Sticky Saliva and Mucus suggestions would be appreciated

Hi Richard G wish there was an automatic answer for you but the sticky mucus is a major side effect that most of us go through. I had a humidifier in bedroom all night plus a nebuliser that I used up to 6 times a day flush g a saline solution  through it. 
you can ask for caphosol some hospitals prescribe it mine didn’t the jury’s out on the effectiveness of it. 
try dipping soda water or diet ginger ale to try and dispersed it. Also you need to be drinking 2-3, litres of water daily. 

 for pain meds at my worst u was on 30 mg co codomol and liquid oramorph. There’s also a long lasting copulate called MST which many have. 
sirry you find your self here but at day 12 it’s about par for the course. 
I have more info on my blog. With links to others 

sending hugs Hazel 

Dear Hazel,

Thanks for your reply. Did your support team provide loan of humidifier and nebulizer or is this something you bought

many thanks

Richard

Hi Richard. The nebuliser came from hospital. The humidifier was Amazon called cool mist it was a tear drop shape. Appx £25. 
In both never use anything other than water no oils.  In the nebuliser 9 Gmof salt to 1 litre of water. 
 Try soda water it can help disperse the mucus but it’s a thing some  if us had for  a good while. I was around week 8 post treatment when mine went. Only  to be replaced with dry mouth but that’s another chapter. 
Hazel x

Hi Richard. I like you coped with sticking my head over a steaming bowl. For me it was never bad enough to use a nebuliser but I did spit a lot. I was amazed at the thickness of the stuff and the inability to shift it but drinking a lot helps. There is a drug called Carbocysteine which is supposed to thin mucous but the jury is out on its efficacy. Some doctors are quite happy to try it. I had Caphosol but that’s more for mucositis ( the ulceration of your mouth and throat that you get with radiation) 

Dont worry too much about coping with the RT. It’s amazing  what a little adrenaline and self control can do to keep you still. Once you find you can do it the fear goes and it gets easier. 

Dear Dani and Hazel,

Thanks so much for your replies and advice, and support which I appreciate and find so helpful

Richard

x

You’re very welcome. Hang on in there and you’ll be out the other side soon. 

Dani and Hazel have pretty much covered your options, i just wanted to add my voice to those saying unfortunately it is something we all deal with throughout treatment.

I found the nebulizer helped a bit, but not a great deal to be honest

It does pass, i think the salt taste and mucous started to go about 8 weeks post treatment.

Hi Richard

I've had a number of operations for this cancer, but not radio or chemo.  First operation Oct 2019, last March 2021.

I too have very sticky saliva and a lack of it which makes swallowing more of a problem.  You may find that part of your problem comes from the surgery rather than the radio in which case any improvement will be slow and probably only relatively insignificant.  They did tell me that they impacted on my saliva glands when they operated on my neck. in Jan 2020 and my throat is still swollen, hence the feeling of food stuck in it.

I have got used to it and drink copious amounts of fluids and try to eat foods that are "slippery" - it is a great excuse for lashings of butter on toast!

Hi,

A bit late to this one, but hopefully might be able to help if you're still struggling. I already had a humidifier, but now use it every night with no oils. It definitely helps. Like the others drinking lots of water also helped. I've had a battle keeping my weight up but dropped back to skimmed milk as dairy was making my mucous worse. I honestly thought I was drowning in it for my 2 weeks post treatment. I ended up getting a nasal douche kit from Amazon as steaming every hour wasn't clearing it. It's not a pleasant experience, but I only actually needed to do it twice and have been much better since. I get more mucous after Ensure, so again watch the dairy- I have dome oat milk in stock if it gets bad again. 

Hope you manage to sort it, not one of the best side effects we go through! 

Take care, Ronnie 

I have suffered from sticky, thick saliva for years. a few months ago I was prescribed Carbocistine (Mucodine) and this effectively ended the saliva issues. This issue was unrelated to cancer, but thought it might be worth chatting to your doctor. Good luck.