Hi mom and well done on still being able to eat. I had much the same experience as you through RT. Put on weight all the way through and dietician was impressed. Keep up the good work. Hagg.

Great news. Not long now and it will all be behind you. You're doing really well.
Onwards and upwards
Deborah

I actually have lost weight. About 16 pounds since Halloween. I was overweight to begin with. Not the best time to lose it but it needed off for me to be a healthier weight rather than over closer to the ideal weight now.

Radiation has been over for almost a week. I still have huge sores on my tongue. Dr says they should be gone soon. They are the only thing holding me back from eating normally. This darn mucus though is about gross. My tongue bleeds at night if I forget to keep my mouth shut. It ends up dry and sticks to the roof of my mouth they when I pull it away it is awful. I am a mouth breather my nature. I try to use moistening things but they have a nasty taste and make me want to get sick.

Hi!

I had the same mouth breathing problem (allergies last spring that clogged my nose and sinuses) and I was able to sleep using the Breathe-Right strips. Get the large ones even if you have a small nose - the larger ones wrap around better. They're such hokey looking things and I have no idea how or why they work, but they sure worked for me. Can't hurt to try them.

The healing process after rads is soooo sloooow but if you have a good prognosis it'll happen. Although I didn't experience a bleeding tongue (yikes!) I do remember peeling my tongue off the roof of my mouth in the early days after treatment and before the Strips.

We think that because treatment is over that we should be back to normal in a week or two but it doesn't work that way. I'm sixteen days away from my one year anniversary and I still can't eat thick bread crusts and I have to swallow them with water or some other beverage to get down. I feel so incredibly lucky to have gone through this relatively unscathed that these are very minor inconveniences.

This is a hideous disease that we all hope that, like Haag, we can someday say "Eleven years and still kicking it." That's been my mantra with the appropriate weeks/months substituted for years. In sixteen more days I can change it to "One year and still kicking it." I can't wait to celebrate!

Hang in there Mom; it'll all happen. Your new normal is yet to be realized.

Mimi

good Morning Mimi,
I, too, use the breath right strips and find them very effective but very costly. I have to pay $10
for a box of 10,at approaching $400 per year it becomes quite an item. Particularly annoying when the manufacturing cost for a box of 10 will be measured in cents.
I reuse the strips with the aid of good quality double sided sticky tape.
I would be interested to know what you have to pay for a box of 10 on your side of the pond
Keep Smiling
John

Hi John,

I checked a large drugstore chain's website (Walgreen's) for standard prices. They charge $14.00 (13.99) for a package of thirty for the type I use.

Breathe Right Nasal Strips

I see that they're being sold on eBay at terrific prices and can be mailed internationally. The sellers have good feedback but I'm always a little skeptical about buying health-related items, even over-the-counter items, on the internet from an individual rather than a store or pharmacy. That's just me though.

eBay Example

Here's to good breathing!

Mimi

Mimi,

Thank you for all your thoughts and info. I have began to eat normal slowly. I am eating scrambled eggs again, ate half a hamburger for lunch and some vegetable soup. I have found I do have to drink a lot. I did have to put alot of tarter sauce on my sandwich due to the bun being so dry. I have lost a total of 30 pounds according to the doc. But it was a bonus to get it off I would never have been able to do it alone. So now I am not concedered overweight like I was I actually look healthy for all I have been through. I go back to work the 14th of April taking a week of vacation after the dr approval date.

Congratulations! It sounds as if you are doing well attempting a burger. I hope you manage to get a vacation in before you go back to work and that you enjoy the bonus of being lighter as much as my partner is.

Cathy

Has anyone had this problem. I ate a BLT on friday and since my mouth has been killing me! my entire mouth is sore, my tongue feels raw but dr says it looks good. She thinks I need to stick with bland food.

hi mom
i would think the tomato in the blt has caused this soreness in your mouth,your dr is right bland food for now.i am 2 years out and there are still some foods i cannot tolerate without getting a very sore mouth.well done for being able to eat as it can take some of us a good 18 months to be able to do so.good luck.love shirl xxx

Hi Mom

Did you have it on toasted bread? That can be like chewing on a scouring pad. After 4 years I still have trouble with really soft bread--it sticks to the roof of my mouth, my flap isn't very effective at moving it, so I have to leave the table and push the bread loose with with my finger.

Hope you're having a good day!

Julia

Hi Mom.I had RT in Nov 2007,so getting on for 16 months ago and there is still alot of food I cannot eat. I would agree it was probably the tomato that made your mounth sore as that still affects my tongue even now. I can eat tinned tomatoes no problem as long as I have sweetener on them,which seems to kill the acidity. I still can't eat fruit,anything hot or spicy is completely out of bounds,pizzas which I loved,again its the tomato,curries are a thing of the past. I went for a chinese meal with work,went for a simple chicken and pineapple disk but no,couldn't eat it. I would give anything to be able to go out for a meal,macdonalds,curry without having a major panic attack wondering what I can order.I realise now that I can't do this anymore.It wears me down sometimes but its something I'm going to have to live with.....plus plenty of water just to get it down with.Its hard isn't it?

This is so hard. I was a very wide variety eater. We ate alot of spicy food before. I would love to get some fruit in. Fruit is my favorite thing as it gets warm weather. Since my mouth is sore again I am losing more weight. I go back to work two weeks from today and I am wondering what in the world I will be packing for lunch? I used to back a sandwich and chips and some fruit. That will not be the case. This does stink I am so inconvienced by this awful monster. That is probably why I was overweight before because I ate everything. Now I eat almost nothing. My oldest wants popcorn so bad but I can't eat it and no sense in making him an entire bag! I am moving next week I am about insane I think but the house is across the street from my babysitter and that will relieve some of my stress I had before I was taken off work.

Hi! All,
EATING? Yes! one of the most important enjoyments of my life OH to be able to chew into a BBQ Steak or Lamb Chop BUT that just doesn'y seem to be a thing that is on my agender. Last night Deb cooked up a "Pork Medallion" with vegies (Oh Yum), things were going fine until about 1300hrs when I started to feel a touch Sickly, so of to the loo and there I made love to the pan and brought most if not all of the meal up. It seems that the only meat that I can swallow is Chicken & Fish as the fibres don't break down in my system. Tomatoes Deb peels for me as this seems to help, Pineapple is a no - no and same with most other fruit, However I will try everything stuck in front of me and I will eat it will gusto, so just eat everthing that you see and what stays down is good what comes up means you can save money for those foods from your shopping list.
Keep on a eating gals & guys.
Love Trev