dry mouth ... lack of saliva

9 weeks after radiation mucositis is still happening, but it seems tha dry mouth or a lack of saliva is the biggest impediment to eating hard foods.  Any solutions?

I think dry mouth bothers me even more than the loss of taste, I even think it may contribute to it.

Things that work for me: steamed vegetables ( get those microwave steamer bags at the grocery store or but a microwave steamer at Linens and Things or a similar store), pasta with any kind of sauce, Chinese foods, turkey sausage, baked (in the microwave) sweet potatos, protein shakes/smoothies, shrimp and crabmeat and stir fry dishes.

Things that DONT work: anything breaded, lean meats like beef and chicken, most fish, any kind of bread.

I always keep a bottle of water handy too. Try Biotene products, they make toothpaste, mouthwash and other things for people with dry mouth. You can find them at drug stores, some grocery stores and Target stores.

You can also ask your doc(s) for a prescription for Salagen (pilocarpene) or something similar. It stimulates saliva production, not quite enough for me, but it does help.

Try looking over in the Head and Neck cancer area, it seems to be more active than this forum.

Best wishes,

Mike

 

 

My saliva came back over a few months, so I never followed up on a discovery I made of a fellow in California who has used accupunctrure to restore saliva production.  I typically doubt the efficacy of "alternate" therapies, but this was a peer-reviewed article with statistics on results- something like 60% succesful.  My MD's took it seriously, so it may be worth a try.

Hi: It's been about 13 monthe since I ended radiation (although I also had bracheotherapy on my tongue) and I still have dry mouth. I have been told that the return of the saliva glands are questionable.  I have tried various prescriptions which work only a little and have found the best (but poor) results to come from dry mouth sprays and never leaving home without a bottle of water.  Hope my experiance is wrong in your case and good luck.  Ed

i change the foods i eat, soup and pudding, some say milk, i have to stay away food spices food cause it will burn my mouth. there are saliva subsatutes in your store near the pharmsy, i didn't like them, but as time goes by you will know what works for you, but stock up on your water, you will need it, i carrry a bottle on me all the time, besides water is good for you. and get plenty of rest, i haven't try the acupunture, humm i might try that, to see if it will help

It's been a year since treatments ended and I still have dry mouth. I can produce minimal amounts, but the radiologist told me that the rear glands were probably gone. They work maybe a little but I have had to alter my diet drastically, and actually it's probably a good thing!  One interesting side note though, when I had a bout of nausea a few months ago my mouth gushed with saliva, very interesting!  It's almost like the glands are dormant, so as was recommended to me, I think accupuncture may help stimulate those puppies.

I find that water is an astringent so I rarely use it. I prefer watered down juice like apple juice because a small amount of sweetness stimulates saliva better. I always have some by the bed and by my side during work cuz at night my throat gets sooo dry and my lips are chapped by morning. 

At first I always had water around but after a few months I tapered off because I find that I am forced to make my working glands produce by trying to lubricate naturally. My ENT said the moisture does seem improved. I still need to wash down most bites of food with some rice milk or juice.  Water destroys the flavor, so I prefer something more like rice milk (lactose intolerant!) to drink with meals.

With wine I water it down too about 40-50% and it's fine, actually Europeans drink it like that very often. Carbonated drinks are no good cuz my throat tissue is sensitive. I prefer my beer less cold now, Guinness is better cuz it has less bubbles. I drink rarely but my doctor said a little is okay. 

As for bread, you shouldn't eat it anyway, since it is all carbs and carbs - sugar and sugar is CANCER FOOD. But IMHO toast is better than fresh oddly enough. Soft bread is a sponge, whereas toast can be washed down easier. Chicken breat meat is also difficult, and salmon isn't fun anymore either. Red meat is fine as long as it is medium rare.

RECOMMENDATION TO ALL:

Read "THE HIDDEN STORY OF CANCER" by Brian Peskin. It opened my eyes to EFAs and the importance of PROTEIN (good!), and CARBS (bad!).