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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
@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!!
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@metsgirl ask them to send you the entire DVH report. They would have created it as part of the development of your treatment plan. It will show a curve (histogram) for all OARs (organs at risk) where you can see % volume by dose. You need that because your glands don’t receive one consistent dose. It should also have all of your CT slices with iso-gy contours superimposed.
Mine showed that nearly 100% of my right submandibular received over 50gy, and 88% over 60gy. So I think it’s basically toast.
Right parotid - 43% < 20gy, 75% < 40gy. So I think much of this one is coming back to life.
This is the kind of info you want. There are some studies that correlate salivary flow and improvement over time vs dosage received by the subject glands. Apply that to your own DVH and you can get a decent picture of what to expect. I can dig up the study if you want
My left glands were basically spared. Overall my salivas a bit stickier than normal but does actually seem to be improving. So it seems like my xerostomia isn’t quite as bad as yours, only been mildly annoying but something I can deal with. Dentist thought saliva flow was good enough where I shouldn’t have unusual dental issues.
I would imagine that since you got proton, they were able to spare your contralateral glands, and they’ll start to pick up the slack for your treated side. I’m assuming with that statement that you were treated unilaterally, obviously different if you needed bilateral radiation.
Keep asking and they will send it to you. I am an engineer with way too much time on my hands right now so have gotten into the details on almost everything.