2 weeks post treatment

Hi have you tried laxido or movicol for the constipation I used them daily during and after treatment. 
we’re all different re food I started 3 weeks into treatment my blogs below. Sone start around then some  take  months there’s no right or wrong way.  This recipe link may help you  but remember it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon on the eating front nutrition is vital along with hydration to aid recovery  Well done on completing treatment  

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/66263025/cookbook-by-andrew-gaylor-head-and-neck-cancer-survivor-2022

Hazel x

Yve said:

Hoping I might be able to start trying soft foods & more liquids via my mouth in the next week. But don't want to push & rush things too much....is that being too ambitious?

No not at all. Try different things. I had an NG  tube in for 8 weeks. I was pump fed overnight which was a godsend. It meant I could try different foods in the day without worrying I actually needed to eat  them 

You don’t need to limit yourself to mush either. Try melted cheese. Toasted tea cakes with masses of butter. Tinned peaches. Tinned macaroni cheese. Dunked  biscuits. 

Thanks Dani

I am tube feeding during the day, which can be a bit of a chore to be honest. But only because it takes so long to get me to the 2500 calories I have to put thru. So definately will look at changing to a night feed.

Will certainly try the tinned peaches. Not had them since I was a kid & really fancy trying them again.

Thank you for the advice

Thanks Hazel,

Thats a good help & I will take a look thru the receipes.

Yve

Hi Yve. I used my PEG from week 4. I used a night pump to get all the calories in & in the day used it for hydration & meds. When I began to try & eat orally again I found creme caramel, custard/cream from the tops of mini trifles, skyr with honey all to be the easiest. I could only manage a teaspoon of these at a time but as the days/weeks went by I tried different things - soggy weetabix was my ‘go to’ for quite a while. Now at 7 months post treatment it is still trial & error but I can eat a good range of foods now. 
Definitely try Laxido for constipation. 
All the best with your recovery. 

Yve said:

The hardest thing to get under control, was the constipation- surprisingly. It caused alot of pain & sleepless nights, despite taking regualr doses of Laxidole.

Strange, that. A few people report that despite laxatives they still had problems. Perhaps it’s a case of taking more? Exercise is good too. Just a gentle walk helps things along and I know those first two weeks are a real challenge. All I wanted to do was sleep. 

Hi Yve

“The hardest thing to get under control, was the constipation- surprisingly. It caused alot of pain & sleepless nights, despite taking regualr doses of Laxidole.”

I was pleased that  you have mentioned this as,I too, had dreadful constipation whilst being fed through my RIG tube. One night, I had a more than 5 hour wait in A&E with possible impaction. And this at a stage of my treatment when I thought I could not possibly feel any worse……I did!

It was sorted with an enema but not an experience I ever want to repeat. Regularity is still an issue 14 months post treatment which I understand my be a long term consequence of the CT.
( Also, my hands and feet are noticeably colder in the cooler weather now and  I did also have some “foot drop” which required a change in my CT).

I am also pleased to hear that your skin is healing ( don’t forget the Factor 50) and good luck with the reintroduction of more foods. It does take time and just persevere as it will get better.

All the best

- John

Thanks for the reply John. The severity of the constipation took me by surprise really, but the worst is over now. Thankfully.

But I have developed a hard lump in one of the veins in my fore arm. It's in the same vein, but about 3 inchs further up , from the site of my first Chemo of Cisplatin. The chemo in this vein was about 2 months ago, so surprised it has taken so long to come up.

Its not painful, but not sure if I should be worried bout blood clots?

Has anyone else experienced this? Could try getting appointment with GP- but they don't seem to be easy to get at the moment.

Thank you

Yve

Yve said:

The chemo in this vein was about 2 months ago, so surprised it has taken so long to come up.

Its not painful, but not sure if I should be worried bout blood clots?

Has anyone else experienced this? Could try getting appointment with GP- but they don't seem to be easy to get at the moment.

Didn’t have chemo but did get pretty nasty fibrosis in one vein. It was just as you describe. It took a year to sort out but it did in the end 

Thanks Dani,

Did you have to do anything about it- or did it resolve itself in the end?

Not due to see the follow up team until 11th Nov, so did'nt know if it was worth trying to see the GP in the meantime?

Yve