I have finished radiotheraphy treatment. Whoop whoop.
For the last few days, my saliva is foamy. I think it's because I swallow it before being able to clear it, but when I have a drink (whether orally or through the G-tube) my saliva foams up at the back of my throat making it hard to clear. I have huge sores at the back of my throat making swalllowing difficult.
I am using the baking soda/salt water rinse but I haven't been able to do it 4 times a day on top of the different physios I'm doing, mouth excercises, sleeping, eating, meds and obviously the 5 hour trips to and from hospital.

At night I can feel the mucus rattle in my stomach (grim) and last night I put some water through my g-tube and 5 minutes later I threw up loads of mucus with the water. It was awful.

During the day, when it builds up, I sound like I'm snoring and all I can do is swallow this foamy mass. I regularly gargle and rinse my mouth out. Any ideas?

Good job, finishing your radiation treatment!

The mucous probably won’t last very long before the dry mouth sets I . Do what you can for now, it sounds like you’re doing the right things.

I'm not sure which will be worse. Foamy, snoring sore mouth, or the dry mouth stage. Any recommendations on how to maintain moisture? or is it a case of just for me to keep sipping throughout the day?

The dry mouth is, I believe, bearable. You see in the hospital head and neck cancer patients carrying a bottle of water around with them. You will need to pay e tea attention to your dental hygiene. The lack of saliva causes tooth decay. So you’ll need to clean your teeth well, use the Waterpik to floss every time you eat, and use your fluoride trays every night and consider switching to a toothpaste like PreviDent 5000 Plus which will strengthen the enamel in your teeth. Unfortunately, this is all part of the new normal. Of course, it depends on how much damage radiation has done to your salivary glands.

YEAH DIZ!!!!

Congrats on finishing your treatments!!!

Let the healing begin!!!


PS... The dry mouth is horrible, its something we all have been thru. Time makes everything better. At least Id like to think so, but it really could be we just learn to accept it and target other things to watch? When just finishing rads, almost everyone has the thick gunky, ropey mucous thats difficult to get out especially challenging when its in the back of the throat. That usually lasts for 4-8/9 weeks post rads then it stops and within 24 hours later comes the driest dry mouth ever!!! Thats the dry mouth phase most of us are familiar with. Yes, the dry mouth when just finishing rads is an annoyance, uncomfortable and a bit of a problem for some patients but its not as bothersome as what most of us encountered 4-9 weeks post rads. You did GREAT going thru rads!!! Im hoping your recovery phase will be similar being fairly smooth getting back to as close to your regular self as possible. Luckily for you, being young gives you a big advantage for faster healing.

Yes, drinking lots of water (48-64 oz) helps. Continuing to take in 2500+ calories (and the 48-64 oz of water) every single day will help you to recover quicker by alleviating your dry mouth and to thin the mucous. Some patients get a portable suction machine to use at home from a medical supply company. In the US it requires a doctors prescription to get one. Every doctor appointment, ask the nurses to suction out any of the thick gunky mucous.

Over the counter (in the US) to help dry mouth like (in the US) reditabs that stick to the top of your mouth and it helps keep your mouth moisturized. Doing frequent rinses (4+ times a day) using 1 cup warm water, 2 tsp baking soda and 2 tsp salt mixed together swishing it around your mouth and gargling for about a minute before spitting it out, doing at least 3 swish/gargles at a time should help too. You can also try running a humidifier at night, having a water bottle within reach at all times so you can take a couple sips during the night, sleeping with your head elevated... sort of like laying on an incline or slant may help. Over the counter dry mouth rinses have mixed results from those here who have used them. I didnt find much help from it so stopped using it.

Hope this helps you!!!

Congratulations on finishing treatment!!! My husband keeps bottled water with him and does lots of swish & spit actions.

Sending good healing vibes your way!

My dad bought some plastic squeeze bottles intended for cake decorating, and he keeps one of those by his bedside. Since he can't really feel his lip, he gets water all over himself if he tries to drink while laying down. This helps him squirt the water into his mouth better. The little bottle is kind of like a squeezy ketchup bottle you'd find at a street vendor, but with a little cap.

Congratulations Dizz!!! That’s great. Sorry to hear about the mucous situation. Maybe the moister you keep it the easier it will be to control or expectorate more often before it builds up. Looks like you’ve got excellent guidance as usual. What a relief that the radiation is past tense. Hope this next stage of your recovery is not too draining for you. Commendable how you keep posting to help others no matter what your going through. Your awesome girl. Keep up the fight. Wishing you nothing but rainbows.

Hi Dizz,
My Radiation Oncologist nurse set me up with a prescription of Neutrasal, which is a dry powder you mix with water, and it's is supposed to stimulate saliva. There are other brands also, ask about calcium phosphate rinse powder.
I wouldn't say that it worked on demand, but I felt that it helped slowly but surely, and kind of gave my mouth a clean feel after rinsing with it.
Somehow they got it fully covered under my prescription plan in New York.
All the best,
CM57

Hey Vicky,

The squeezy bottle is a great idea! Sometimes I find I just need the moisture but not a drink. I'll invest in a couple of bottles. Thank you!

Hey Mokie,

2 weeks post rads and I'm enjoying that my mouth is getting more sores. I had one that burst in the night, that wasn't fun at all!
The fatigue is still there but my mouth is slowly healing. I'm still using the PEG for nutrition as my throat is very sensitive and I cough a lot when I swallow liquid. I've been checked out by my team and they're satisfied I'm not aspirating, it's just my throats sensitivity from the rads. It will go once it has healed.

I have a little bit of mucosis, which makes me cough at night so I've been sleeping on the sofa so that I don't disturb my husband. Plus I can get my head at the right angle than when I'm in my bed. Plus I also get the dry mouth too, lol. So my nights are broken and some days I do have to have a nap or 3, but I am doing fairly well.

Rainbows back to you my lovely

Hey CM57,

I'll speak to my team to see what the UK brand version is. I've tried using biotene gel but it's not very effective, plus I don't have a tongue so I can't move it around my mouth when I'm asleep.