My mum had a terrible time with it, but she too found some ease with salt and bicarb.

She wasn't able to use many of the mouthwashes prescribed by the hospital as they were so very sore and painful and she felt like they almost burned her mouth - not what you want when it's been so sore for so long.

Oh no 3 months. I'd been calculating on 8 weeks which is long enough!!! I also think that gel clair helps me. I didn't use it one night and the next day my mouth was really sore. Thanks for your support.

Chris

Hi! Chris,
Well you are getting near vthe end of it but be patient as it has been 13 weeks since I completed my RT and Chemo and like you I went through a lot of bad nights and sorry to say it apart from the fact I am eating better I am still getting up 3 or 4 times a night to rinse my mouth out and gargle with Biotene Mouth Wash (which gives me an artificial saliva in my mouth) and then back to bed, it is frustrating BUT everyday I find an improvement in the condition of my throat and what I can eat. \
The pain and Dryness in the throat? for the pain I was on OxyCodone and Fentanyl Patches with Panadol Rapid Soluble tablets but I didn;t like taking so much and cut it back to 2 Panadol 3 times a day, and even though the pain in mt throat has gone I occasionaly have to take a couple of Panadole at night after over doing the eating thing. Dryness is another thing and that will be with me (us) for ever as the Saliva Glands are not working and unless we are lucky won't ever start up again, for this you will have to always carry a drink around with you as you dry out very quickly whilst walkig and talking. I started work last night and it requires me to talk to customers and staff so I have to drink constantly, some drinks that you would remember their taste DON'T taste the same, wine and beer taste terrible (DAMM)but I am getting OJ done that has some taste and Coca Cola has a taste but that leaves a film on the roof of the mouth and teeth so you have to rinse your mouth out after with water.
Well I could go on and on but I am sure you will work this out yourself as I did, so hang in there Chris and be patient

Love TREV

You seem to have suffered more than me. Since I have been sleeping on the sofa, I find I can get through the night without having to get up. I feel very lucky that my taste buds don't seem to have been affected.

What is OJ? Can you eat pieces of meat yet? I am trying to be patient and am finding more and more things that I can eat, but only a little at a time, as it takes so long.

Pleased to hear that you're back at work and coping. Have you managed to maintain your weight? I'm finding this a little difficult at present with the cold weather. I'm due back at work at the end of January.

Bye for now.

Love

Chris

Hi! Chris,
Good to hear from you and yes I have been eating some meat that is Chicken, Ham & Bacon, Lamb & Prawns, these I find I can swallow quite easily IF I cut it up smallish and have some kind of sauce with it(we have a Fountain Smokey Bar-B-Que sauce which is delicious and Kraft Honey Mustard Dressing which is equally delicious)which helps to give some flavour as my taste buds are not a 100% at the moment.
OJ is Orange Juice and that also is a taste that I can accept even though the juice is a little acidic and burns my throat a bit it is a nice drink with my Breakfast, also when Xmas arrives We are having xmas breakfast and I am anxious to try Champagne and OJ with the rest of the family.
My work is not toooooo strenuous but I am standing all night and serving customers who are all very eager to talk about my malady as they all missed me during my absence, and this includes the staff who change regually(did I tell you I am a senior at Blockbuster Video)not a mind blowing job but one that I enjoy emensly(hell my spelling is bad) as for my wieght I have been steadily losing and since this time last year I have lost 39kilos but am thinking now that I have started eating properly I may start to put some on .
Prior to finding out that I had the "C" I had been going to Weight Watchers every week to weigh and had lost about 17 kilos so I started going to the Gym (Fitness Centre)& I started to add weight but then along came "C" and then I had to add weight so as not to get sick, but since then I have lost about 23kilos. You asked if I was coping with work YES but by the end of the shift I was glad to go home as I was ready for bed & decided that I won't do any more than 1 night in a row so will try and get rostered on every 3 nights.
Well my love thats my saga and will wish you the best with your improvements and hope to hear from you soon.
"Be Strong"
Love TREV

Hi Trev

Lovely to hear from you again. We have Blockbuster over here as well. Good to hear that you're coping with some work and managing to eat some meat. I will try some of those dressings. I know what you mean about drinking juice. I found that the only one I could manage was apple juice. I can just about drink it at present, if I alternate mouthfuls of juice with mouthfuls of water.

I don't think I could cope with a job where you stood up all day - I find it bad enough when I teach for two hours and want to sit down.

I lost about a stone and a half (sorry I'm not metricated!!) and find that I really have to try hard to keep my weight steady at present. The trick I read somewhere of dunking biscuits in tea is working for me as a way of adding calories and I have also gone out and got some Marscapone Cheese, which I try and add to things like spaghetti rings to add calories and some nutrients - easier to eat than grated cheese.

I will have to try prawns to see if I can eat them. I know that our local garage did a lovely Thai Green Curry with noodles and prawns and perhaps I might be able to eat that.

Sounds like you're going to have a great Christmas. We will too.

Best wishes

Love

Chris

Hi Chris
If you buy your Thai green curry from the garage, where do you buy your petrol? lol.
Deborah

Not at any garages round here deb they keep running out!!!!

Hi! Chris,
Last night Deb and I picked up Dad and took him to "The House of the Red Dragon" and I had Combination Fish which apart from Fish also has Pork, Chicken and Prawns (and some wierd looking things that looked like BIG fish eyes) and it was in an Oyster Sauce(they gave me extra sauce) , the meal was delicious but there was tooo much and I was able to take the rest home in a doggy bag (DEB finished it off, and I am NOT saying Deb is a dog)today I went back to my old favourite Cold Lamb and Salad with lots of Dressing.
Tonight I will try again some very spicey Sausages and Mash as this went down well last time except they weren't spicey, we have the Biggest Loser on tonight so that might inspire me to get beck on the Gym Plan (NOT).
Anyway love I'll away and be back to you again later
Love TREV

I buy petrol from the garage too! In the U.K. most of our garages are mini supermarkets too and I just happened to notice the ready meal curry when I was waiting to pay.

