Hi folks -

I am in the middle of week 6 and have been struck with a terrible post nasal drip that just hangs and chokes me. I coughed until I vomited this morning and again when I tried to nap this afternoon. It is 2 am and I am trying to sleep upright to see if this helps. I desperately do not want to vomit again to the point of not sleeping.

Any suggestions or advice? I hope this makes sense as I am really tired and frustrated.

Ray

My husband is starting week 7 today. He has been sleeping upright since about the middle of week 2 when the ropey saliva struck. He uses one of those cushions for reading in bed and a whole bunch of pillows to further prop him up. It seems to work well. I also give him back and feet rubs late in the day which I think help him relax a bit. Give that a try.

Ray

Two things worked for me, but for different mucous issues.
The first one was a home suction machine that sucked up the mucous after the surgery but it was flowing pretty thick.. However this time around, the mucous does "hang up" somewhere in my head and just drips down so slowly that the suction machine cannot help. I bought a WaterPik flosser but that does not clear out that "hidden" "hanging" mucous. The choking feeling is terrible.
Right now, I am sleeping sitting up, I have one very large pillow that I angle over top of two regular pillows so I sleep sitting up basically. That seems to be the only way to avoid choking during the night and then not sleeping.
Hang in there,
Charm

Ask your doc for some prescription nasal spray. That should help with the post nasal drip.

You can also try guaifenesin. You can buy some huge bad tasting pills or there is a liquid non-alcohol liquid version that is called a diabetic version since it is also sugar free. It is called Siltussin SA Expectorant. Ask your pharmacy for some. The pill is 12 hour but the liquid is 4 hour. It is really good and without the alcohol there is no burning.

Hope this helps relieve the goo dripping in the back of your throat. Make sure you work with a speech pathologist as well and find good excercises to maintain the constrictor muscles that direct or begin the swallowing as the radiation does a number on them. Mine have completely atrophied and the goo actually plugs up my throat from time to time. Don't be afraid to use a nebulizer with Acetylcystiene for the roughest thick days. I have a very radical remedy but will not pull that rabbit out of my hat until years down the road and you have a permanent problem.

Ed

You could also try a Nettie pot - natural works with salt water!!

I found an interesting aerosol like product called NeilMed NasalMist that is a hypertonic saline 2.7% , pH Balanced product that works really well. The good thing about the Acetylcysteine is that it bonds with the mucous and turns it to a salt which then clears out each time you hack it up.

Ed