I am SOOOO frustrated

We are all different I couldn’t touch mash potatoes first almost 2 years far too grainy. Try sweet potatoes they can be easier. Mushy peas like wise claggy faggiots  never had them but mince took me a long time tk be able to eat.  
acupuncture takes time ur doesn’t work for everyone. How far out if treatment are you ? 

hazel 

I’m 4 months out of treatment for orophangeal cancer

Hi You may nit  think it but it’s early days in the scheme so f things. 
im 7 years out and can eat most things apart from spicy. It doesn’t   happen over night but give it a few months and improvements start. I went along the lines that nursery food helped me if a baby couldn’t eat it I took the line of thinking that it wouldn’t go into my mouth either poached eggs smashed avocado home-made soup  cheap white bread toasted was easier than artisan bread  It’s all try  if you can’t eat one week try again later like I said earlier mashed potatoes were big no no for me for a good time but sweet potatoes very easy .

treatment does a lot if damage and takes time to recover  tea and coffee dehydrate alongside alcohol  remember that  I have a few coffees but mostly herbal tea  I’m the oddball i have  ni tolerance for alcohol can di alcohol free Guineas or beer. My oncologist said alcohol in moderation but no spirits  

just keep trying we all recover differently  I managed a small Christmas dinner 4  months post but derived no pleasure the following year was much better 

Hazel x

I know we can all get frustrated as we all would like things to get back the way they were. 4 months is still very early stage. Take little steps at a time. Try to re-introduce new food regularly and if it does not work, try again in a few weeks time. I only started eating again over 3 months after my treatment as I had mouth ulcers. After that in the first year following the removal of my peg, I stuck to very simply food : mash( sweet potatoes) , avocados, yogurts, milkshakes, part boiled eggs, mousses. I regularly introduced new food and tried again a couple of months after if unsuccessfull. 

You will get there. 

Fab1

It takes time and perseverance to kickstart our appetite and taste. We do get frustrated, and depression can accompany the frustration, but things do eventually improve.

A rant now and again is good for the soul, most of us have had a rant or two somewhere down the treatment/recovery line.

I sympathise. At 16 weeks I really really fancied a Big Mac

Burger/ plastic cheese/ gherkin/ ketchup … the works. I could smell it. I sank my teeth into one bit and chewed. Nothing! Absolutely nothing. 
The other thing you watch out for later on when your taste starts returning……… You taste the first bite only for it all to disappear after the second. Very frustrating 

You're right Colster it is so frustrating. Anticipating being able to get back to the food you used to enjoy and then being disappointed. It can take a while for improvement but it does happen.  In the meantime keep up your calories as you need to stay healthy during your recovery stage. I started to eat things that I would normally not try and that did help. Sometimes it tasted O.K. and other times not. I found really moist meat found in shop bought shepherd pies fitted the bill texture and moisture wise although the taste was not right. Most other meats too dry and the texture not good. Try experimenting with some different steamed veg as they are nice and soft, also different stewed fruit. They have the moisture in them when they are stewed. Custards, yoghurt, icecream mixed in with a slice of cake makes it moist enough to be acceptable. Just keep experimenting. You will get there.

Best wishes

Lyn

Hi Colster,

As someone now just 7 months post surgery, Chemo and RT treatment for tonsil and neck cancer, what you are experiencing is generally pretty normal in a long recovery process full of of highs and lows.

I remember telling people that asked, how difficult it was up to 2-3 months post treatment, to eat meals when a) it hurt, and as importantly b) it tasted either horrible or of nothing. I would class this as a "low" in my recovery process.

But as this will improve, just wait until you get that "high". I remember so vividly the morning I made myself a ham and cheese omelette with plenty of salt, thinking "here we go again with another tough day", and then suddenly could taste it! It still hurt to eat,  but being able to taste again, made the pain management of eating so much more bearable and easy to take. A Huge milestone ( I rang my wife at work just to tell her) and my eating and tasting gradually improved from there, and 7 months out its almost back to normal and pain free.

So keep going, keep experimenting with food types and you will get there.

A few Tips when starting to eat again:

Scrambbled egg on Fried bread, instead of toast.

Quakers protein porridge (with a sliced banana and runny honey) for breakfast.

2 x egg Omelettes with diced ham and grated cheese.

Shop bought fish pie ready meals.

Gravy with almost every main meal.

If you do have any other questions or concerns, please do bring them up and many of us here that have been through this, will be there with advice and support

MickyC

Morning Micky.

My OH is at a similar stage as yourself, eight months post surgery and treatment, albeit a different operation.

Although he didn't suffer pain or ulcers on swallowing, his appetite was poor post RT and I worried about his weight loss.  However, I persevered and it's really picked up over the last few weeks.  Yesterday he ate medium rare steak and fried onions, with a good dollop of garlic butter infused mash.  This was on top of a good breakfast, plenty of fruit and other treats.

You're a powerhouse of information and advice and provide upbeat encouragement.  Good work, you, and I'm sure Colster, and others, appreciate your commitment to the group.  I certainly do!

Hugs, Gill xxx 

Hi Gill and thanks for your kind words.

I know that you are going through this with your OH and good on you for providing that much needed support, but only he and people like us that have had the treatment will understand the joy (what i keep referring to as " highs") of eating something tasty again for the first time in months, such as a steak (I can only imagine how good that must have been for him, and satisfying for you to know he must be finally on the mend), and on top of that realising by doing that you are well on the way to getting back to some kind of normality.

Keep up all the good work and do stay in touch.

MickyC