#55256 07-30-2004 08:41 AM | Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) |  "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 | Sheldon,
I remember feeling very bad after I got off of the duralgesic patches, which was about 10 weeks after treatment ended. I am sure that it was withdrawal, and the good news is that the feeling passed rather quickly. I agree with Karen...you can learn a lot from the experience that others have gone through, but cannot always compare your progress to them. I, for example, wore a PEG tube for 10 months after radiation, while many healed much more quickly and were eating much sooner.
As far as taste goes, I believe that some things will never taste as good as they used to . I used to love cokes and Dr. Peppers and now have no interest in sodas at all. Candy doesn't do a thing for me either, although I do love soft desserts like creme brulee and mousse.
It sounds like you are progressing nicely. Keep up the good work.
Danny G.
Stage IV Base of Tongue SCC
Diagnosed July 1, 2002, chemo and radiation treatments completed beginning of Sept/02.
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#55257 07-30-2004 06:28 PM | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 207 Platinum Member (200+ posts) | | Platinum Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 207 | Hey Sheldon, I think most of us bounce back and forth after radiation treatment, kind of a three steps forward, two steps back type of thing.
I got my taste back pretty quickly (maybe 1-2 months post IMRT) but something is still somewhat "off" now that I'm six months post-radiation (the first round that is). There are just some of my former favorite foods that turn me off now. I think my tongue is on fire everytime I drink something with carbonation.
I, too, did the pain patches and have had two runs now with hydrocodone (once during/after radiation over the winter and once after my second surgery in June). Both times, I remember feeling "blue" and "down" for a couple of days after my last dose of the hydrocodone. I tapered off the hydrocodone for good this past Saturday and I was an emotional wreck the following day. Everything made me cry -- the Lance Armstrong Nike commericials, watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding, watching NBC's emotion-grabbing coverage of the Ironman Triathlon, every post on this board, etc. It took me a couple of days to realize why -- my body wasn't getting that narcotic "lift" anymore...
What fun stories we all have to tell... Hang in there, Sheldon, you are getting better week by week.
Eric
Tongue cancer (SCC), diagnosed Oct. 2003 (T2 N0 M0). Surgery to remove tumor. IMRT Radiation 30x in Dec 2003 - Jan. 2004. Recurrence lymph node - radical neck dissection June 2004. Second round of rad/chemo treatments ended Sept. 2004.
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