NGK... Remember this - pain wise there are a crapload of drugs that can be offered. There is no need to suffer!!!! I'm not going to sell you a fairy tale, it will hurt, but it should be manageable. I started to be uncomfortable at week three or 4 - very standard. I could feel some blisters, I rinsed a lot with the salt, baking soda, water mixture - usually after I'd put anything in my mouth. I wanted the blisters to be kept clean, that way if they burst I could minimize the potential for infection. I did this religiously throughout my treatment, then someone mentioned manuka honey, I researched it and ran it by my rads guy and there was no objection so I gave it a shot. Let me say I never want to taste honey again - however it helped keep my mouth clean and stop the blisters somewhat in their tracks (the RO said I had them but they never opened therefore were far less painful) i used the honey and the baking soda mixes to clean my mouth - er and my best friend was a waterpik to clean out the gunk. From this point on I lost my taste (standard) and it did hurt to swallow towards the end of treatment but I would chug an ensure or protein drink towards the end and then snooze. Things finally got really painful for me the weekend before radiation ended (my rads ended on a Tuesday) that weekend I was HIGHLY uncomfortable. They had sent me home with liquid codeine when I had my peg placed at the beginning of treatment but since I couldn't keep anything down that I put in the peg, I called my neighbor and snagged about 6 oxy off of her. They don't give me the buzz, that most people get, nor do they really get rid if the pain, but they did make me sleepy - so for about a week, (I ended up getting a prescription from my RO on the Monday) I would pop an oxy, wait a bit, then rinse with magic mouthwash (totally numbs your mouth for a short time) then chug my nutrition then sleep!!!! this worked like a charm. A week or two later I started my slow climb out of the radiation hole. Now for me I went through most of my treatment with no pain meds. But I have a high pain tolerance. I know many here who have needed high dose pain meds... Fentanyl etc... Don't be afraid to tell them , particularly if you are sensitive to pain. Don't be caught without them on hand. Hugs and good luck,