I had my surgery on Sept 11 and have been making steady progress since. I had a large BOT tumor with 2 (right side) lymph nodes involved. Doctors said they got it all and found nothing on the left side. I have had 8 out of the 29 radiation treatments that were recommended and 2 out of the 6 Erbitux treatments. Just starting to notice some minor changes. My bigest problems are the constant ropey salvia and dry mouth, especially at night. The saliva is annoying, but I mostly put up with it. My question is, does it ever go away? I mean after all the treatment is done. The dry mouth at night is a really big issue as I am not getting the restful sleep I need to heal. Any suggestions? I keep a water bottle on the night stand that has a "spritzer" on it. That helps, but I still end up waking up about every 45 mins or so. Any tips will be appreciated. Katie

My husband had radiation and Erbitux. He is now over 3 months post treatment and rarely wakes up at night with dry mouth. And, the ropey saliva is long gone.

He used to take extra pain medication in the evening as the dry mouth was very painful to him.

Also, he slept significantly better with a humidifier running close to his side of the bed.

And, like you, he always had water on the bedside table.

There are a number of OTC dry mouth sprays and gels available. My husband preferred water, but I think the products have helped many here.

Best of luck,

Margaret...thanks for the reply...it's good to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel...I don't think I mentioned, I am on a trach tube for the duration...I'm sure this adds to the irritation...I do have a humidifier and use it every night...I'm going to talk to my pharmacist, who has been very helpful, and see if he can suggest something...Katie

Katie,
My mom was given a prescription of tussionex for the ropey saliva, and her MO gave her a bottle of sodium chloride for the dry mouth. You can make the solution yourself, it is posted on here with the recipe...we were never able to make it just right.
Mom had a trach put in during surgery, it was there for a month-towards the end it felt raw inside to her.
Good luck.

Try Mucinex for the saliva, IF you can manage the big tablets which (being time-release) cannot be cut up or ground up. If these are too hard to swallow, try guafenesin syrup (sold over the counter as "Tussin" or similar, be sure it is ONLY the guafenasin, no antihistamine which will dry your mouth even more!). The thick syrup will burn if you have any mouth sores, dilute the dose with 4-6 oz. water and drink (it can also be put through PEG, again very well-diluted as it's thick and sticky). This med seems to thin secretions and makes it a lot easier to get them "up and out!"

As for dry mouth, the best prescription medication is Evoxac -- ask about a sample or script from your ENT or oncologist. My husband Barry used it 3x a day from the end of treatment and now still uses it once a day or sometimes, even twice if the air is very dry.

Chewing xylitol gum also helps, again the best is XyliMax which is a dental product designed to increase mouth moisture and also, reduce mouth bacteria (and hence, cavities). Get it from your dentist or internet, doesn't require a prescription. Barry has found it far superior to artificial salivas for him, the added plus is it's your own saliva.

Finally, be sure that you drink sufficient water (needed to also thin that saliva) and use a humidifier.

Gail