Well it’s been 2 ½ weeks since my last update. Sorry it’s taken so long, but there really hasn’t been anything to report. There has been a negligible improvement in my sore throat, but that’s about it.
I saw my ENT doctor last Wednesday and he said I was doing as well as could be expected. He scoped my throat and said the primary tumor site is healing well and there were no indications of a recurrence. He didn’t have much of an explanation for my continued sore throat and tongue except that it’s hard to actually tell when the radiation treatment actually ends and when the healing process begins and ends. He said I should be feeling better in a couple of weeks, months etc. I told him I was getting frustrated with the slow healing process. He did give me an additional prescription for DEXAMETHASONE, a potent synthetic member of the glucocorticoid class of steroid drugs. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant. Its potency is about 20-30 times that of the naturally occurring hormone hydrocortisone and 4-5 times of prednisone, it’s normally taken orally and swallowed, but he is only having me gargle with it. It seems to be helping.
I haven’t taken a pain killer in 3 days, but my throat still gets what seem to be tender dry spots during the day. I need a shot of water every 15 – 20 minutes to keep the throat lubed. My tongue is also still tender, but the right side has healed to the point where chewing on that side isn’t too painful. So eating the last couple of days has gotten better. I’m also sleeping better. I’ve graduated to sleeping on my sides again, Yaaaaaa !!!!! I hated sleeping on my back. I only get up 2 – 3 times during the night now. I don’t have to clear my throat as much. I still have nasty thick saliva, but it doesn’t seem to gather in my throat anywhere near as much as it once did. When I wake up in the morning my throat is dry and tender, but 4 – 5 swallows of water seem to sooth things a bit.
We did a bunch of yard work this last weekend. It tired me out and I had to rest often but the activity did me good.
Long weekend coming up (Memorial Day), I wanted to take the RV out to the lake, but Terry thought it would be too much for me. I disagree, but she’ll win out.
I have a business trip scheduled for the 2nd week of June to the United Kingdom, but I’ll make up my mind next week if I’m actually going to attend. I need to be eating better and have little to no pain if I’m going to resume my world travels and I’m just not there yet.
So that’s it, not much change, but some improvement. ENT Doctor wants to see me again in July for a follow-up.
Back at ya a little sooner next time.
Miller, out
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Mothers Day
Terry is on her way back to Texas from Green Bay. Her mother was moved to an assisted living facility on Thursday and seems to be settling in ok. She’s not thrilled to be there but understands it’s only a transition until she can take care of herself again. She should only be there 2 weeks. Terry has been amazing in her dedication to her mother and making sure she’s getting the best care. I know it’s been very stressful for her, I hope she can decompress a bit once she’s home.
I got my Percocet prescription renewed and I’ve been taking 2 a day up until Saturday. I didn’t take my usual morning dose and it didn’t seem to make much difference until later in the day. I also didn’t take a morning dose this morning and it seems somewhat bearable. It doesn’t make sense to me. The sore throat is uncomfortable, but not too painful until I try and swallow something.
I’ve still got a sore throat and my tongue and mouth are still sore as well. I managed to eat some meals containing noodles. On my trip back to San Antonio I had a lay-over in Chicago; I needed to eat so I tried a noodle dish from one of the Asian restaurants there at the food court. It wasn’t too uncomfortable to eat, so I tried a couple of quickie noodle dishes (add water, microwave) from the Asian section of our grocery store when I got home. Other then that I’m still mainly eating soup, boost and yogurt. I’m hovering around 150 lbs, that’s down from around 180 lbs back in December. It wouldn’t bother me too much, but a good portion of those 30 lbs was lean muscle mass not just fat.
I kind of feel like I’ve been hit by a truck today. I feel like I’ve got a cold, except I don’t have any of the head cold symptoms, I’m just achy all over. My hands hurt and I’ve got a band of mild pain that runs from under my arms across my chest. My back feels like I’ve been in the gym doing back exercises.
This could be a Erbitux side effect. One of the other cancer patients that was prescribed Erbitux complained of skin pain a couple of weeks after his treatments had stopped. He said his skin was very sensitive and painful and it hurt having clothes on. I’m hoping my body pain isn’t going that route. I’m not sure I want to take any more time off from work and I doubt Terry would be too impressed if all I wanted to do is sit around the house naked.
Thursday and Friday went well at work. I feel a bit drained during the mid-afternoon, but that may be attributed somewhat to boredom, the main computer I use is down and I’m not able to communicate with some of my European co-workers or access the material on that computer. It’s a good thing I’m a salaried employee and don’t have to account for a certain amount of production.
So, it’s been another unremarkable week as far as my recovery is concerned. I keep expecting to wake up one morning without a sore throat or tongue. I know that’s going to happen one day, I just want it to be sooner rather than later. This coming Tuesday will be 6 weeks since my last radiation treatment and I’m not sure I’ve made much improvement other than not having to take as much pain relief as I was taking then.
So, I guess that’s it for this up-date.
Y’all take care.
