Advise on painkillers please

Hi Liz. Other analgesics like fentanyl or buprenorphine are available but truthfully they tackle background pain. There is nothing short of local anaesthesia that will touch the acute pain of swallowing. In The States lidocaine mouthwash and lollipops are prescribed but hardly ever here in the U.K.  

We are prescribed Difflam mouthwash which is a NSAD and gargling with that or soluble aspirin ( then spitting) can help for a while  

I had long acting morphine which held the background pain largely at bay and I had oramorph for breakthrough  but I gave up swallowing to use my NG. It saved my pain and my sanity    
Maybe you could ask about a nasogastric tube . You shouldn’t suffer like this, you have another five weeks before the pain begins to subside  

Good evening Izzy, from what I learned when it comes to painkillers, management of painkillers ,is very individualised, when my hubby went through his treatment,he was on different ones,at some point he was on opioids, but they made him more depressed,so he came off those.At the end he stayed on paracetamol. Speak to your medical team. Like Dani said,you shouldn't suffer like this,you don't need to be a hero. It's still some way to go. All the best for the rest of your journey. Fellow wife Mel x

Hi when I had CRT I was prescribed a mild anaesthetic but it was just about useless - and even the prescribing doctor said as much.  One of the problems is that if you hit the throat too hard with an anaesthetic  then the epiglottis can fail to work properly and you aspirate.

Personally I did find that paracetamol worked quite well for me.  Morphine had zero benefit to me so I was on Oxycodone and long acting opioid patches.  They worked well to take away the background pain.

The reality is that tube feeding may be the best and most sensible option for you.  Discuss with your team.  Hydration and nutrition are essential to recovery.