Dry mouth and hard to eat

Hi 

at night time I use xyimelts to help alleviate dry mouth. I’m still upusing then 7 years later Daytim

try a water spray bottle small one with water to freshen mouth. Food wise look on here 

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/66263025/cookbook-by-andrew-gaylor-head-and-neck-cancer-survivor-2022

https://www.headandneck.org/nutrition/online-cookbook/

https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67107065/eating-with-confidence

I also had auricular acupuncture to help,with dry mouth

hugs HAaael

Thanks for the advise. I had bells palsy on my good side in November so still dealing with that also. 

My mouth is quite sticky in the day time so trying to balance things out. 

Garden lady said:

My mouth is quite sticky in the day time so trying to balance things out. 

Can you chew sugar free gum? 

Hi Garden Lady. Xylimelts work really well or you could try Biotene or Oral 7 mouth spray or dry mouth gel. I find they work well especially at night when my mouth gets really dry. The daytime is a bit up and down for me so sometimes enough saliva, sometimes none, sometimes sticky saliva so I carry the dry mouth spray with me in my bag and always some water just in case.

I too can only eat puree since my ops for jaw cancer. My issue is not swallow but inability to chew plus the dry mouth. My last op was in 2022. I tend to only drink water or Fortisip but thicker drinks such as milk shakes work O.K. Thin fluids tend to make me cough so I don't worry about them very often plus taste changes since radiotherapy do not make them that appealing anymore.

Over time I have developed a menu of pureed foods that work fine for me in the taste department but it took a lot of trial and error. As this is a long term situation for me I try to make sure that I have a balanced diet including veg pureed with something meat based and fruit pureed with something like weet bix, sago, porridge. Yoghurt is good for a snack. There are also many home made soups that are very healthy. The moister my food is the better to counteract the lack of saliva.

Coming to terms with my change in diet took some time and the implications on social eating and going on holidays have led to quite a bit of problem solving but I got there in the end. It does not hold me back from joining in celebrations that involve eating or going out for a coffee with friends although I don't drink the coffee. I eat before I go out and then enjoy the social interaction rather than the food.

Experimentation is the key. Try a different texture or a different food and you will then be able to add more things into your diet.

Lyn

Unfortunately not as it gets lost in my mouth as they had to remove all my bottom teeth on the left. 

Oh!

Either of these may be worth trying. I get the pastilles on prescription though I don't use them much anymore