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← Return to Severe pain eating 7 weeks post radiation: Any tips?
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Severe pain eating 7 weeks post radiation: Any tips?
Head & Neck Cancer | Last Active: Dec 24, 2025 | Replies (61)Comment receiving replies
@metsgirl 300mg gabapentin seemed to knock out 90% of the pain associated with the "blisters", which is still bad. Might be worth a shot. I actually felt normal eating dinner with my family, even though looking in my mouth I can see blisters flaring up. It was actually unbelievable how well it worked.
I'd stopped taking gabapentin 1 week post-RT and had honestly hoped to avoid it because the dose I was on was making me feel a little foggy/loopy and I need to go back to work full time after thanksgiving and be very mentally sharp. I'm going to see if I can control this with 300mg/day (1 pill) until these blisters calm down. Will update in a few days once I can tell how well the gabapentin is working over a longer time period.
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@ranchroad Thanks for the information. I'm really glad this is working for you. It's interesting how doctors approach things differently. I was put on gabapentin at the end of week 2. First 1 300 mg pill a day for one week, Then 2 pills a day for a second week. Then maxed at 3 pills a day until the end of treatment and then I was weaned the same way, 2 pills to 1 pill to none. I never felt loopy from the gabapentin but I had sleep adjustment issues while being weaned. So, I don't want to take it again.
My pain is very tolerable though. And my blisters seem to be coming from textured foods...solids that are dryer. I believe this is exacerbated by my lack of saliva. I asked my radiation oncologist and he hasn't responded regarding the gys delivered to my salivary glands. I'll ask again because this information is becoming more important to me.
Thanks again!!