trt,

Of the 1000's of posts I've read on this site, I have not heard of radiation causing dizziness. That is only to say it must not be that common of a side effect but as we are all told... everyone can react differently. That being said, your RO's seemingly lack of concern would give me concern but please try to avoid stopping Tx. Hound your RO until you get answers. The squeaky wheel gets attention approach.

It would not be unheard of for the inner ear and the Eustachian tube to get inflamed and irritated/swollen from the radiation treatments. By products of that could be dizziness, and the sensation that the ears are plugged/pressure. The question that I would have for the Radiation doc is does the field of radiation need to be in that area, and given this is a very targeted therapy, could that area be avoided for some portion of the treatments to allow this to resolve while continuing in the area of primary concern. Obviously if there is suspicion that the cancer has included any region around your TMJ or where the inner ear is in the field this is not going to be possible, but you doctor should at least be willing to talk to you about it and options/drugs to control the issues. I would approach the doctor with your feelings about him/her not being attentive to your side effects and see what they reply with. Communication has to be two way, if you are having symptoms which are not managed, is it because they just cannot be, or for some other reason. Answers would give you the understanding that you are just going to have to tough it out or that you might be able to get some medication to relieve things.

That's a good point about possibly not targetting the inner ear.

The tumor was on the soft palate and cheek. Rad TX is on most of the left side of face.

I feel better after 3 days without treatments.
We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Did not feel so bad yesterday. Today, it seems I am slowly sinking.

I assume it's typical to be a little better after resting during the weekend.

The trismus is getting worse. The Vicodin does not seem as effective any more and it hurts a lot more to push the mouth open.

trt, I'll bet I have read 1000 t imes here how important it is to fight to keep stretching your jaw muscles to make your mouth open. Painful- but very important. There are stretching exercises posted on OCF, try a search for them. Get as much rest as you can so your body can channel it's energy toward healing. Set your goals for a day or a week at a time as you progress through treatments. Keep on keeping on. Amy in the Oz.

I missed yesterday; feeling too sick. I don't know if I can handle the side effects. At about mid-week I get so nauseous and dizzy, cannot drive and just become hopeless.

trt,
You shouldn't be driving. The American Cancer Society chapter in your area may have drivers available, or have family and/or friends take you. You have to handle the side effects - we all had them. Some are manageable - talk to your doctors (Not the rad techs). You really don't have any options here - it's buckle up, get through the treatment or face an ugly and untimely death. We're only talking about a couple of months here - in the scheme of things -a bump in the road - you CAN DO THIS!

Vicodin is a medium strength pain reliever you probably need something stronger.

I'm the biggest baby in the world when it comes to pain and suffering if I can do it YOU can do it!

In your first post you were already future tripping on what might happen - stay in the "now". You already know that this isn't going to be a pleasant experience just stay in the battle one day at a time. Your days will range from fair to horrific but they WILL pass.

I know, I was so scared to even start. It took me 3 months to get it together. What made it easier is I realized I will not lose my teeth and Rad Doc Asst said that I will not be disabled, have to lie in bed, that I WILL be able to drive and that I'll just be tired. He never mentioned extreme nausea, diziness, ear clogging.

The other problem is the main Rad Doc is not managing me or the side effects. She did not see me at all last week. She barely sees me in passing while going somewhere else and says something like "this is not from rad; go see Dr X" (for nausea and dizziness) or "that's normal, it'll pass."
I told her that Vicodin is not doing it any more; she said that if I take something stronger now then there will not be anything to take later when I really need it and just to add Tylenol. She is supposedly a very good Doc so I don't get it. Why is she not trying to help?

I don't have a Medical Oncologist because the Main Surgeon Doc (whom I cannot get to see because she is too busy and only comes in once a week) has to refer me. By mid-week I am too week to fend for myself and no one is prescribing anything that works.

It seems like I have to drop dead in front of them in order for someone to do something.

Since I rested for 4 days now, my ear is opening up. There is definitely something in there (fluid?) or it's inflamed.

trt,
She's full of sh*t! There is LOT's more that you can take. She told you a bald faced lie. Chronic pain can be managed.

Vicodin is typically "500/5" which means 500 mg of Tylenol (or acetominophen) and 5 mg of hydrocodone (the narcotic). Following the guidelines you can only take an additional 150 mg of tylenol every 4 hours if you are taking the standard 500/5 dose. The following is from the guidelines:"(Acetaminophen, 650 mg every 4 h or 1 gm every 6 h (daily maximum 4 g/d)
(use caution with combination products to prevent excess acetaminophen ingestion)"

Using their own formulas, if you take 3 Vicodin then you have also taken 1500 mg of Tylenol (although my PDR recommends no more than 2 Vicodins/4hr)

The PDR also says if you are taking 2 Vicodins/4hr or more you shouldn't be driving.

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO ADEQUATE PAIN MANAGEMENT - PERIOD! This is the kind of stuff that makes my blood boil. She obviously knows NOTHING about pain manangemet. I would call the hospital omsbudsman and file a complaint. Demand an immediate visit with the MO, explain in numeric terms (0 being the least and 10 being the worst) what your pain threshold is. (See "Pain-A, page 1"). They asked me at EVERY visit in radiation what my pain threashold was.

Here is a link to the complete NCCN Oncology Practice Guidelines for adult cancer pain management.
http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/PDF/pain.pdf

I have to admit though that is wasn't the RO that managed my meds - it was the MO.

Most of us had some fluid buildup and ear pain so that is fairly normal.

Some hospitals have pain management specialists.

Thanks Gary, Brian and everyone else. It feels good to have someone who actually seems to care.

RO called today (probably because I missed 2 days last week) and said that she'll change the treatment so that less intense rays go toward middle ear. Starting tomorrow.

She also said that MOs are only for people doing chemo. Therefore I don't need an MO as I only do rad. Is this true or typical.

Interesting about Tylenol. I do take 500/5 Vicodin. 1 or 2. My pain levels seem to vary.

The ear pain does not bother me so much UNLESS it's causing the nausea, dizziness, weakness, disorientation which is much harder to deal with.
Can the ear be causing that or is it a different issue. i.e. I don't really care that my ear does not equalize unless it's causing the more serious stuff.
The ear today is opening and closing. Does not really hurt. If I close my nostrils and blow, it does not react like the good ear i.e. equalization, pressure etc.