Been to dads today he struggling with his feeds now they keep coming back up his throat ? He's just started donperidone so hoping that works x he had his last feed at 7 last night and it woke him up at 4 this morning so it must be sitting in his belly x but if it's true what they say and fluid going in his lungs surely the food will be if it coming up and going down again x he spits most out but a bit must be going down x is there any good medication I should ask for x also will the radiation doctors give him cream for when his skin gets sore because he's told me to get some e45 cream surely they will have something better xx

Delly, hydration is when a patient is given IV fluids to help them to avoid dehydration. The chemo lab is where the hospital gives chemo to their patients. When undergoing radiation treatments for OC, patients usually struggle with their intake. Getting extra fluids helps them to instantly feel better.

Recovery, like everything else is a very individual thing. From what Ive seen on this forum over the years I would estimate 60% of OC patients have varying degrees of struggling with rads. Another 30% of OC patients really struggle and have a very hard time with their treatments. Many end up hospitalized due to malnutrition and/or dehydration. Not meeting their daily minimums of at least 2500 calories and 48-64 oz of water plays a huge role in this 30% of patients. Then there is the lucky 10% who sail right thru barely noticing the side effects. Ive noticed these are the patients who push themselves with intake (usually exceeding the 2500 calories and getting 64 oz of water every single day). Many also have a light exercise program or even taking short daily walks. Usually the lucky 10% also do not have chemo which makes it slightly easier as well. But the chemo or no chemo is not really anything that the patient has control over, its their treatment plan. The one common thread is patients who do better with their daily calories and water will lose less weight and generally feel better than other patients who arent able to keep up the daily minimums.

Your father should have some sort of cream for his radiated area. There are many different ones both over the counter and prescription that will work. The common ones are aquaphor (nonprescription), silver sulfadine cream and beta val (both by prescription). cream never should be applied right before going into treatment as it could negatively affect the radiation area. Always use a thin coating and pat the cream on, letting it soak in, never rub it in. When I went thru rads, I would shower before I went for rads, after I finished I would pat the cream on my neck during the 45 minute the ride home. After a few hours I reapplied another thin layer of the cream and again before I went to bed. If his skin becomes oozing wounds from rads, he should still continue to use the cream but also cover the areas loosely with nonstick gauze. My neck was a mess, open oozing wounds, unbelievably it never scarred. It healed very quickly after finishing rads.

Your father should be sleeping on an incline if doing feedings at night. He should stay still after it is finished for at least a half hour.

Hope this info will help your father. Best wishes!!

The domperidone should help. If his food is not going down it may be a motility issue, which is when the intestines do not move enough to get the food down. It seems that many people with a G tube have the problem. Take the domperidone about thirty minutes before food. You should notice a difference in a couple of days.

Thankyou christene this helps a lot I will ask about hydration for him x and thanks Gloria I will tell him to keep it up with the medicine x he stopped taking it as he read the side effects and it said you can develop breasts ha I said that only one in however many million but he wrote yeah that probably be me xx saying that I've put his lottery on last two weeks and he's got three numbers each time ha think I better start putting it on I must be good luck ha x

Delly,
Keeping you and your Dad in my thoughts. Let us know how you are both doing as you have the time.
Maria

Hopefully he's healing and things are going good on your end. I know it can seem overwhelming with everything - hugs

Hi all dads on day 9 of radiation tomorro x having trouble with his feeds they just keep coming up his throat into his mouth the dietician coming in the morning x he's not putting any weight on they said he's not doing them right he putting them in to fast but they never shown him how to do it. So he just syringes them in like you would medicine they want him to use the drip one in the night to try get calories in him x he's still struggling with saliva there's so much in his mouth he can't speak with it all they've give him patches for neck to lessen it but it's doing nothing x I rang his McMillan nurse last Tuesday still not had a reply I've lost a lot or faith in McMillan which is sad to say as I'm sure others have good experiences with them but so far we've had no help whatsoever x just gotta get through this radiation now then hopefully can work on speech and if he's ever going to swallow again fingers crossed xx hope your all ok and doing well xx

Hi all quick update , 12 more rounds to go ! Dads been very down had a lot of trouble with feeds and loosing weight trying a pump for night feeding for 10 hours this seems to be settling better and I hope won't cause any problems x had a lot of sickness which was worrying but feeding like this seems better x I'm so praying one day dad can drink even if he can't eat I hope he can drink :(( x hope every body is doing well x

I'm glad the night pump is improving things. He has had a very hard time. Wishing you well:)

Maureen

If your father is able to take small sips of water thru out the day this will help keep his swallowing function from forgetting how to work. Even if it hurts, he should continue to swallow at least several times a day. As long as the liquid isnt going into his lungs, causing aspiration. Check with his doc to be sure its safe.