Dry mouth

The sore throat is getting better.  I have been able to swallow without pain, which is a huge blessing.  Of course I had to push it to it's limits and attempt a bowl full of Guacamole with tortilla chips.  Chewing the chips was a challenge, but I just had to take my time.  Then I started getting a little cocky and eating a bit too fast.  Too big of a bite of guac, with some semi-chewed chips dragged across the sore area and opened it up again.

My "I'm in pain" dance resembles something like a rooster strutting around while stomping his feet and screaming like a school girl.  Fortunately, few have been around to witness it. Wow, did that hurt.  That set me back a few days of healing.

Today, the inflammation activity is around my left eye.  It has been nearly four weeks since my last treatment, and I can still feel the protons at work.  The radiation is diminishing.  Soon, it will be gone and I will be left to find what the healing process will look like.

Although I am able to keep my positive attitude through this, I have to admit that it is starting to get a little tedious.  I don't like the unknowns.  If they told me that this is as good as it is going to get, I could wrap my head around it and push forward with this being my new normal.  I still haven't been scheduled for my four week MRI and evaluation.  I hope to have answers at that time.

Of the lingering side effects, the dry mouth is by far the worse.  That Mucositis, that we talked about before, prevents mucus from being formed in the mouth and throat areas.  This is made worse when you begin to, subconsciously, breath through your mouth.  The sinuses are constantly drying up blocking air flow, so before you know it, your mouth and tongue are as dry as the Sahara Desert.  You can't swallow, and you can't even talk.  

They recommend that we wash out our mouths with a baking soda/water rinse, to wash away the dried up heavy mucus and moisten the mouth.  For any cancer patients that are reading this, understand that this is very important.  But, even more important is keeping your sinuses clear.  You have to do whatever it is that you have to do, in order to survive this.  I use over the counter Oxymetazoline HCI 0.05% Nasal Decongestant spray (Afrin brand).  The doctors warned that using a nasal spray will dry out your already dried out sinuses, but to me, it is a small price to pay to keep the mouth from drying out.

When my mouth dries out, so does the sore.  This prevents it from healing, and the cycle starts again.  I spend all day keeping my mouth rinsed out, keeping my sinuses clear, and allowing the sore to heal over.  Then, I to go to sleep at night, where at some point, I start breathing through my mouth, which dries it out again.  I'm thinking that I might try taping my mouth shut.  Would I wake up if my sinuses clogged up and I couldn't breath through my nose?

Our daughter, Kate, came up to spend a week with us.  We haven't actually seen Kate since her wedding three years ago.  She and her husband, Phil, live in Carbondale, in Southern Illinois.  We are all enjoying her company, especially Quinn and Joe.  

I should be heading back to the Chicago Proton Center in the next week.  As of right now, none of my nerve issues have resolved.  This will take time.