Good Morning All:

Being new to this site and having finally browsed many of the topics, one thing that I have been seeing over and over is the question of what to do for heavy mucous and the discomfort caused by it.

I'm by no means an expert and have been dealing with the same problem since about week 5 of radiation. I'm now 7 weeks post treatment. Initally , the strings mucous were unbearable and kept me gagging for days at a time. A friend of a friend who is also a doctor had gone through SCC, BOT approx two years ago and gave me a call to see how I was doing and I told him of the mucous problem. He is the one who suggested I try Glyocoprrolate. It is an injection used in the OR to temporarily suspend sucretions. He told me it was the only thing that gave hime relief. I asked my RO to prescribe it to me and she did. It is taken via injection SubQ, and I do it myself at home. I have to say it's been a life saver. The injection provides 4-5 hours of relief... no mucous. I am allowed an injection every 6 hours.

I used it for approx 3 weeks steady and now, thankfully, only every few days if the mucous is unbearable. I am suprized to have only seen this this drug mentioned here only once and then it was the pill form, which by the does not work very well.

It is my sincere hope that this information may provide some relief to some of you out there suffering with mucous.

Thanks - don't need it yet but worried I will in the future!

The stringy mucous thing typically just stops, abruptly, several weeks after cessation of radiation. It can be quite miserable though in the meantime. Many have found some relief by propping them selves up in bed. Suction machines are another item people use.

Thanks for the heads about about the drug. Bear in mind, however, that this drug was intended for use for treatment of ulcers and the prescribing physician is giving it to you for an "off label" use.

See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000194