Cookey - why are you called Cookey?

Trev
Lovely to hear from you again. I don't think I could eat salad. I tried just some pieces of peeled cucumber in a dip and found them very difficult. Tonight I have struggled my way through smoked mackerel risotto, which is very tasty. I add extra stock to it. I'm experimenting with the gremlins. This is me trying to eat a normal size portion

Do you really need to lose weight? I'm struggling to keep it on.

I'm just going to pop out and post my Christmas cards now, because there's only a very early post tomorrow morning and then no more until Monday.

Hope you enjoyed The Biggest Loser.

Love Chris

Howdy Chris,
Most of the Servo's over here are owned by either Coles or Woolworths and if you spend $30 or more you get a discount on your fuel of 4cents a ltr, which is not bad when you are filling your car twice a week and it costing you between $75 - $100 a fill, as I was saying the servo's also sell supermarket lines BUT dearer and being open 24hours makes getting the items you need urgently no drama(but I must admit we haven't had to shop there yet).
The Salad I was talking about is mainly fresh Tomatoes, Beetroot, Gherkin, Peas, continental cuecumber and ETC but I can't get leaf vegies down as they coat my teeth and then it's off to the bathroom and do the mouth ablutions trick. Deb and I had chicken in a Pasta style sauce tonight with potatoe and peaswhich though it was a little gluggy for me I managed to eat a good serve and with plenty of flavoured water got it down, I like you can't eat large serves and tend to try a desert later in the evening.
Went to the Dentist on Friday and she gave me my flouride trays with enough concentrated fluride to keep me goig all year, this I have to do once or twice a day(How exciting).
As for my weight I amat the present 97KGS and would like to get down to about 90 so that when I get back to the Gym I can afford to put on some bulk as at present I look like an old man with withered arms (not a good look). Oh wellmustaway and awit your reply hang in there love.
Love TREV

Well i have enough weight spare to give you both about 28lbs each and still have some left over!!!

Cookey derived from my occupation at the time i got my first computer.I was a pub landlady and guess what.... i did all the cooking lol.

love liz

Hi there Liz
I'll see your 28 and raise you another 10 (at least!!!!)
There is all this talk from all the poor beggars who are all having so many issues with their food but I wonder if I'm the only 'other half' who has/has had major eating problems since all our dramas began. I don't know (and really don't want to know) just how much weight I've put on through all of Trevor's treatment. I do know it's a lot. I had not wanted to eat in front of him because I felt bad about that and because I was so lonely when he was sleeping 20 hours a day, I did what I do best and hit the cupboards ~ quietly, very quietly and ate just about anything that didn't get out of my way.
Now Trevor is losing weight and eating and I'm still eating and still gaining! He's happy (as I am for him) and I'm miserable and uncomfortable. I need to know when we can expect to strike a balance. A major focus of the best part of the last six months has been food and eating. Who wants to go on a diet with me??????? Hhhhheeeelllllppppp.
By the way Liz ~ I left a message for you days ago on 'A question for Vinod' ~ or something like that.
Toodles
Deborah

Hi Deborah,

That's really interesting reading your post. I've always been a bit tiny and can lose weight really easy if I'm not careful. So when Robert was diagnosed last year I rapidly lost quite a lot of weight through all the stress of it and rushing around from one hospital appointment to the next. However, once Robert started eating bits and trying new things (like Trev is now) I found myself buying all sorts of fattening goodies to try and tempt him and help him put on some weight. The problem was he just couldn't manage to eat large portions so I found myself finishing everything off. It got to the stage where I was heavier than he was. I put on so much weight I felt like I was wearing a lifejacket. I'm glad to say that he has now overtaken me and he doesn't need me to eat-along with him anymore.

I'm just starting to worry a bit now actually as I am really enjoying Trev's posts detailing his meals. If I start putting weight on again I'm blaming Trev.

Hi! All,
Well things are improving Deb and our Daughter were chomping into some chocolate coins and so I thought it was wearth a try and with a little bit of soda water I managed to get a few down and the drink cleared my mouth and teeth. I am still having problems with roasts as with anything that is cook in fats or some oils as these meals go claggy in my mouth.
Apart from meals done in fats and oils or very fatty products I am managing most foods with ease, my next challenge is going to see what I can drink by working my way through the choices of drinks available so I could end up like Ananth toally pissed(but it will be fun). Our son took us out for Chinese and we had about 7 different meals brought out so we shared them, I had ordered Whole Steamed Fish in Garlic Sauce and Ginger Shallots, I thought I was going to have Steamed Fish which would go down easy as there would be no fat or oil. However when it came out I think they brought out a bloody whale it was enormus and then on top of the fish which was hanging off the plate both ends was enough Vegies to feed the whole family for a week, the waitress did comment by saying she will bring out some containers for taking home the left overs, well there was plenty of leftovers as I could hardly eat any of the fish and the other meals were nearly all finished so we came home with the fish head and backbone for the dogs and the vegies for moi!.
Well Chris, Liz, Lorraine & Deb please don't make me fell guilty for tempting you with my eatings as my excitement is greater than my visions of you lovely ladies worrying about the weight factor.
Anyway I will leave you all in peace and catch you all again later, keep up the good work & "Stay Strong"
Love TREV