Dry mouth

I am also having acupuncture 

Hi Lizzie your oncologist isn’t far off I’m almost 4 years snd would say i am 95 % in day time no longer need to carry water but tend to have sugar free gum  handy  all the time. At your stage I never thought I would be where  I am today. But I am it’s really early days for you al though  though you might not think if. I’m still getting tiny improvements so keep on doing what you’re doing. At night I only use 1/2 an xyimelts tsje water ti bed but onky have a sip if I wake up. 
i now can enjoy a sale that’s only recently happened so keep plodding on we all improve at our own pace. I probably am odd ball  I had 35 radiotherapy sessions as well most now have  30. 
Hazel xf

Hi Hazel.  I always read your posts on here.  You always give encouragement.   I suppose I have posted today because I am worried that mouth just won’t improve any more.  It’s helpful to hear that it is still early days for me. 
thankyou. Lizzie

Hi Lizzie you are welcome. Yes it’s good to be able to pass our experience s on to others. I never thought my mouth would be moist on its own accord but it is. 
hugs Hazel x

Hello Lizzie. I was told that two years that would be it. It isn't actually true for me. 

I have like you been able to eat pretty much anything at a year. Three and a half years down the line there are still improvements.

From a year onwards I did sometimes take a backwards step but these became fewer as time went on. Definitely by two years I didn't need any water or resort to gravy on everything to eat.

I carried water with me and sometime between that first and second year I abandoned that. I do have gum but I can go days without needing it. I did use a lot of  in my first year because I am convinced that those minor salivary glands that dot your lips, cheeks and the back of your nose that escape being trashed are stimulated with use.I know one parotid was spared too and that seems to have made up for the missing one. I can add that my Auricular acupuncture helped a lot too.

I still have water by my bed and sometimes do need to sip a few times in the night but I put that down to sleeping with my mouth open. I do have a xylimelt at night and I suspect I always will. I have tried without on the odd occasion and failed.

I can't claim Hazel's 95%...far from it.  I think I can claim 75% which is more than adequate. One thing I have discovered is that if I mouth breathe with exercise the salivary gland at the back of my nose seems to spring into action and keeps my mouth moist...a complete reversal of the sleep/snoring dry mouth that I get occasionally.

To summarise I think I can put most of my saliva recovery in the first year, really turbo charged by acupuncture at 11 months. Improvements have continued and they have at times been significant.

Hope that helps

Hi Dani.  Thankyou for such an informative reply.  I really do like to read how everyone has fared in their journey.  I do find it very helpful.  I must be patient mustn’t I. And hopeful.  Thankyou 

lizzie