Painful swallowing during and after chemo

[TXLiz]

Hey all. Just completed my chemo and have my follow up at MD Anderson April 16th and 17th. Scheduled for a CT scan, labs, and an extended follow up with my onc.

I have noticed that my heartburn got progressively worse during my chemo. It's terrible now...if I eat meat, or bread, it hurts so badly. It hurts going down and burns as well. A few days ago a piece of steak felt as if it was stuck in my esophagus- I started panicking. It eventually went painfully down and it made me feel like it was going to be stuck in my food pipe. Very very uncomfortable.

I wake up each night and take tums or I cannot sleep due to acid reflux.

I have looked and have seen chemo, but more commonly radiation, can effect your esophagus and make you have such symptoms. I definitely am going to tell my onc.

Has anyone had such issues from chemo? I am sort of terrified I have a tumor in my esophagus, as unlikely as it is. My bloodwork at my last chemo was ok. I did have a complete blockage in my colon with no symptoms, that's how my colon cancer was found. I always thought a large tumor in your body would be painful, etc, and now I know that's not always true.

Thanks for any input!

I had a PET scan last September that came back clear.

[WriterGirl1969]

Telling your onc sounds like the right move. I have definitely seen other posts about this kind of side-effect, especially with certain types of chemo. I didn't have this particular side-effect, so I'll leave the responses to others, but considering the timing the probability is that it's a side-effect. I hope you find some relief. I know when I was doing my chemo, I also took Tagamet or (more often) Omeprazole, and it did a good job of keeping the acid reflux at bay. Keep your onc informed and good luck. Keep us posted on how it goes.

Hugs and prayers,
Tracy

[SarahS]

My husband started noticing that same sort of sensation after treatment 6 of Folfox

He had difficulty swallowing and the feeling as if things were sticking in his esophagus which was worrying.

He was actually experiencing a lot of side effects and feeling generally unwell after this 6th treatment but when he started to up his fluids and in particular electrolytes (Gatorade/coconut water) he found he felt much better and even the swallowing became a good deal easier
He has also been taking Tagamet/cimetidine on a daily basis. We're on treatment number 7 now and so far he has not complained of any heartburn or swallowing issues.

I don;t know if any of these things would help in your case but might be worth a try in addition to mentioning it to your onc

I hope you start to feel better soon

[TXLiz]

Thanks for your replies! I adjusted my diet and have been drinking more water, and the symptoms have lessened. I def need to take a medication for GERD.

[Roachie]

Yes to me the throat thing has been pretty bad. I believe it's part of the Neuropathy. My onc eventually gave me Cymbalta for the nerve endings. Chemo in inter is horrible with such an effect. You can't swallow anything less than room temp and I came close to dropping things out of the fridge so many times.

Good luck with it...
I'm cured and a Survivor!!!!!!

[testing765]

Hi. Yes, I recall getting sores throats during folfox chemo. And I rarely got sore throats prior to chemo. My throat constricted so much that I was afraid that I would choke if I swallowed the multiple pills that I was required to take on a daily basis. And I didn't have acid reflux until I started to be treated with chemotherapy. It has gotten better since I finished.

[TXLiz]

Thanks again for replies!

I feel better after drinking more and more water.

Good wishes and thanks to you all!