enyaw061032 Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 I have had just 3 radiation treatments so far, and noticed this morning that I had a bit of trouble swallowing and my neck has flaky stuff on it like it is dried out. Also, when I woke up this morning, my head was sore. Has anyone else had these kinds of things happen so soon after radiation?\ Thanks for your help Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyr Posted March 3, 2007 Share Posted March 3, 2007 Hi Barb: sorry to hear of your side effects. My husband was given an rx that the pharmacist compounds. It's made up of Mylanta, Lidocaine & Benadryl. It kinda coats & soothes the mouth & esophageus to make eating & swallowing easier. For the radiation burns to his skin the radiation dr recommended a product called Skin Repair Cream with Olivamine. It's made by Medline & available otc. We picked it up at the pharmacy at the hospital. Hope this helps. Good Luck & God Bless wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enyaw061032 Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 Thanks, Wendy. I sure appreciate the help. I will check with the onc on Monday and see about getting the prescription, and also the skin burn treatment, Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz13 Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi Barb, I started to feel the side effects about 10 treatments in. Get carafate for soothing the esauaguse and miricle mouthwash to numb everything. I think it was raidisplex I got for the skin. If your insurance isn't great you can get aquaphour over the counter. Enjoy the food that you like now, because you'll be eating creamed soups soon for a long time. I didn't start eating good again till about 3-4 weeks after treatemnt. Keep your chin up. It will get better. Hugs, Liz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchurchi Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi Barb, Sorry to hear the side effects have started so soon. Alan had real tough time swallowing even with the magic mouthwash. the secret for Alan was soft foods, nothing too cold or too hot. He was perscibed a steriod cream for his radition burns. I hope you get some relief soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather_T Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 My side effects started about 2-3 weeks into treatment. I could not eat anything but chicken noodle soup. I would have a Boost in the morning and it would take 20 min. just to drink because it hurt going down. None of the mouthwashes helped and neither did carafate. Nothing worked for me, I could not have anything creamy or thick, hot or cold. I had to take a week off of radiation for it to heel a little. I am going on 3 months now and still have a hard time with bread type items. I am not trying to scare you but just know if this happens your not the only one. I hope that everything works on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Do NOT apply any lotion/skin cream to your skin within an hour of having your treatment. Your skin should be clean and dry before your "tanning" session. Your headache could be dehydration, especially if it feels like a hangover. Hangovers are actually caused by dehydration brought on by alcohol... I found that sucking on sour candies helped me, I had a metallic taste during treatment (again in a "lucky" minority with that, about 10% of people get the taste with the treatment). As it progresses, hop back on for food suggestions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enyaw061032 Posted March 4, 2007 Author Share Posted March 4, 2007 Thanks so much for your help, Liz, Debbie, Heather, and Snowflake. It means the world to me to get help from those of you who have gone through it or had a loved one go through it. I thought the burning would come later, but I had a big red area on my neck as of yesterday, looks like sunburn, and it is flaky and itchy. Thanks for warning me about putting lotions on, because I had done that so washed it off. I had put baby oil on it because it was so red, itchy, and flaky like dried up skin. I also appreciate your advice about eating. I have had nausea since I started with chemo, and nothing has helped, so I'll try the other things. I had two friends who aranged for us to go out to eat last night, and when I brushed my hair, it came out by the handfuls! I had thought the hair wouldn't come out like that since it has been several weeks and it didn't happen before. I bought a wig, so will be wearing that before long (still have a lot of hair left, but at the rate it's coming out, it won't be long before I'm bald. This coming week and each week for another five weeks, I have radiation every day, plus 3 days this coming week for chemo. I am trying to be proactive and positive, but it's hard when you feel so crappy. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolhg Posted March 4, 2007 Share Posted March 4, 2007 Hi Barb, Sorry to hear that you have had such bad side effects from treatment. My radiation oncologist gave me a prescription for I guess what they call the 'magic mouthwash'. It made my mouth and throat feel numb. He also told me to go to the pharmacy and order Sween Cream. It is not on the shelf and you have to order it from the pharmacist, though it does not require a prescription. Two other things he told me to use as needed were 100% aloe vera gel and aquaphor. The aquaphor is like a very thick vaseline. Hope this helps. Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodogs Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Hi Barb, As you've already read here, you are going through some pretty common symptoms. I started my treatment in the summer when our local Dairy Queen was open,(they close in the winter up here). One of the few things I could get down was their Hot Fudge sundaes and I lived through the summer and most of the fall on them. Somewhere along the line I found out I could get down cream filled, chocolate covered Bismark's so they became my new favorite food. I supplemented them with puddings and ice cream for at least a year. I did eat real food when I could but, it was not fun most of the time. The secret is to chew tiny portions of things until they reach a liquid state and to always have liquid with your food. Water was my favorite. I went a long time before things got mostly back to normal but now I'm actually gaining weight. You will be too, so keep up your spirits high and follow the advice of these experts. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enyaw061032 Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Thanks, Joh. I sure appreciate your post, and it hits the mark. I will follow some of your suggestions on the ice cream sundaes, but don't really know what bismarcs are? Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Barb, Bismarks are filled doughnuts - some with fruit gel, some with creams. I found that liquids were hard to swallow, VERY hard to swallow, but Double Stuf Oreos chew up real good, are 70 calories each and are WONDERFUL...of course, when you get back to being able to swallow, it's a habit that is hard to break and can really pack on the pounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodogs Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 That's it. They're in the bakery department with the jelly rolls and maple bars and all the rest of the good stuff. For me they went down easy and were full of calories and all the things other people avoid but crave. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judy-OK Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Barb check with the folks that are administering your radiation treatments. They had two or three different types of lotion that they provided for my crispy critter skin and when it got really bad they had some kind of a gel patch that you could put in the frig and then apply to the area which gave GREAT relief for awhile. Good luck, hand in there and drink lots and lots and lots of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enyaw061032 Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Thanks, Carol, John, Judy, Snowflake and everybody: I appreciate the help very much. I have some good advice on what to do, and thanks a lot. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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