Marie, welcome and I'm glad you've found us. I really feel for you with what you're going through. Please listen to what all these veterans are telling you, especially the part about things getting better! They definitely will, even if right now you feel terrible and that the treatment is endless.

The thick saliva and mucous is normal... which doesn't make it any easier to deal with of course. You might ask your medical team about Caphosol mouth rinse, it may help in addition to the water and baking soda. If and when the mouth sores return, if it becomes especially difficult to swallow anything you might also ask for some viscous lidocaine to numb your mouth temporarily.

I found that the return of taste and the desire to eat came back gradually beginning maybe 3 months after the end of RT. Yours may return earlier of course. Sweet things always tasted ok to me and it was the Ensure clones that got me through it. It took a good year before I was ready for things like tomatoes or citrus and, like Eric, I can no longer tolerate the spicy stuff I used to love.

But all that is a small price to pay, and please let me reassure you again: It will get better!

Keep posting. Everybody here is on your side.