Incredibly slow healing- at 47!

Hi Trev

Good to hear from you ,I know you might not think so but you are doing really well .11 weeks is still early days.Ive just the read my blog as intoo had tonsil cancer at at week 11 I was still having 3-4 ensures a day .Inwas eating very small plates of food, that was a tip passed on to me use a small plate in stead of a dinner plate,that way yiu aren’t over facing yourself

At 11 weeks breakfast very milky weetabix or milky porridge more drinking it than eating.

mid morning coffee dipped 2 biscuits in didn't really drink the coffee

lunch cheese on toast the bread was cheap nasty white sliced  plain vanilla ice cream

mid afternoon again sip 2 biscuits in coffee.

tea baked  salmon flaked mashed carrots a slice of Swiss roll covered in ice cream .or nibble and dip a Jaffa cake.

portions were child size .

have a read of my blog again it may help you.

its all trial and error and baby steps, I remember being determined to eat one celebration chocolate it took me 45 mins but I did it .

at your stage always have either water or Luke warm tea to help food on its way.

Hope this helps Hazel

Like Hazel says you are still at early days into your recovery, don't forget your body has a lot of  healing to do, it will all happen in time. As for eating it does take a while to start getting back to solid food, try drinking water with everything you eat, it does help. You seem to be coming on quite well, so don't worry too much about that. You will get there in the end. All the best to you.

Regards Ray.

To add to what Hazel and Ray have said keep to bland soft food as suggested. Sloppy porridge, eggs particularly poached, rice pudding, pasta even tinned macaroni cheese went down well. The ulcers are due to a dry mouth and possibly also to your toothpaste. Are you using Duraphat? Duraphat has SLS in it, a foaming agent notorious for damaging sensitive mucous membranes. I used Oranurse for a long time till my mouth settled down. 
The trick in eating with little saliva is to sip a tiny bit of water with your mouthful of food and use that to lubricate your chewing.  

Try a variety of saliva substitutes/ gels to keep your mouth moist even if you are using something every half hour. 
If you look on The Swallows website they do support boxes which they mail out to people free of charge. The one I had contained three different saliva substitutes. It’s worth sending them an email. 
Finally try some xylitol sugar free gum to stimulate saliva. 
You will get there. 
Just consider how far you’ve come. 

PS the pouch under your chin is lymphodema. You can easily massage it away. 
Put your right hand palm up flat against the wobbly bit. Stroke lightly but firmly up to behind your left ear. Repeat with the other hand. No need for oil or cream. Do this fifty times each side.  I did this six or seven times a day and in a week it made a huge difference. 

Thanks for the replies all, i do appreciate it.

Yes i am using duraphat, my dentist told me to use it 3 times a day, so i have stuck to it, but maybe i should switch.I am going to try alloclair as welll (and maybe alcohol free corsydyl)

I will definitely check out the swallow website thanks, and definitely try the massage technique!! 

You are right, i have come some way, i think it is just easy to panic over every lump now and be frustrated at progress, i am also not overjoyed that my appt is xmas eve

Thanks again.

Don’t get me wrong. Duraphat is the best to use abd I am indeed using it but I couldn’t for ages. They need to make a high fluoride SLS free one. Even now I take a week long holiday from using it if I get a mouth ulcer that doesn’t go in three days. 

Yup - it's hard to know what to do isn't it!

I am more aware of the ulcers lately but I think that is because I have come off morphine

TrevW said:

Yup - it's hard to know what to do isn't it!

Hi Trev

It's not easy. It's one thing to be told to keep our mouths clean and have a few things given to us to manage it and another to find a method that works for you.

I learned about most of the things you can use on this forum and it was largely trial and error

My head and neck team had never hear of Xylimelts, for example though strangely my oncologist had.

I'm glad you have Gelclair because most folk here say that is one of the best things for ulcers.

One of the newer products to help keep your teeth is MI PASTE and it comes with fluoride.

I coat my teeth with this at bedtime. Its not pleasant because you go to bed with a claggy mouth but it's saving my teeth

Thanks for starting this conversation and thanks for the replies. I have at 70 - had the second of two operations yesterday  before radiotherapy, with the cancered tonsil now removed, and so am some way behnd you. I am sure the tips will be useful.

Hi Forde

I hope it wasn't too bad and you're being looked after in hospital