Margaret,
My father was able to take the Amifostine shots until the last 3 days of radiation. He had a reaction and they stopped the shots at that point. (The reaction was a rash on both arms) He was able to tolerate it alot more than most of the people you read about on this website. He did drink as much water as he could prior to the shots as hydration is really important. Towards the end of course it was difficult to drink water. His dentist tells him that he thinks he has less xerostomia than you would expect for someone who has went through this treatment but of course my Dad says his mouth is really dry. He still 13 months out of treatment sleeps with a humdifier and carrys a bottle of water with him most times but it is hard to know where he would be without the amifostine. I will tell you this that his RO dismissed the ideal as well and it was his MO that highly recommended the shots. Also the RO's nurse was highly supportive of them and said we should at least give them a try. I tried to do as much research on the amifostine as I could and from what I discovered it was at least worth a shot if you could tolerate them.
Good luck to you and your husband Margaret and please feel free to email me if you have any other question I would be happy to let you know my father's experience.
Kim