Hi Paul - I had to add a stool softener capsule to my daily intake; that helped keep things moving. It was when I forgot it I would realize a day or two later my mistake.

I lost all taste for food during treatment except the days when all food tasted really bad. When that happens you can lose the desire to eat anything and that's when mal-nutrition begins. I found I could tolerate Ensure as it didn't make me gag, plus it was pretty nutritious. The RO said I needed 7 bottles per day, most days I was able to get 6 of them down. For me vanilla and strawberry were much better than chocolate. Even on that schedule I still lost 32 pounds during the 7 weeks of treatment.

For me oral lidocaine was the life saver. Last 3 or 4 weeks of treatment I had to use it before (and sometimes during) each meal so I could swallow. My problem wasn't a tender throat, it was a tender mouth brought on by mucositis.

Chewing Trident gum helped a lot with the low saliva/dry mouth problem. There's something about the xylitol sweetener in it that helps. I tried the Biotene (original formula) products, but for me Trident worked better.

Everyone is different, what works for one may not work for the next. Your challenge is to find out what works for you.

Keep fighting, you will get there.
Tony