bounce back. Every single day he should be taking in a minimum of 2500 calories and 48 oz water. Try adding some high protein whey powder to his formula to help with healing.

Best wishes with your husbands recovery.