← Return to Severe pain eating 7 weeks post-RT
DiscussionSevere pain eating 7 weeks post-RT
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: 2 minutes ago | Replies (41)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "@ranchroad I'm almost 2 months out. I have good days and not so good days. I'm..."
Connect

@harleytiger Eating burgers…amazing. I’d do it if I didn’t think it’d put me on the pain train. I wouldn’t ever consider a feeding tube at this point since I’m now creatively finding ways to get calories until these damn “water blisters” go away and I can at least half eat like a human again.
Check out pilocarpine fo saliva, it’s a short acting salivary stimulant and might help at meal times, although maybe not so much overnight. If you ask for your DVH (dose volume histogram) you can check the dosage your different salivary glands received, which will provide clues as to how much you might get back. From the research I’ve done after 39gy of dosage to your parotid or sub-mandibular glands, they’re basically done for good. I also had tonsil and my submandibular was in the 50’s, so not expecting too much recovery from that one
You may want to talk to a cardiologist as I found out that besides recurrence, the biggest mortality risk factor is stroke due to the dose your carotid receives. Happy to provide more info on that if helpful