Hello everyone! I'm doing very well except for this damn dry mouth all night! I'll usually sleep for 2 to 3 hours before I need to swish water to unstick. Then it's almost every hour until I get up in the morning! Makes for a rough nights sleep! Bitch, bitch, bitch!!! Seems like only yesterday I really had something to bitch about; choking on mucous, malnutrition, etc., etc. Blah, blah, blah! I'm alive! I guess I'll go do a brake job on a fixer upper project van I bought for $300! Maybe I'll go kiss my wife & kids before I go!! I guess life's ok!

Erik
You and I finished treatment about the same time and I, like you, have had mucositus (brown Goo) problems. I too have real problems with dry mouth at night . I am up several times a night seeking relief. I get solidified brown goo on my tounge and roof of mouth. I have to use HOT water to liquify this goo and get relief. I too feel quilty complaining, but we can vent emotions here on this web site and not fear negative judgement. I know a lot of people in a worse condition than I, and when I see or hear about these individuals I really feel guilty.
Darrell

Hey guys,

Got the same thing about the same time. Baking soda and warm water gargle relieves it and cleans the heavy mucosa out for a while. Worked great for me. You guys are at the point of really wanting to feel good but your still having good and bad days. Man that sucked.

That was the worse part of the treatment for me. I really understood how I was going to feel going through, but once it was over I was only told by the docs that I will feel better in 6 months.

It took 4 before I stopped the heavy phlem, mucosa, and nausea problems. Now I only get a dry mouth during the day when I am working. I talk too much I guess. At night I am fine as long as I keep my mouth shut.

Take care.
Robert

You're always allowed to complain here!! You're surronded by people that know exactly how you're feeling, and we all know that sometimes complaining is EXACTLY the therapy we need. And we always feel guilty when it's ourselves, but I've NEVER read an "unhappy" post and said "my God, why is this person complaining?!?" So go to it!!

(oh - and some suggestions I've heard include a humidifier next to the bed, coating your mouth with oral moisturizer, rinsing before bed with Biotene mouthwash, and brushing your teeth with the Biotene toothpaste.)

Sabrina

Erik you have every right in the world to complain about your situation. We all do!!!!
I didn't have the problem you have with dry mouth but i can imagine it's a real bitch. Don't ever worry about complaining about the side effects. You have earned that right.
Hopefully Sabrina's advice or someone can offer you some relief.

Best Wishes, Danny Boy

Erik,
That's the deal...just about the time that the mucous stops waking you up, the dry mouth starts doing the job. I wake up every night, ususally a couple of times, rinse with water, and use a little Biotene oral jel. Of course if the dry mouth doesn't wake me up, the need to urinate does, since I have to drink so much water to alleviate the dry mouth! It's a vicious cycle, a nuisance, but one that I would not trade for the alternative. I tried one of the new prescription drugs but it didn't do a thing.
Oh well, life after oral cancer treatment...

Take care,
Danny G.

Erik,

I know, I have the same problem, and I too alternate between feeling like this is absolutely horrible and feeling guilty about not being glad that I am better than i was.

But, hey, you can kiss your wife? There was a period when I thought I would never be able to kiss again. OK, it still isn't what it used to be, but I had a visit from my grandson today, and I could kiss him again (he is four, so I kiss and hug him all I can, you never know how soon he'll be too macho for that).

The Biotene products work well for me, but I do have to get up in the night and rinse my mouth and reapply the gel, then I can sleep another 3 hours. Sometimes I get to sleep 6 hours at a strech, it's great, but then my mouth is really disgusting - well, you know.

The mucous problem almost went away for awhile and now it's back again, although much less than two months ago when I went through a box of Puffs a day, and nobody would have wanted to kiss me then.

Yeah, life's OK, but I remember what it was like when it was GREAT - and did we appreciate it then?? Maybe sometimes.


All the best,
Leena

Wow! Thanks for all the posts! The mucous has been gone for quite a while & I really feel strong & healthy overall. My doctors still want to know what my secret is so they can pass it on to other patients. I don't know what to say to them.

Erik,

Long after the mucous stuff stopped, I still had the worst dry mouth problems at night if I was sleeping flat on my back and/or my head wasn't somewhat propped up. I've gotten so I always use two fairly substantial pillows for that reason.

Cathy

Erik,
My mom has tried many things to combat dry mouth, and nothing with the exception of accupuncture has helped. I was skeptical at first, but its been helping! She's been getting accupuncture once a week for the last five weeks and its honestly helped. You might want to give it a try. Best wishes,
D