Things have been going really smoothly so far. I am in and out of treatment in 15 minutes or less each day and I have been able to do whatever I feel like doing.
At this point the only side effect I am experiencing is a sore throat, which was to be expected. It started out pretty mild about 4 or 5 days ago, but has been getting progressively worse. It's not unbearable, however certain times are painful. When I sneeze, it feels like part of my throat and the inside of my ear are being ripped out. It's not nice, and I've been sneezing a lot lately due to allergies. I also felt my throat hurting when I ate breakfast yesterday. I made the mistake of eating toast, and the dry, rough bread didn't feel so nice going down.
Luckily, I saw Dr. Siker and Dr. Gore after treatment. Dr. Siker was more friendly and calm than at our first meeting. I enjoyed talking to her for those few minutes. When I told her about the sore throat, she gave me a prescription for a numbing solution that I can take before eating. She also told me to take Tylenol for the pain. I first used the solution before dinner last night. It's a combination of several ingredients, one of which is lidocaine. It feels odd because it does make the parts it touches numb, so for awhile, I could feel that tingling numbness on my tongue, lips, and the back of my mouth. It did help though, because I was able to eat dinner without any issues. It doesn't taste the best, but it's not awful either. The solution has a slight minty taste to it and has a creamy consistency - probably to better coat the throat.
I'm so glad that I only have six more radiation treatments left. This will be done soon and I can return to a somewhat normal life again.
hey mikey! i had that stuff when i had a really bad case of strep, it really works great!
ReplyDeleteare you planning on doing anything to celebrate when you're done with treatment??