I'm a little over 5 weeks post radiation for a tongue lesion. My tongue is healing great and any pain there is minimal. I'm even able to taste most things now. But, the areas behind my lower molars (where my wisdom teeth would be) and the roof of my mouth get sore fast while I eat and often develop tiny fluid filled blisters that are extremely painful.
Just wondering how soon this resolved for others? I really thought the healing would happen before getting my taste back. Somehow it seems more frustrating now because I'm so close to being able to eat normally again!
Answering my own question for the good of others who happen upon this thread later:
Google says 6-8 weeks is how long it takes to heal after radiation. I'm more sore now than I have been in weeks and I wonder if what I'm eating or drinking is causing there backslide. Luckily I am meeting with my oncologist (rather than my useless radiation doc) on Wednesday. Hopefully he'll have more info and advice for me.
Anyone with info on their healing, I'd still love to hear from you!
Ouch! I found rinsing my mouth with warm water helped ease the pain from ulcers. Not sure if you have it in the US, but in the UK we have an ulcer treatment called Iglu. It has lidocaine in it and I found it the best product for pain relief so that I could eat and drink.
I haven't heard of Iglu. My doctor did give me viscous lidocaine which was too thick and gross to swish with, but I'm using cotton tipped applicators to apply some to the store bits before eating. It helps, but I wonder if I'm continuing to cause trauma and delaying healing? I'm trying to eat yogurt and similar soft things, but dinner usually requires some chewing because I want to eat with my boyfriend.
I just wish I knew how long to expect this to go on...
I finished rads end of October and still have jaw pain (trismus), difficulties swallowing - but no blisters or other soreness. Dry mouth continues. My radiation oncologist puts the continued symptoms on necrosis from radiation but they are also testing for a recurrence. RO thinks symptoms could last 18 to 24 months which (to me) seems like a long time..
I finished my radiation/chemo on 1/13/2020. I still have a large sore on the roof of my mouth that extends down into my upper esophageal area. This is still very painful and limits my caloric intake because I can only eat smaller portions of very soft foods. I have been on diflucan for a ten day stretch and then 30 days with no help. I saw my Rad Oncologist today and she is starting me on an antibiotic and Trental. Hopefully this will help, my mouth/throat has improved very little since my last day of rads.
I’m taking something called Doxepin. It comes in a capsule but you open the capsule and dump the contents into 10 ml of water, wait for it to dissolve, swish for a minute and then spit. It’s been helpful. Maybe ask your doc about it.
Hello. Would you please tell me what you eventually did to relieve those sores. How long did they actually last? How bad was the pain? 1-10.
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you’re really bothered by the mouth sores. Unfortunately, they are a side effect of radiation and will take some time to heal — they will run their course. Have you been given some magic mouthwash by your doctor that you can use to numb the mouth pain. There are different formulations and it is on prescription so you need to speak to your doctor about it. I would suggest to search ‘mouth pain’ or ‘mouth sores’ on this forum, you will be able to read about how others have dealt with it.
As for how much the mouth pain hurts, different people have different pain tolerance and so you are unlikely to get a very precise answer that will reflect your experience.
Hi Ken,
Im two weeks post radiation for lip cancer. Absolutely nothing helped my raw, even bleeding interior mouth ulcers and top of the lip sores. I also have large swaths of white tissue inside my mouth. It's been very painful and depressing; however, I tried some coconut oil three days ago. (Organic that's used to cook with). I swear it is definitely helping!!! I hope you get relief soon.
Laney
Need 7 teeth pulled before radiation not looking forward to the pain in the mouth hope you heal fast ty for sharing.
Glen,
Forgive me for not responding in August. I was still fighting extreme fatigue and pain in my lower lip and stayed offline for quite a while. I'm doing much better at this time, but still have pain that just won't go away. I assume you had the teeth removed...how are you doing since then? I hope you are on the way to a more pain-free life now. Merry Christmas!
Laney