It’s been just over 3 weeks since I finished my radiation treatment and I’m feeling a lot better. The pain around my neck is gone and the itching is not nearly as intense as it had been. I stopped applying the medicated cream and am just using aloe now. That’s working well to control the itch.
My mouth and throat are still pretty sore which is keeping me on a liquid diet for now. My lunch smoothie left my mouth and tongue feeling very “prickly” and itchy like it was full of tiny little needles. I drank some Magic Mix when I got home and that helped calm it down.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had solid food and I’m really looking forward to it, especially with the all the good holiday food right around the corner. Annabel is going to make me some chicken noodle soup to try. Hopefully I’ll be able to slowly expand my diet by easing in to soft solids. Last weekend I blended a beef stew in my Ninja just to have a different taste and test my sensitivity to new seasonings. It went down easily but I pureed it pretty well.
My biggest issue is the difficulty I’m having getting a good night sleep. It’s pretty frustrating. I tried my CPAP machine but that makes my mouth incredibly dry. I wake up with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth when I use it. I’ve also just started using a homeopathic sleep remedy and chamomile tea before bed each night. We’ll see how that goes. A friend suggested some essential oils which I’ll try next.
Falling asleep is no problem. I usually read for a while before bed and/or look through some photos and then meditate. I’m out quickly but wake up every hour or two for a few minutes. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of an intense dream and it takes me a little while to figure out where I am and settle back down. It seems like I dream constantly while I’m sleeping. This probably has something to do with the Fentanyl and my plan is to phase that out this week. Hopefully that will help me catch up on some much needed rest.
On that note, I think I’ll take a nap. It’s nice and cool here in Vero. Perfect napping weather!