Journal entry by Jeanine Kleist —
Granted, I have multiple pain diseases and I've experienced a lot of different things. I can usually blunder on through them--hell I did it for multiple surgeries.
Mouth. Sores. Suck.
And if anyone ever tells you they can be comparable to wisdom teeth or fillings? Oh, heck no. I don't even know what having the entire inside of your mouth covered in blisters can be equated to. A dull razor over the inside of your mouth? Constantly drinking boiling water?
Consequentially, I have been knocked on my butt this week. I was nauseous Thursday and Friday, and then the sores developed on Saturday. I haven't had a real friggin' meal since I forced down an egg and toast sandwich early Saturday morning. I've been living off of Italian ices, smoothies, popsicles, and ice creams.
A kid's dream. Until you haven't had an appropriate amount of protein in days and can barely function enough to go to the bathroom. All in all, my first round of chemo has been far from stellar.
But I keep on keeping on because what else can I do? I know it'll pass--it just sucks immensely to be dealing with this. There's no way to escape this pain. It's just always there, no matter what you try. And if anyone reading this ever does deal with mouth sores, I feel your pain.
But this concludes the first round of chemo--five more to go. What's the worst that could happen...right?
Some Mouth Sore Advice:
- Suck on ice cubes during the initial chemo--it does help.
- Eat whatever you can--smoothies, ice, Gatorade. Just keep hydrated and keep your electrolytes up.
- Those protein shakes in the small bottles like Ensure? They freeze REALLY well and have a lot of nutrients in them. I've been practically living off of them.
- Colgate Peroxyl helped when I couldn't get Magic Mouthwash right away--but now that I have it, it's helping immensely. Always call your doc when symptoms first start up. Don't be like me.
- It's okay to be in pain. You're going through chemo--so keep your head high. If anyone gives you crap about being unable to work or function, the door's right there.
Mouth. Sores. Suck.
And if anyone ever tells you they can be comparable to wisdom teeth or fillings? Oh, heck no. I don't even know what having the entire inside of your mouth covered in blisters can be equated to. A dull razor over the inside of your mouth? Constantly drinking boiling water?
Consequentially, I have been knocked on my butt this week. I was nauseous Thursday and Friday, and then the sores developed on Saturday. I haven't had a real friggin' meal since I forced down an egg and toast sandwich early Saturday morning. I've been living off of Italian ices, smoothies, popsicles, and ice creams.
A kid's dream. Until you haven't had an appropriate amount of protein in days and can barely function enough to go to the bathroom. All in all, my first round of chemo has been far from stellar.
But I keep on keeping on because what else can I do? I know it'll pass--it just sucks immensely to be dealing with this. There's no way to escape this pain. It's just always there, no matter what you try. And if anyone reading this ever does deal with mouth sores, I feel your pain.
But this concludes the first round of chemo--five more to go. What's the worst that could happen...right?
Some Mouth Sore Advice:
- Suck on ice cubes during the initial chemo--it does help.
- Eat whatever you can--smoothies, ice, Gatorade. Just keep hydrated and keep your electrolytes up.
- Those protein shakes in the small bottles like Ensure? They freeze REALLY well and have a lot of nutrients in them. I've been practically living off of them.
- Colgate Peroxyl helped when I couldn't get Magic Mouthwash right away--but now that I have it, it's helping immensely. Always call your doc when symptoms first start up. Don't be like me.
- It's okay to be in pain. You're going through chemo--so keep your head high. If anyone gives you crap about being unable to work or function, the door's right there.
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