I am some 9 months post Tx now with B of T with treatment as shown below. It seems I would have noticed the condition I am about to describe before now but honestly just noticed it a couple of weeks ago and am a bit concerned.

I typically wake every morning with terrible dry mouth and one of the first things I do is to gulp and swallow a lot of water followed by coffee. I can't recall every just "swishing and spitting" for any reason until a couple of weeks ago. When I did this recently I noticed what appeared to be dried blood or at least something of a reddish brown color that I am rinsing out. I have even noticed what appears to be streaks of it on my tongue before taking in any water. Once I swish, rinse and spit out 4 or 5 times it is all cleared up. I have no pain and do not notice this at all during the awake day hours. Only when getting up from a typical 7 hour sleep each night.

Since first observing this a couple of weeks ago I am now paranoid to where I check every morning when I get up before drinking any liquid. It seems to be this way every morning now that I have been in tune with it. The only other procedure I had other than what is shown below was a direct laryngoscopy with base of tongue biopsy on 9/20/06 as part of my follow-up treatment.

Does anyone know if this is something to be expected or have others experienced this situation?

Bill D.

Bill,

I think Gary mentioned in a post somewhere else that his mouth dries out to a similar point. Hopefully he'll come along and expand a bit more. I would think it's something to be expected.

Tim

Bill, my first reaction to you question is that your bedroom may be too dry. Could you try a humidifier for a week or so and see if that helps?
Are you using any of the Biotene paroducts? Amy in the Oz

I have two humidifiers in my bedroom and, if I don't wake up during the night to gargle with biotene and drink water, my tongue is sandpaper-dry, and swollen, in the morning. When it's like that if it rubs against my teeth, even lightly, it can bleed a little bit. Once I rinse in the AM, it ius always OK though.

Nelie

Bill,
To Amy's point, I use Biotene toothpaste and mouthwash prior to bed and I still use a humidifier at night, which was suggested to me during treatment. I stopped for a while about a month ago and I could tell the difference. This doesn't totally solve the problem, and I still wake up grabbing the water bottle the second my eyes open, but I think they certainly do help.
I also use the Biotene gum during the day. It helps keep my jaws from "tightening up" as well as helps moisturize.

Best Wishes,
Steve

I use several Biotene products to include the toothpaste, mouthwash, gum and spray saliva substitute. I do not use a humidifier although I did while in treatment last year.

My question now is, would the dry mouth condition alone be causing the symptoms I described? I am curious as to where the obvious dried blood is coming from? Especially when I feel no pain and wouldn't even know the dried blood is there if I didn't rinse out my mouth. It just doesn't seem normal to me that dryness alone would be causing this. If so, I need to get the old vaporizer/humidifier back out of the box and set up in the bedroom.

Bill D.

Maybe you're having nosebleeds. They're not always gushers, sometimes it can just be a little seepage. It would end up down your thoat. Many people have veins too close to the surface (in their nose) and dry conditions can cause them to crack and bleed. I have had this problem since childhood. I run my humidifier 24/7. The doctor suggested putting a thin coating of vasoline inside my nostils (to maintain moisture) but it numbs my sense of smell so I just live with the nosebleeds.

Diet has a LOT to do with dry mouth, especially when you start to get some saliva production back. Salty foods such as chips, pizza, Chinese food, many soups, etc. will make the problem much worse and hydrating yourself doesn't completely solve the problem either.

Another angle is that you might be a "mouth breather" and that will cause a lot of dry mouth problems as well - even in "normal" persons.

Gary - I had the nosebleed problem during all my growing up years and it was exactly because of veins in the nose being too close to the surface of the skin. In my case, the bleeding was excessive and extremely problematic but by the time I was 20, I was able to have those veins cauterized which eliminated the problem totally. The cauterization was a very simple procedure, taking only a few minutes, done in the doctor's office (plastic surgeon) and did not require anesthetic. It totally eliminated the bleeding.

Bill, I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I had the same issues for years. Dry blood in the morning showing up in my sputum or when I blow my nose. I think It is from your nose and works to the back of throat while sleeping at night.
Always,
Mark D.

I have nose bleeds almost every morning that begin when I take a shower. My Doc said that it is side effects from the radiation brought on by the warm water expanding the membrane. I was glad to hear that. I thought for sure that it was leukemia. I usually doesn't last long and is fairly easy to stop. Anyone else have the nose bleed problem in the shower?