Post Rad Coughing & Eating

Hello friends:

My husband hit the one week post rad mark today.  He is definitely a bit better but not where he hoped.  Personally, I think he expects too much but that is his typical type A personality. 

He can't taste anything yet and his throat is still raw so he is still using the tube.  This frustrates him because he wants to eat so bad.  Everything he tries is so dry to him he nearly chokes.  We've tried everything from mashed potatoes to clear broth soups.  Suggestions here are greatly appreciated!

He is also experiencing bouts of uncontrollable coughing.  So bad that they gave him a script and that barely works.  It comes and goes all day and is of course worse at night.  Suggestions here are appreciated too. 

Thanks much, 

Kara 

 

I don't know about the coughing, but I do know that sneezing was just about the most painful thing I'd ever felt.

The eating will come, it takes time.  Lots of time.  At just a week out he's still cooking.  The healing won't start for another couple of weeks.

If he's like I was, the dry mouth will take months to over come.  I'd go through 3 bottles of water with any given meal.  Then one day I noticed it only took 2 and then 1.  Today I can eat a peanut butter sandwich sans water :)

I had my tube remove 3 months to the day of my last radiation.  At that point I could choke down some soft food and Ensure.  Most things still tasted like crap, but you get used to it.

The general rule is one month of healing for each week of treatment.  I know how hard it is, but healing takes time.

Hang in there,

Tom

Thanks Tom.  I'll fill him in.  He lacks the patience he needs to give himself.  Sounds like everyone hear can relate.  Your ratio of rad to healing is helpful too.

Thanks,  Kara

I had a cough after rad/chemo and the neuro oncologist at MD Anderson did a chest xray to check for pneumonia.  He said the type of pneumonia he was looking for you cannot hear just by listening to the breathing.  He said there was a type of pneumonia that aids patients get that is fatal if you do not catch it. 

Fortunately there was nothing.  The cough kept on and on until I ended up at the emergency roo 2 weeks later.  They put me on an antibiotic thinking it was bronchitis.  The antibiotic worked.  I did end up with laryngitis for 2 more weeks.  I am now much better and the laryngitis is leaving.

The emergency room did another xray and lots of blood work.  They did not want to leave any thing not done.  I was very grateful.

Have it checked out and good luck.

Mylinda

The coughing is horrible!! Over two years out of radiation, I still occassionally have an uncontrollable coughing fit, when I come into contact with dust, smoke or cold, dry air. The only thing that helped me at night during the worst of it was either sleeping propped up on the couch or in a recliner. I did that for over a year! That way, the secretions don't drain as much. Also, use a humidifier A LOT, especially if you are running your heat at home or at work. It keeps the air moist. I also used plain saline nasal spray and that would help some. I have been on Lortab Elixir for two years now and that helps control the cough also. But it really took me a long time to get over treatment, and I am still using a PEG tube, so unfortunately I can't speak to the eating question. I do know that it is very, very important to try so that those swallowing muscles do not atrophy.

I remember the coughing, then gagging, then vomiting. I think it's normal stuff, and it just takes time; but good idea to check and make sure it's nothing else unrelated to the rad, etc. I'm 11 1/2 mos out of treatments and basically still have NO saliva and about 30% taste. There may still be some improvemtns, maybe not. Eating is still a struggle and water is still necessary for every waking moment and especially eating. A whole p/nut butter sandwich w/o water ? Wow-sounds like a dream come true! (on both counts) Gayle  

 

On 3/12/2008 gayleann wrote:

A whole p/nut butter sandwich w/o water ? Wow-sounds like a dream come true! (on both counts) Gayle  

I was lucky and the radiation only killed the right side salivary glands.  My left side was "stunned", but fought back. It's now doing a pretty good job of compensating for the dead right side. I still leave a sticky slime on drinking glasses :)

My docs told me it would happen like that.  70% of the radiation was targeted on the right side.  The left side just got some "just in case" shots.

What pisses me off the most about this whole deal is that ice cream still tastes bad :(

Tom 

Hello There,

I finished radio May 2007 and I still have a difficulty swallowing, I am now on the Budwig diet. I must admit I feel so much better now that i can get some real nourishment. My wife makes fab smoothies, adding banana etc thinned with fresh juice or sometimes even champage as per the diet and they all just slide down a treat.

Hang on in there, and try aloe vera juice for healing it is amazing.

My mum had the same problem - and it is terribly distressing... the doctor gave her a kind of vapour inhaler machine which was meant to help in some way - sometimes it did - sometimes not - but she had many other complications so these were most likely causing more problems. might be worth a try. anything on his throat (including our 6 litres of saliva a day!) will probably be irritating it at the mo.... very hard times, but it does get far less sensitive. Definitely plague your GP and specialist to keep thinking of different ways to sort it - there are other ideas out there but the med profession sometimes need a push!

 if i think of anything else i'll email.

 best

libby

My mother had that terrible cough.  We treated it with Hycadin ( a cough syrup) and used a nebulizer.  She also had acupuncture twice a week, and many of her symptoms, like the cough, did clear up.