Miller, out
I got my Percocet prescription renewed and I’ve been taking 2 a day up until Saturday. I didn’t take my usual morning dose and it didn’t seem to make much difference until later in the day. I also didn’t take a morning dose this morning and it seems somewhat bearable. It doesn’t make sense to me. The sore throat is uncomfortable, but not too painful until I try and swallow something.
I’ve still got a sore throat and my tongue and mouth are still sore as well. I managed to eat some meals containing noodles. On my trip back to San Antonio I had a lay-over in Chicago; I needed to eat so I tried a noodle dish from one of the Asian restaurants there at the food court. It wasn’t too uncomfortable to eat, so I tried a couple of quickie noodle dishes (add water, microwave) from the Asian section of our grocery store when I got home. Other then that I’m still mainly eating soup, boost and yogurt. I’m hovering around 150 lbs, that’s down from around 180 lbs back in December. It wouldn’t bother me too much, but a good portion of those 30 lbs was lean muscle mass not just fat.
I kind of feel like I’ve been hit by a truck today. I feel like I’ve got a cold, except I don’t have any of the head cold symptoms, I’m just achy all over. My hands hurt and I’ve got a band of mild pain that runs from under my arms across my chest. My back feels like I’ve been in the gym doing back exercises.
This could be a Erbitux side effect. One of the other cancer patients that was prescribed Erbitux complained of skin pain a couple of weeks after his treatments had stopped. He said his skin was very sensitive and painful and it hurt having clothes on. I’m hoping my body pain isn’t going that route. I’m not sure I want to take any more time off from work and I doubt Terry would be too impressed if all I wanted to do is sit around the house naked.
Thursday and Friday went well at work. I feel a bit drained during the mid-afternoon, but that may be attributed somewhat to boredom, the main computer I use is down and I’m not able to communicate with some of my European co-workers or access the material on that computer. It’s a good thing I’m a salaried employee and don’t have to account for a certain amount of production.
So, it’s been another unremarkable week as far as my recovery is concerned. I keep expecting to wake up one morning without a sore throat or tongue. I know that’s going to happen one day, I just want it to be sooner rather than later. This coming Tuesday will be 6 weeks since my last radiation treatment and I’m not sure I’ve made much improvement other than not having to take as much pain relief as I was taking then.
So, I guess that’s it for this up-date.
Y’all take care.
Miller, out
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Reversal of Fortunes
I started the week out with a full day at work on Monday. It wasn’t easy getting out of bed at 4:45am, but it’s the routine I’ll have to get used to again. Then Tuesday arrived.
About 8:00am Tuesday morning Terry called me at work and said her mother had been admitted to the hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin with a bowel obstruction. This is the same woman that celebrated her 95th birthday back in mid-April, so it was a serious situation. I made quick airline reservations and we were on our way to Green Bay at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. We arrived at 8:30pm and went straight to the hospital to find out she had made it through the surgery on her bowel and was resting comfortably. The doctor hoped for a one hour procedure, but it ended up being a four hour surgery.
Our trip to Green Bay was definitely better then the trip Terry made back in April. We left San Antonio and flew to Chicago, had a 2 hour layover and then a 45 minute flight to Green Bay. I popped a Percocet just prior to leaving the house and I took a couple of Tylenol in Chicago. We got a bowl of soup in Chicago and that got me through until we got to Terry’s mother’s home later that night.
So now instead of being the care receiver, I’m now a care giver. We worked out a schedule where Terry, I, Karen (Terry’s niece) and her husband Dave spend about 17 hours of the day in her hospital room. There isn’t much we can do, but for some reason she expects someone to be there. She’s a feisty old coot and keeps everyone on their toes. Even the nurses caught on real quick, she’s not to be messed with. She’ll let you know in no uncertain terms if she’s unhappy with what is going on. She’s not happy about being in the hospital and wants to leave as soon as possible. She didn’t know it at first, but the doctor said she will probably have to spend about 2 weeks in some kind of assisted care before she can go back to living alone in her own home. I think she’s coming around to the idea, but isn’t happy about it. If everything goes ok, she should be released sometime early next week. Meanwhile we’ll be keeping watch over her.
But seeing as this blog is all about “me”, let me give you my update. As I said earlier, I was beginning full days back at work and I guess that was going to work out ok. I’ve pretty much been putting in full days here.
I’m still not on solid food. I’m still doing soft cereal in the morning along with a bottle of Boost for breakfast. For lunch I do another Boost and a carton of yogurt. We found some really good Greek yogurt here in Green Bay, I’ll have to look around and see if I can find it in San Antonio. For dinner we’ve been stopping and picking up some soup. I can get that down ok if the vegetables are cooked soft enough. It sometimes still raises some sores in my mouth eating the soup, but I think that may have something to do with the temperature of the soup when I eat it. I’m going to find something different tomorrow, I’m getting a little tired of soup. This afternoon Terry called me from the hospital and requested that I pick up some take out from one of our favorite restaurants, Kroll’s, they have great hamburgers. I went there ordered a couple of burgers, fries, a chocolate milk shake and some soup. As I was driving from the restaurant to the hospital the smell of the burgers and fries was driving me crazy, I almost pulled over and rubbed the burgers and fries all over me hoping to get the benefit via osmosis.
