Numbness in mouth and sore tong

enjoylife
enjoylife Member Posts: 578
edited June 2014 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

I just had my 3rd treatment and I noticed I am begining to blow up a little puffy face I hate it and I guess there isnt much hope in loosing wieght they said while you have steriods in you I get them in pill form the day before treatment and you take them for 3 days and then they put some in your IV. Does anyone have numbness as far as your taste buds and know anything besides the rinse they tell you to rinse with. I am just starting to get my taste buds back and its only 7 days to my 4th out of 6 treatments any suggestion out there? This is the best place to find answers ....

Thanks

Maura

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited July 2008

    Maura, I don't know what type of chemo you are getting, or the treatment schedule you are on.  That makes it hard to predict what will happen or what you can do about it.

    As for the puffiness of your face, that is probably fluid retention.  Steroids can do that, but only if you take them for a really long time.  It's not likely that the 3 days of steroids we're given for our chemo infusions would cause that much fluid retention that quickly.  In fact, dexamethasone is given to decrease the fluid retention that occurs with some types of chemo.

    The weight gain may be from fluid retention, too, or it may be because you are eating different types of foods and/or not getting as much exercise as usual.  Steroids can cause our appetites to increase (although I never noticed that on chemo), so we eat more and gain weight.

    Taste buds come and go with chemo.  There is nothing you can do to rescue them.  The mouth rinses are to keep your mouth moist and to try to prevent mouth sores--I don't think the mouth rinses help with restoring your sense of taste.  The taste buds will come back, but often it's just in time for your next treatment.  The only "treatment" is to try different types of foods to see what might taste OK.  Sometimes nothing tastes OK, but we have to eat anyway.

    You might find more detailed suggestions on the "Chemotherapy" topic, under a thread about the type of chemotherapy you are receiving. 

    otter 

    Edit:  I just realized the title of your thread refers to numbness in your mouth and a sore tongue.  That's different from loss of taste.  The numbness and soreness are typical of some types of chemo that cause "mucositis" (inflammation and damage to cells lining mucous membranes, like the mouth, esophagus, intestine, etc.).  About the only thing you can do to help with the sore mouth is to rinse frequently with salt/soda water, and brush your teeth very gently with an extra-soft toothbrush. 

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  • collector
    collector Member Posts: 193
    edited July 2008

    I have had mouth numbness and sore tongue during T/C treatment.  I have been moderately faithful about using the baking soda, salt and water rinse recommended by the Oncol office.  I also have used Biotene toothpaste, a soft toothbrush and Biotene rinse 2-3 times a day.  When I went in for my third infusion last week, the onco I saw prior to treatment (not my regular doc since she was out of the office) mentioned that he does NOT recommend the Biotene rinse since he thought it was too drying.  I think everyone reacts differently to all of these things but I thought I would mention it.  I think we are all willing to try just about anything to cope during chemo.  I sure do look forward to having a normal feel to my mouth as well as an appetite and tastebuds again.  On the other hand, I'll probably gain tons of weight!

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  • enjoylife
    enjoylife Member Posts: 578
    edited July 2008

    I have been doing something different also wieght gain I never wieghed this much since I was pregnet I think alot of it is retention because alot of my cloths still fit and I think it will be gone once I move around more like walk but the humidty is so high here in MO. I also have run a fever for the last few days just a low grade one not sure what is going on there but I take the Advil maybe its because the more in your system the more effects you get and all my blood work is great so its not that. Anyone have wieght gain and fever...

    You give me fever ha

    Maura

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  • dhettish
    dhettish Member Posts: 501
    edited July 2008

    Call your onc about your fever. That is not a good sign. You should be put on antibiotics. Your counts could be low. I got a fever with my first tx of AC and took Levaquin. It took 3 days for the fever to go down and they were ready to hospitalize me. Then it miraculously broke. Any fever should be brought to the attention of your onc immediately. 

    With the steroids you are taking, it sounds like you are on Taxotere. The very first day, I lost my sense of taste. I got mouth sores but they did not last too long (maybe 4-5 days). Baking soda helped a bit. If they get too bad, you can get some Miracle Mouthwash from you onc. It contains Xylocaine which is a numbing agent.

    I gained 27 lbs in fluid retention. Mine was an extreme case and it happened during my second treatment. I went from 147 to 169 in 6 weeks. Good news is that at about 6 weeks after my last treatment, I was back down to 142. Bad news is when my taste came back, I gained 5 lbs. I have now got my eating under control but am addicted to Creme Savers since that is the only thing that tasted good. Food Lion had them on sale and I bought 6 bags!  I will give two bags to a girlfriend recovering from rads to the throat and lost her taste. She is also a bc survivor who got squamous cell cancer in her throat. 

    Let your onc know about the weight gain. Because of my extreme case, she got worried about fluid building up around my heart. As it was, CXR and MUGA were both great.  

    Debbie 

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  • enjoylife
    enjoylife Member Posts: 578
    edited July 2008

    I was at the doctors on Monday and had a low grade temp and she said that is common at times with chemo and all my counts were up tomorrow I will get the results of my urine test I thought I might have a bladder infection. I will go over my wieght with them when I go its more than I normaly wiegh but I dont think its a huge amount my Italian sister fattened me up while I was at her house in Boston becasue we thought I would loose wieght when I went on chemo tricked us but thaniks for you email They told me at the office that if you suck on sour or lemon candies it helps I would think it would make it worst but I will try anything....

    Thanks

    Maura

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