Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) Joined: Nov 2002 Posts: 3,552 | Hi Wendy, he must be doing pretty good to put any kind salt in his mouth. I couldn't do it towards the end of treatment. Even nasal saline solution burned too much. 1% saline solution was too much. The mucous was a real nuisance for a while and at about three weeks or so, post Tx, it just stopped.
I found that if I managed to get the phlegm cleared early in the day, it made eating & swallowing, without nausea, a whole lot easier. There were times I didn't want to sleep because I hated waking up choking. My throat hurt enough that decently hacking or coughing it up didn't work. Sometimes just sipping water first thing in the morning worked to loosen it up.
I don't have many problems sleeping at night with the dry mouth now, but for a while, I would wake up and every thing in my mouth was stuck together! Like Dinah, I still use a humidifier and keep a bottle of water always close by. Watch out for any kind of diuretic (i.e., anything caffeinated or with alcohol) or salty foods. Many meds will also cause dry mouth to be even worse.
It will get better.
Gary Allsebrook *********************************** Dx 11/22/02, SCC, 6 x 3 cm Polypoid tumor, rt tonsil, Stage III/IVA, T3N0M0 G1/2 Tx 1/28/03 - 3/19/03, Cisplatin ct x2, IMRT, bilateral, with boost, x35(69.96Gy) ________________________________________________________ "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (James 4:14 NIV)
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