Saliva - SCC - Tonsil Cancer HPV16

Thanks Tracy. 
Xylimelts are a real mainstay of us HNC radiotherapy patients. 21 months on I use one at night. In the daytime xylitol chewing gum is brilliant. 
I’m glad you both enjoyed your holiday and I hope your husbands recovery goes on in leaps and bounds 

Hi Tracy,

So glad you have mentioned Xylimelts. I learnt about them on this site 2.5 years ago and they transformed my ability to get a good night’s sleep. I cannot manage without them. I am so grateful that someone had posted about them - I was the beneficiary then, and someone will hopefully benefit from your post this time! I know that some people’s saliva flow improves enough that they don;t need Xylimelts forever, but it;’s not the case for me. However, I don’t know where I would be without these brilliant little lozenges!

Hilary

Thanks.  I feel a bit more confident about posting now.

Have a good day! 

Thanks for posting.  That’s brilliant.   I will let him know that gum is available too.

Best wishes.

Tracy

Hi Tracey I’ve been using them for 2 years intoo had SCC h p v16+ tonsil cancer. I also use xylitol sugar free gum ,I just use 1/2 an xyimelts every night get at lleast 7  hours sleep with minimal sips of water .

good kick Hazel x

 I learned about Xylimelts from this forum and they have been a godsend to me. I don’t know why the oncologists, dieticians etc don’t mention them as they give so much relief from dry mouth. I accidentally forgot to put one in my mouth the other night before I went to bed and kept waking up with such a dry mouth and couldn’t get back to sleep. Then I suddenly remembered that I did not have one in my mouth and immediately remedied it and had a wonderful night’s sleep.

It took me a bit of time to track down where to buy them in Australia but now I keep a supply in hand. Couldn’t do without them.

 Lyn

Thanks so much for replying.  Much like you, once I found these, the first question I asked myself was why none of the medics suggested them to my husband.

Anyway, we have them now in bulk thanks to Amazon.

Have a great day!

I made sure my head and neck support  team had the info and everybody gets to hear about them now. 
it’s amazing how just a little thing like a xylimelts can turn everything around. A decent nights sleep sets you up for the day. 

This is valuable information!!! I'm 10 weeks since the end of treatment for Squamous Cell Carcinoma tonsil cancer and dry mouth started about 2 weeks ago. Was advised Biotene mouth gel which is ok, but will try this now. Also having problems eating without having to help it down with water due to the fact my mouth is dry rather than any issues with pain. Any ideas or advice gratefully received. Thanks

Hi Loftyboy

Great that you're through the treatment and are relatively pain free.

I don't know how you're getting your food down but the best way for now is to take a tiny sip of water or whatever to chew the food up rather than a big gulp to wash it down. ........Sorry if you're already doing that.

Chewing gum is great salivary stimulant and I use it all the time. You don't have to manically chew all the time, just park the gum in your cheek and chew now and again. The constant stimulus to your remaining salivary function helps speed up improvement. It's important to use sugar free, preferably with Xylitol as the sweetener because this in itself is dental protective. You can buy Peppersmith from Amazon but if you find that mint is a no-go for now PUR do a bubblegum one, again on Amazon. Don't chew fruit flavoured gum which is acidic.

The other thing I would mention is Acupuncture. There is a dedicated protocol for Xerostomia called Auricular Acupuncture which has really helped me and I still have three-weekly top ups. 

Have a look at my blog which is linked below.

There is a section on Acupuncture along with a photograph of my wrinkly freckled face with needles in my ears.

Best of luck and do let us know if any of this helps