Linroth,

I've been on Salagen (5mg 3x a day) for at least 15 years. It wasn't available when I was being treated for tongue cancer -- they started clinical trials for it a year or so after I finished, and I participated in the trials. I know there were some people in my group who didn't see any benefit from it, while others (like me) did.

Since I didn't start using it until more than a year after my radiation was finished, I can't say whether it would have helped me sooner. Depending on how much your salivary glands were "fried" by treatments, it may take some time before they can heal enough to produce saliva, even with medical stimulation.

I was warned that I might suffer permanently from dry mouth, particularly since IMRT wasn't around when I had radiation, but I've been amazed at how much salivary flow I've gotten back over time. Between the regular Salagen doses and periodic use of Biotene products (mouthwash, gel, spray, etc.), as well as the healing that comes with time, the moisture level in my mouth has gotten increasingly better. (This has also helped in terms of dental hygiene -- I still have all of my own teeth.)

You're at the stage now where the healing process can seem frustratingly slow. I remember thinking (mistakenly) that I was finished healing once I had reached the one-year anniversary of my treatment, but I was wrong. I continued to see improvement in many respects (including saliva) in the years that followed.

If you continue to get no real benefit from Salagen, you might try Evoxac to see if that helps at all -- some people find it to be more effective. (By the way, I'm one of the few other people here who also had brachtherapy.)

Cathy