Mouth sore agony!!

Terri B · 08-15-2008, 11:28 AM

I don't mean to beat a dead horse talking about my mouth sores, but dang!

I get temporary relief from the "magic mouthwash" and the warm salt water rinses and ibuprofen. But i'm just wondering if anyone else had this kind of pain.

These are on my lower right gum, under the nerve of the tooth. I have already been to the dentist to have x-rays because I thought I had an abcessed tooth! He said my teeth were fine. He did say I had a nasty "ulcer" down there that was probably bothering the nerve of the tooth.

This throbbing is annoying! It is aggravated by trying to eat (anything soft). The pain even goes up inside my ear and down my neck on that side (making me think i have an ear infection)!

I guess i didn't realize that with mouth sores, it was not necessarily an "open" type of soreness, but it's more like achey painful throb! Is this what you guys experienced? Just tell me i'm normal, and i'll quit worrying and whining.

08-15-2008, 11:49 AM

Hi Terri,
Sounds like you are having the same kind of mouth sores that I had. I had a tooth pulled prior to dx. Around 7 days after my a/c treatment I would get one of the sores in that same area it felt like a horrible toothache. I was able to see the sore and it was large enough to interfere with my other tooth. I tried everything because I thought it was a toothache and nothing would work. One night I couldn't take the pain any longer and was desperate so I got a warm wash cloth and applied pressure to the sore and it ruptured. What a relief I told my onc about the sore and he reduced my dosage and never had any more problems. This happened for my first 2 treatments. I can relate to your pain and I hope you find something that works for you.

Terri B · 08-15-2008, 11:56 AM

Wow, so they get worse and worse until they "rupture"??

I had no idea. I'm in for a lovely weekend!

Thanks for the response!

08-15-2008, 12:16 PM

Just wanted to let you know, that when I applied the pressure with the wash cloth it didn't cause me any additional pain.

Mary Anne in TX · 08-15-2008, 01:40 PM

The pain can be really bad. You might want something a bit stronger than tylenol! Call and check! I had lots of pain with the last treatment. Spent too much time with tears. Wish I had called sooner for pain meds. Best of luck. ma

Terri B · 08-15-2008, 02:01 PM

Thanks for the info MA and unregistered (who are you?)..

Yeah, I just want to make sure that "mouth sores" mean "headaches" "toothaches" "jawaches" "earaches". If that's the case, i'll keep taking the ibuprofen. It works, but it is still a little hard to eat!

I want to make sure that there is nothing else wrong! Thanks for the help!

anne2 · 08-15-2008, 03:34 PM

Hello,
I don't know if you saw my last post, but try to find a dentist that has a dental laser called WaterlaseMD and they can treat the sores with the sore and give you pain relief. I have heard that it works miracles.
http://www.waterlasedentistry.com/
Hope this helps.
Anne

08-15-2008, 09:49 PM

Hi Terri,
My name is Cheryl and I am normally just a lurker and have been for about a year and a half. I am not as well spoken as some of the other ladies, so I hide in the background (lol). I get a ton of knowledge and inspiration from all of the other ladies here. I was really able to relate to the pain you are having and just thought that I would chime in and try to help. How are you feeling?

harrie · 08-16-2008, 12:03 AM

Terri, how long have you had your ulcer? If it is an ulcer and not an abcess, it should be gone in about 12 days.
Is the achy feeling more intense with heat or at night when you are lying down?

Typically a tooth abcess is an infection that manifests itself down by the tip of the root. Sometimes the infection might have a "hole" where pus can be released in which case there is usually not much pain. If the pressure is not release with a fistula (hole), then pressure can build up and the infection can be felt more readily with throbbing and pain.

Brenda_D · 08-16-2008, 03:09 AM

When I got canker sores from my chemo, I used Anbesol gel straight on the open sores. It deadened them and gave me some relief. I tried the "magic mouthwash" too and it did nothing for me.

Sheila · 08-16-2008, 05:10 AM

Terri
I have used a mouthwash for chemo I found at Walgreens....can't remember the name but I do recall It was oncology something and the label was orange and white. It helped more than Biotene or anything else.

Becky · 08-16-2008, 06:57 AM

Here are a couple of things. Eat yogurt - maybe some of the "newer" kinds like Activa might be better. Also - get plain yogurt (yeah - plain) and use it as a mouthwash. I actually eat plain yogurt everyday (no added sugar or artificial sweetners). You will taste it by using it as a mouthwash but just know it is not vanilla

and it will be fine. This tip was given to me by a 20 yr+ survivor who was on the AC versus CMF trial (and got AC and therefore horrible mouth sores and because it was a trial there was really no advice).

Also, if you think about pain in general - a pain reliever and ice can help (drink cold ice water or suck on ice cubes). Someone else on this thread also said pressing on it helped (and compression helps muscle/nerve injuries which is why one wraps an ankle etc). Remember the olden days when someone had a tooth that had to be pulled and they had an icebag on the area and a rag tied tight around the head (probably some logic there so if you do this Terri, please take a pix of yourself and make it a temporary Avatar (lol) - don't laugh too hard as it will hurt).

If this is your first round with the epirubicin, this will be the worst of mouth sores. I got them with AC and they were the worst with the first round and not so bad thereafter.

I will be thinking of you (and smiling - wondering if you have an icebag wrapped tightly around your head).

Try to have a nice weekend!

Jackie07 · 08-16-2008, 09:38 PM

When I had the mouth sores, the oncologist gave me the prescription for the 'mouth wash' that was mixed by the in-house pharmacist. I only remember one of the three ingredience was Malox which I guess was used to neutgralize the other two ingredience so it would not hurt my stomach. And one of the other two was 'lycodine?'[lidocaine, benedryl and malox, according to your other thread]

The mouth wash was tolerable and most importantly, it worked. Call your oncologist, he/she should know what to do to relieve your mouth sores.

Terri B · 08-17-2008, 02:21 PM

Harrie, I would say that i've had this ulcer for about 2 weeks now. Sometimes i think it's getting better, then i eat something, and it takes me about 20 minutes to get the throbbing under control.

I went to my dentist, and he took x-rays. He said there is nothing wrong with my tooth. Seems like the worst time is when i try to eat. I don't have much discomfort if i'm not doing anything with my mouth (smile).

Becky, thanks for all that. I have been eating yogurt every day. It's one of the things i can eat without discomfort. But not plain (blech). I guess i will have to try it. Also, I havent begun the Epirubicin yet. I about to have my 12th weekly taxol/herceptin treatment tomorrow. Then i'll be done with that. 2 weeks off, then i start the FEC. (yum!)

Mary Anne in TX · 08-17-2008, 03:11 PM

Terri, I know this is so simple, but are you drinking tons of water (ice water, I guess)? Maybe it would help to "wash it away" with lots and lots of liquids!

Terri B · 08-17-2008, 06:27 PM

Mary Anne, yes! I drink 3 to 4 quarts of water a day! I thought that was why i was doing so good with my chemo so far!

Hey Cheryl, girl, you need to register and step forward! We would love to meet you! You can still lurk after that!