Ever heard of Trismus? Me neither... not until I found out about it this week.
It's funny, if I were a doctor and about to give a patient radiation, I'd tell the patient about ALL the side effects not just the line about, “We're going to give you something and you’ll wind up with the worst sore throat you've ever had and blah, blah, blah, blah...”
Well, on Thursday the left side of my jaw bone started to get a little sore when I opened my mouth. Now, it's getting a little worse and I'm having a hard time opening my mouth wide-- like when I try to take a bite of food that I try desperately-- and need desperately-- to eat.
I’ve got radiation-induced trismus.
I had to look it up online to find out what was going on. According to the medical books and what the doctor could have warned me about to begin with, was that radiation therapy leads to trauma that requires repair. Repair results in scarring, which generates collagen, which leads to fibrosis of the connective tissue and results in the tissue tightening and stiff. These cellular and extracellular changes result in the limited jaw motion that they call “trismus.”
On a positive note, I got an e-mail from my doctor at The Klinik in Germany, saying that when I arrive there, she’ll give me medicine that the AMA hasn't approved. One is an IV drip of a medicine called Hepa-Merz, which will help heal my liver that’s been swollen from chemotherapy.
(I told her that I consider the healing of the liver to be preparing the liver for vodka. She now knows me well enough to ignore such remarks).
I'll also get a shot of Synacthen once a week -- to stimulate the adrenal glans to stimulate my appetite and help me gain weight-- and an IV drip of something called Neurium 600 injekt. This will make me feel better overall and help repair any nerve damage from the radiation.
I know two of the products work because I've already used them the last time I was at The Klinik.
Did I mention they’re not approved by the American Medical Association?
One more thing: I hope everyone is keeping up with President Obama's health care plan. In his address to Congress, he spoke of getting insurance companies to actually cover preventative medicines. Here’s a list of preventative medicines I've received from my doctors here and the ones I've received and will receive from The Klinik in Germany to prevent this cancer from returning for a third time:
USA
(receiving now)
Blood tests
Nuprigen shots (if my white blood cell count dips too low)
Germany
(When I go to The Klinik)
Neurium 600 injekt
Synacthen
Hepa-Merz
MPA 500mg Hexal
Derma-Recov. Growth Factor (for taste buds)
Holistic Medicines
(I've been taking some of these all through this second bout;
my American doctors would say they’re a waste of time)
Vitamin C and D with minerals IV's
(for my immune system)
Kimun (liver)
Mulgatol (vitamin B) (appetite
ICG-forte (immune system)
Boswellia (immune system)
Anti-Oxidant (immune system)
Selenium (cancer preventative)
Milk Thistle (cancer preventative)
Cats Claw (cancer preventative)
Astragalus (cancer preventative)
Also:
On The Rock Nutrition
(Men's Mix, Daily Mix and Energy
Mix in place of a multi-vitamin)
No Sugar
Low acid
High alkaline diet
Remember, as far as The AMA is concerned, after my scope shows up negative, I'm done. Then I get scoped once a month by my throat specialist and get a PT scan every three months.
Preventing the cancer from returning and rebuilding my battered system, I guess, is up to me.
Good Luck, Mr. President. This should be fun to watch.
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