Hi I was wondering if anyone had a home recipie for a mouth solution similar to Oasis mouth spray?My husband is 5 months post RT CHEMO and MOD raad Neck dissection and has no saliva. He goes thru the small bottles of Oasis fast and they are often to find. Thank-you

USP glycerine from the drug store, and plain old water. Mess around with the ratio till you get something that feels right. A fraction of the costs. (Read their label, that's what it is) I did this right after treatment for a year. Don't swallow it, swish and spit. It will coat the soft tissues for awhile. But these days I'm a Biotene guy, I think it's way better than Oasis, and it has the enzymes in it that will help protect your mouth from bacteria at the same time, not just moisturize. The Biotene oral gel in the tube lasts a long time, and I use that at night. The liquid Oral Balance during lectures when I can't be stopping to drink every few sentences. The rest of the time, like most of us, I have a bottle of water in my hand.

Brian's exactly right about the two Biotene products -- I also found that chewing their sugarless gum (my pharmacy keeps it behind the counter, so I have to ask for it) stimulates what's left of my saliva glands a small amount (I had one-half of a course of Amifostine/Ethiol before I developed an allergy to it).

Thank-you Does the dry mouth ever get better?

Laurie,

The extent to which salivary function comes back will depend quite a bit on the specific treatment and the area that was most affected. However, I will say that I've been surprised at how much of mine has come back, but it took a VERY long time.

I had conventional XRT radiation over 17 years ago, before IMRT and before amifostine, so there was nothing available to try to spare my salivary glands during treatment. Also, some salivary glands were removed during my surgery. I ended up with a very dry mouth and had to keep water constantly on hand. After Salagen became available (I was in the clinical trials for it), I started using it regularly because I was part of the group that got noticeable benefit from it -- and I've been taking it daily for around 15 years. When the Biotene products came out, I started using them as well, and found them to be really helpful. However, it literally took years for me to see some significant, steady progress. I no longer have to have a water bottle handy all the time, and the consistency of my saliva has become much more "normal", although it's not all the way back to what it once was.

I guess for me it was a good news, bad news story -- yes, it was possible to see real improvement (even with NOTHING preventive done in the first place), but it took a long time.

Cathy

Hi, Just new to the site and noticed your posting. I am having similar dry mouth problems resulting in poor sleep patterns. I have had a reasonably good break through using a Homeopathy remedy with a mixture of Orabase and herbs before going to bed. The gel coat and the herbal stimulation seems to provide a much longer period of relief.

Hi,
Just three weeks out of treatment and my mouth is so dry that if someone offered me a million dollars to spit I would not be able to!! I have found some very good advice here. It is so nice to know that I am not alone in this venture. I guess a dry mouth is a small price to pay if the cancer is under control. Thanks for the heads up on the Biotene, I have adentis appointment on Wednesday and wil ask him more about it. If there is anything out there to help I am up for it. I had the IMRT radiation treatment and my Doctor felt that my salivary glands should be spared on one side of my mouth and I am glad to know it will take more time than three weeks for this to happen. The one thing that dives me crazy is the dry throat and the coughing at night it is like someone is torturing me with a feather, is there a cough rememdy any of you might know of? or will a mouth rinse help solve that problem.
Thanks for your help.
Pat

Pat, are you using a humidifier by your bed? It's been really cold in Mn. this winter. Amy

My son uses a plant mister which has a finer spray than a regular spray bottle for night time use and he has two humidifiers - one is regular and the other is a warm air humidifier. (Likes the warm air humidifier better)

I, too, love my mister bottle. I don't have to actually take a drink.....can't spill it in the night....can spray all areas of my mouth and directly down my throat...Mine is small and has a trigger handle. I can do it without having to sit all the way up, so I don't have to completely wake up.