Some 5 months on from completion of radiotherapy I have made much progress. Finally weaned off pain relief and anti sickness meds, now just gargling salt water and aspirin constantly and on antacids. The major problem I have is that of a dry mouth due to saliva glands being destroyed during RT and this is stopping me from sleeping. I have tried temazapan to no avail. I manage 20 min bursts of sleep at best and then lie awake for up to two hours trying to get back to sleep, due to the dry mouth. I constantly sip water through the night but no sooner has it been swallowed than my mouth is dry again. I still have difficulty swallowing when throat and mouth are so dry which also keeps me awake. Docs just say I have to learn to live with it as it is just one of many rt side effects, but I am not sure how many more sleepless nights I can take. I am tired all day long due to this. Any previous rt neck cancer patients have any suggestions, they would be most appreciated.
FormerMember
Hello Dave ... yes, the dreaded dry mouth syndrome ! Unfortunately it is one of the common side effects from the RT and sadly it is something that we do have to learn to live with. However, over time I have found that my saliva glands have recovered a little ( nothing to shout about, but every little helps ! ) and most nights I can sleep through without having to get a drink.
My usual bedtime oral routine is clean teeth with Biotene Dry Mouth toothpaste and then have a Biotene mouth rinse, just before ' lights out ' I apply the Biotene Dry Mouth gel. I do find that having the bedroom window opened a crack helps, but the weather can certainly effect things and occasionally I will have to take a sip of water for my dry throat. Not too much as it ' washes ' the gel away and I don't really find that constant water helps much. You could try a dry mouth spray rather than drinking loads of water ?
Some people have found that by having acupuncture has really helped to improve their saliva, so maybe you could ask about that at your hospital or GP ? Otherwise it's a case of trying various dry mouth products and see what works the best for you ... hang on in there, Dave.
Hi Dave. Sorry to hear about the dry mouth. Hopefully it will improve in time. My sleep used to get disturbed a lot at the beginning, but now I find I only wake up once or twice a night. I use BioXtra gel which I coat my tongue with. I also have a small atomiser of tap water to spray with.
Take the opportunity to get naps during the day when you can. Take care x
