Would welcome advice on how to prepare for radiotherapy

Suzie1972dfe140 said:

They haven’t given me a PEG so, like you I will try to cope without but we’ll see.

Don’t struggle. I wasn’t offered one either but I had an NG at the end of week three. 

Hi Peter, can I just ask you how to make a mouthwash from salt and bicarb? What are the quantities? Thanks,

Hi mine was made up like this 1 litre lukewarm water 2 teaspoon salt I bi carb or baking power. I made it up in a morning then used through the day. Hospital gave me quantity to use. 
don’t stress over feeding tube my ng was fitted end if week 3 I had it in due 6 weeks in rural. Was my lifesaver when I needed it 

Hazel xx

Suzie1972dfe140 said:

Hi Peter, can I just ask you how to make a mouthwash from salt and bicarb? What are the quantities? Thanks,

There are so many recipes because the amounts aren’t critical. I made mine up fresh every time using a cup of water with a four finger pinch of both  ingredients 

As Hazel says in her response.  I kept mine until I had used the whole litre rather than make it daily.  It probably lasted 3 days as I tended to swill a little with each medication time.

Hi Peter You mention a humidifer, any tips on which one to get? Thanks

Hi and welcome ,A feeding tube is essential as swallowing can become very difficult i had a RIG fitted about 2 weeks prior to treatment starting and after 2 weeks i was reliant on it for food water and medication i am 8 weeks in recovery and am still using it .Get some high fluoride  tooth paste and Mouth wash and use as much as possible radiotherapy can rot your teeth and jaw .Start talking to your cancer team about pain relief i never really got on top of it which makes life more difficult . Im sure there are things ive missed but to me these were the main points .Good Luck .

I brought this on Amazon - but I am a smart home geek!!

LEVOIT Smart Humidifiers for Bedroom Large Room Home , 6 L Top-Fill Warm & Cool Mist Humidifier for Plants | Baby, Intelliengent Humidity Monitor - Essential Oil & Timer, Up to 50H for 70 ㎡ : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

There are lots of different ones and I see it is offered for less outside of Amazon.

I had the exact same surgery with the flap reconstruction from my arm. I'm going to be brutally honest with you but I'm also 18 years post op so I can give you all the advice including progression. 

I would definitely ask them to prescribe you xanax, liquid morphine (when you get to that point), chlorhexidine mouthwash and a numbing mouth rinse.  

Radiation effects take time so the first 1 week up until halfway the 2nd week isn't bad. You feel like you've laid out at the beach bc you're kind of warm and just tired. And then it gets worse before it gets better. I broke out in weird blisters on my chin that later turned into scarring but you can barely tell, then you turn slightly red like a sunburn, the fatigue gets worse, you lose your taste for a bit, and it feels like razorblades in your mouth and when you swallow.  That's where all the mouthwash requests come in bc most toothpastes have xylitol which will burn so the mouth wash keeps it clean, and the numbing rinse helps too.  

Also buy LOTS of Ensure drinks.  They had me drinking 6 a day and luckily I had a drill sergeant mother that made sure I drank them no matter what for that reason I was able to avoid the feeding tube. 

After completing the treatment your taste will slowly come back but nothing like before and the pain goes away.   But you'll have dry mouth for the rest of your life but you can do this!

Hi FLgirlhybridtongue 

Are you in the USA? The kuquid morphine we get is oramorph and that’s pretty standard here Our hospitals are very reluctant to prescribe oral local anaesthetic due to the danger of aspiration. We tend to be prescribed feeding tubes usually as a matter of course. 
We don’t have to pay for our meal replacement drinks. They are free for as long as we need them, even if it’s for life 

As for dry mouth must of us get enough saliva back to be able to eat but not enough to protect our teeth. Thats the reason for lifelong high fluoride toothpaste.