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Jaw pain when eating, following first chemotherapy session

RCFlyer
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Hi,

I had my first chemotherapy session yesterday, where I received my first infusion of Oxaliplatin. 

When I went to eat something, following my treatment, I got a horrendous shooting pain at the back of both sides of my lower jaw, close to the joint. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was a real shock when it happened. Continuing to eat would not cause the pain to occur again, but any time I now eat for the first time, the same pain occurs. Lasting 10-20 seconds. It catches me out every time.The pain also occurred at random times during the night, while I was sleeping, and I have no idea what triggered that.

I contacted the hospital department where I had my treatment, to ask about the phenomenon, but they were unfamiliar with it, and unable to offer any advice on how to manage it.

Please do you have any suggestions on how I might be able to manage the pain, and how long I might expect this to last?

A few sources on Google (sorry!) suggest that it could be something called 'First Bite Syndrome', but offer no real advice on cope with it

Thanks in advance!

  • Thanks for getting touch with your question. My name is Gemma and I am one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists here at the Macmillan support line.

    First bite syndrome is usually associated with nerve damage in head and neck surgery, so would be very unusual to be triggered by chemotherapy.

    As with any other new, worsening or changing symptoms we would recommend that this be reviewed thoroughly and as soon as possible.

    As you have already contacted your hospital team, and your symptom is in your jaw, you could try to arrange an urgent appointment with your dentist. If you cannot get an urgent review, you can call NHS111 to ask for this.

    The main risk with chemotherapy is an increased risk of infection; new pain is sometimes a symptom of infection.  Please look out for these signs of infection and if you think you might have some of them call your treatment unit straight away; they may have given you a 24hour contact number?

     

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