Please excuse me if there is a thread on this elsewhere. If there is, couldn't find it.

I am five weeks post radiation treatment and dealing with dry mouth. My Dr. prescribed Neutrasal which works O.K. during the day but is no help at night. I also drink "Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat" tea which my ENT recommended. It does a wonderful job of lubricating mouth and throat but is no help at night. At night I wake up every hour, hour and a half, or two hours with extreme dry mouth. Drinking water, I learned and my Dr confirmed, doesn't really help dry mouth although it does help soften phlegm. It does make one urinate which means that I need to get up for that, so I limit my water intake and swish water in my mouth to moisten it. This has limited affect.

Is there anyway to reduce dry mouth at night so that I can get a decent night's sleep?

Thanks

Well this is not a refreshing reply but I'm ten years out on BOT cancer and still have problems with dry mouth. It's better but still not good. I don't drink as much water as before. Whatever you do stay close to your dentist (my suggestion only), I've had a time keeping teeth in order. I never took any of the prescribed meds for dry mouth just drank water.
good luck, you'll make it!

Hi Lefty. This is pretty much a universal problem for us who have had radiation for H&N Cancer. I brush with Prevident 5000 Dry Mouth toothepaste, available from dentist then spray with Biotene dry mouth spray. This way I only wake up 1 or 2 times, rinse with water, spray Biotene and back to bed. I guess we can expect this to go on for the duration. Hope this helps.

Lefty, ditto to the others. There's also a product called "Rain" from a company called Xlear. It's a xylitol-based spray and you might try it, keep it by your bed. Pretty sweet actually but maybe it'll help. Biotene also makes a gel. I don't particularly like it, but you could give it a shot. Since you're in a dry climate like mine you also might consider buying a humidifier if you don't already have one.

Staying close to your dentist is also a great idea, btw.

Let us know how you're getting on, ok?

Try keeping one of the above mentioned sprays by your bed and instead of getting up try just giving a quick squirt or 2 then you can go back to sleep right away. I get up frequently as I use a nighttime feeding machine for my feeding tube, so whenever I get up I rinse my mouth out with water instead of drinking it. I sure dont need any more liquids at night to make me get up even more. I should also give the spray a try. Im 5 years post rads and it still bothers me a little at night but it is alot better than it was when I was only a few weeks out.

I have dry mouth 24/7. I use all of the meds mentioned but they only last about 30 minutes. At nite I use biotene Oral Balance, then wash my mouth with magic mouthwash followed by Biotene Oral Rinse mouth wash, which I rub on my little bit of tongue, gums , roof of my mouth. It prevents severe dryness for a couple of hours. I'm still up every hour for pee time but at least I get to sleep a little at a time. I hope you find something that works even if it's a part time aide.

Thanks, all. I had been using a humidifier and started using the "Biotene" spray last night. It helped a lot. I'd used the "Biotene" spray during the day but saw no advantage in it. I've got "Oasis" and "Rain" on order and will experiment with them, too.

Saliva production slows down at night, which is why people wake up with dry mouth, bad breath from the reduction of Salivor, and bacteria growth. I used biotene dry mouth products, dry mouth gel at night, along with water bedside. Here is an odd one, but heard some tape thier mouth closed, so moisture doesn't escape as fast..see your dr for that one. I never did it.

Taping the mouth shut is interesting. Maybe I'll test that with my wife during daylight first?

Lol.

David - good one.

But seriously (ok, sort of), taping one's mouth shut is interesting, as long as you have no nasal clogging issues. Wouldn't work for me but who knows, maybe someone will report in on it.

Ugh, I think taping my mouth shut would freak me out. I hope my husband doesn't read this thread and get any bright ideas!

Tie a large Bandana under your chin and around the top pf your head. Been doing that too and it does work. The air entering an open mouth drys like a Maytag.

Using tape might cause problems. Some people have senstive skin and tape glue sticking to it could be bad.

My husband got, for lack of a better term, "slack jawed" during chemoradiation, as his tongue was very irritated. In order to help him sleep at night with his mouth closed, I bought him a c-pap strap from the local medical supply store, did the trick perfectly. Once he started using the strap, it helped lessen the mouth sores as well.

Now that he's done with treatment, dealing with dry mouth, has found the strap very helpful in keeping his mouth closed and as moist as possible at night.

Lefty,

Needless to say, every situation is different but I am now more than 6 years out and still have that exact same problem. I make it through the day usually with no problem although sometimes it seems to be triggered maybe by some specific type of food. Night time is terrible although now, after so long, I think I have adjusted to it. I have not found anything after this long to really help at night. I am still puzzled as to why this is as I can get up out of bed in the middle of the night and within 30 seconds I can start sensing saliva returning.

Just hang in there-

Bill D.

David,

Let me know how that one works out for you!

Bill D.

I sleep with a water bottle in the crook of my arm (or somewhere near me in bed). Yes, the water gets a bit warm but I wake up many times a night, have a drink and go back to sleep - all while waking to only the minimum level required to complete these tasks. I use the "Thermos brand" water bottles with the lid that snaps shut plus it has a metal tab to secure the lid. These are necessary to keep the lid from popping open in the middle of the night - not fun!!

Donna

There's a gel for dry mouth called biotene (it also makes toothpaste and mouthwash), which has really worked for my dry mouth

Nighttime dry mouth sucks, or I wish it did. I have a small can of squirt-spray Oasis for dry mouth by my bed, and reach over and squirt my mouth when the dryness wakes me.

Golly Jim, just your post. Please, please, please take a picture of yourself with that bandana concoction and email to me. I bet you are soooo cute!
Hugs from julieann

I find that Biotene gel really irritates my throat, but Biotene mouth spray is OK. I dilue it with water, 1:1, which is better and makes it go further Sally