Today, I had an interesting experience.... the "swallow" exam. Basically, the stuck a camera down (up?) my nose and watched me swallow blue water and blue applesauce. The worst part of the whole thing was the placement of the camera. Then, my snot blurred up the camera, so they had to take it out and clean it, before they put it back in again. They numbed me up real good first, but it still wasn't really pleasant. ... the doc said "Some people have noses that were made for this. You aren't one of them." Other than that, the test was uneventful. It was kinda cool to watch my mouth/throat on TV while I swallowed. The doc even said I have "normal" swallowing reflexes.
There was also a physical therapist there who gave me a series of exercises to do minimize the damage to my swallowing reflex during radiation. Right now, they seem kinda silly - stick out your tongue, point it left and right. relax, repeat. I am sure they will help, though.
I also picked up the fluoride trays from the dentist yesterday. They fit well and aren't too uncomfortable. I only have to wear them about a minute a day, anyway. They will help me not get cavities as a result of the dry mouth from radiation, and I have to wear them for at least the next 6 months.
I am trying not to focus to much on the possible side effects of the rad...Most of the effects are "possible, but not guaranteed" but the more I learn, the more I don't really like what I am hearing. So far I may be tired, have dry mouth, tooth decay, trouble eating and/or swallowing, change/loose my sense of taste, loose my hearing in my right ear, have skin effects/burns on my face. They also cannot guarantee that the side effects will go away... So when I am grumpy in a month or two, please humor me and bring me a milkshake :).
In the way of good news, my dissolving stitches are really dissolving, and my scar is beginning to fade.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remember to sign your comments! Thanks for reading.