Mucus-Spit...Swallow???

Hi everyone,

Two weeks out of radiation today.  Still feeling the effects but hope that each day I will be able to do a little more.

My mucus is terrible.  I've done the water/salt/baking soda thing several times a day.  But the most productive way I have found is to actually  encourage the stuff to come up by kind of making the sound a dog or cat makes ( a growl) and I can clear it out pretty easy.

The trouble with this is that my throat is still very sore and now my chest bone is starting to hurt from putting so much pressure on that are.  I wanted to check with everyone if this may actually be hurting the healing.  Has anyone been told by their doctor which is the best method.  Should I continue to spit this out, rinse it out, or "growl" it out.  I hate the thought or swallowing. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks D.

Hi D ! My husband is 6 weeks out of radiation. He had a terriable time with mucus. What he did was spit it up. His throat did hurt while doing this. He used magic mouthwash, salt/baking soda mixed with water and for him chloraseptic spray would help. After 5 weeks out the mucus subsided quite a bit. He still hs a bad sore throat but this seems to be getting alittle better. Yesterday he was able to swallow 3 small bites of instant oatmeal. This was the first time he hs swallowed any food in over 2 months. Hang in there and keep faith. Deb

perfect timing...my guy was just sitting on the sofa and making a what i called a "whinny like a horse" sound while trying to get mucous up!  he has a variety of growls and sounds that sometimes work and sometimes don't...he has complained that his abdomen hurt from all the straining...his radiation doctor said this week that sometimes the method of hacking it up can irritate the throat more but pretty much said you gotta do what ya gotta do.  he is 6 weeks out of treatment...i have noticed a reduction in mucous but of course he feels it is still really bad...we were told it should start to be better soon

our patience is wearing thin. as i am sure yours is too!

all the best.

~meesh

Good Day friends!

 I am 2 years out from last radiation.  Best thing I've heard and has helped this horrible situation was the Transderm patch for motion sickness.  I had this mucous all this time, 3 months ago heard about the patch and am 95% better.  It has not gone away and the rest of the time, I rinse my sinus out with salt water.  Using a Netti Pot or a little garden plant waterer.  Pour it in one side of the nostril at a 45 degree angle and blowing, coughing the rest out. 

I too was sore from the peg site from coughing and a sore throat.  This method has helped greatly and works for me!

God bless and good luck.

 

On 6/5/2008 meesh wrote:

perfect timing...my guy was just sitting on the sofa and making a what i called a "whinny like a horse" sound while trying to get mucous up!  he has a variety of growls and sounds that sometimes work and sometimes don't...he has complained that his abdomen hurt from all the straining...his radiation doctor said this week that sometimes the method of hacking it up can irritate the throat more but pretty much said you gotta do what ya gotta do.  he is 6 weeks out of treatment...i have noticed a reduction in mucous but of course he feels it is still really bad...we were told it should start to be better soon

our patience is wearing thin. as i am sure yours is too!

all the best.

~meesh

Thanks for your reply.  Good to hear that someone else came up with a "noise" that they use to get the stuff out.  I kind of thought perhaps that my method was so off base it was hurting more than helping.  But if your doctor says get it out, and mine does too...then I'll keep it up.

My best to you both.  D.

 

 

On 6/5/2008 D1211 wrote:

Hi everyone,

Two weeks out of radiation today.  Still feeling the effects but hope that each day I will be able to do a little more.

My mucus is terrible.  I've done the water/salt/baking soda thing several times a day.  But the most productive way I have found is to actually  encourage the stuff to come up by kind of making the sound a dog or cat makes ( a growl) and I can clear it out pretty easy.

The trouble with this is that my throat is still very sore and now my chest bone is starting to hurt from putting so much pressure on that are.  I wanted to check with everyone if this may actually be hurting the healing.  Has anyone been told by their doctor which is the best method.  Should I continue to spit this out, rinse it out, or "growl" it out.  I hate the thought or swallowing. 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks D.

Thanks everyone for your reply.  Its good to know that there are still some things to try..and always good to know that there is such a great group of people out there always willing to help.

Best to you and your families.  D. 

 

D, it will get better my friend. Two weeks past radiation (44 days total) and last Saturday, my voice came back from the depths of 'croak and choke'.
One week later, today, I can actually swallow scrambled eggs and milkshakes.

Had horrendous mutant phlegm and nightmarish sore and dry throat for the last 2.5 weeks of the radiation therapy. Couldn't even stand room temperature water and couldn't swallow it at one point. But day by day, I forced my throat muscles to swallow in between the ghastly phlegm and mucositis. I was, at one point, coughing up mucous every five minutes for 48 hours. I just used paper towels and disposed of it that way as opposed to running to the sink. The week after radiation was the worst. But day by day, I got a notch better. Please do not give up your efforts to swallow. Keep those pipes limber! I do feel really good today based on the effort of forcing the muscles to work. You can do it! Every effort you make will be rewarded with a stronger recovery and use of your swallowing muscles.

One Love 

My Husband is 1 week out of 7 weeks of radiation and 2 rounds of Chemo, he has had  terrible mucus since 3 weeks in. The Dr ordered a aspirator  ( a suction machine) and it has been a life saver. Hang in there this is tough treatment, but you will get through it.

Be Blessed

Donna