I woke up with a very sore throat Saturday morning and the Percocet didn’t do much to ease the pain. I went through a bit more Tylenol and Ibuprofen than I probably should have, but I made it through the day. I think the humidity level is really low in the hospital and here in Green Bay and I think that may have an effect on my throat. I only have 10 Percocet left and I want to use it judiciously. I definitely want enough for the trip back to San Antonio.
I guess the biggest obstacle other than having to deal with taking care of Terry’s mother is finding me food to eat that I can get down with as little pain as possible. The usual enjoyment of going home is experiencing the food of our youth and visiting with family and friends. In my condition that enjoyment is muted and I have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy themselves eating all my favorites. I’ll get over it. One day soon I’ll get to eat anything I want. It’s the price I pay now for eternal happiness later on. I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven.
So, the adventure continues. I’m making progress I guess, if ever so slight. It’s frustrating that my throat isn’t improving at a more rapid rate, but I have no other option than just plodding along and seeing what life sets before me next week.
Cheers,
Miller, out
About 8:00am Tuesday morning Terry called me at work and said her mother had been admitted to the hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin with a bowel obstruction. This is the same woman that celebrated her 95th birthday back in mid-April, so it was a serious situation. I made quick airline reservations and we were on our way to Green Bay at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon. We arrived at 8:30pm and went straight to the hospital to find out she had made it through the surgery on her bowel and was resting comfortably. The doctor hoped for a one hour procedure, but it ended up being a four hour surgery.
Our trip to Green Bay was definitely better then the trip Terry made back in April. We left San Antonio and flew to Chicago, had a 2 hour layover and then a 45 minute flight to Green Bay. I popped a Percocet just prior to leaving the house and I took a couple of Tylenol in Chicago. We got a bowl of soup in Chicago and that got me through until we got to Terry’s mother’s home later that night.
So now instead of being the care receiver, I’m now a care giver. We worked out a schedule where Terry, I, Karen (Terry’s niece) and her husband Dave spend about 17 hours of the day in her hospital room. There isn’t much we can do, but for some reason she expects someone to be there. She’s a feisty old coot and keeps everyone on their toes. Even the nurses caught on real quick, she’s not to be messed with. She’ll let you know in no uncertain terms if she’s unhappy with what is going on. She’s not happy about being in the hospital and wants to leave as soon as possible. She didn’t know it at first, but the doctor said she will probably have to spend about 2 weeks in some kind of assisted care before she can go back to living alone in her own home. I think she’s coming around to the idea, but isn’t happy about it. If everything goes ok, she should be released sometime early next week. Meanwhile we’ll be keeping watch over her.
But seeing as this blog is all about “me”, let me give you my update. As I said earlier, I was beginning full days back at work and I guess that was going to work out ok. I’ve pretty much been putting in full days here.
I’m still not on solid food. I’m still doing soft cereal in the morning along with a bottle of Boost for breakfast. For lunch I do another Boost and a carton of yogurt. We found some really good Greek yogurt here in Green Bay, I’ll have to look around and see if I can find it in San Antonio. For dinner we’ve been stopping and picking up some soup. I can get that down ok if the vegetables are cooked soft enough. It sometimes still raises some sores in my mouth eating the soup, but I think that may have something to do with the temperature of the soup when I eat it. I’m going to find something different tomorrow, I’m getting a little tired of soup. This afternoon Terry called me from the hospital and requested that I pick up some take out from one of our favorite restaurants, Kroll’s, they have great hamburgers. I went there ordered a couple of burgers, fries, a chocolate milk shake and some soup. As I was driving from the restaurant to the hospital the smell of the burgers and fries was driving me crazy, I almost pulled over and rubbed the burgers and fries all over me hoping to get the benefit via osmosis.
I woke up with a very sore throat Saturday morning and the Percocet didn’t do much to ease the pain. I went through a bit more Tylenol and Ibuprofen than I probably should have, but I made it through the day. I think the humidity level is really low in the hospital and here in Green Bay and I think that may have an effect on my throat. I only have 10 Percocet left and I want to use it judiciously. I definitely want enough for the trip back to San Antonio.
I guess the biggest obstacle other than having to deal with taking care of Terry’s mother is finding me food to eat that I can get down with as little pain as possible. The usual enjoyment of going home is experiencing the food of our youth and visiting with family and friends. In my condition that enjoyment is muted and I have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy themselves eating all my favorites. I’ll get over it. One day soon I’ll get to eat anything I want. It’s the price I pay now for eternal happiness later on. I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven, I’m going to heaven.
So, the adventure continues. I’m making progress I guess, if ever so slight. It’s frustrating that my throat isn’t improving at a more rapid rate, but I have no other option than just plodding along and seeing what life sets before me next week.
Cheers,
Miller, out
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
