Hello again! Looking for dry mouth tips and food introductions after radiotherapy

Hi.  Glad your husband's radiotherapy is completed and that he's doing OK.  I can't remember the brand of mouth moisturiser I used, but hopefully someone will be along later to recommend one.  I used a small atomiser with tap water in and I found that helped.  

We all seem to have different experiences and speed at eating again.  I found it was mainly a case of experimenting with various food and seeing what worked best.  Scrambled egg, soup, porridge, mashed potato, jelly and ice cream all went down OK.  I would have very small portions and try to slowly increase them as time went on.  My husband was always on hand to eat the leftovers!  

I use Biotine as prescribed by my GP.  Mainly at night.  During the day sparking water was my go to however I could only do one brand as everything else tasted foul.

Margaret853 said:

mouth moisturiser

I use BioXtra which I get on prescription 

Doramouse2736a33 said:

Particularly dryness, and feeling unable to hydrate no matter what he drinks.

Yes this is a problem. I used chewing gum as soon as I could to help my saliva along. 
As for slaking thirst that’s another matter. I couldn’t find anything for months. The thirsty feeling is part and parcel of the dryness the nerve endings pick up

Diet coke did it for me in the end 

Hi Doramouse. I used and still do Biotene or Oral 7 moisturising spray or gel. Also used to use Xylimelts at night. They stick onto your gum and melt slowly during the night. I used to wake up and have sips of water as well that would help. I was able to buy these at selected chemists but I live in Australia so might be different where you live and you might need to buy online. I swish the water around my mouth before I swallow it and then follow up with a spray of Biotene. It helps me so fingers crossed it might help your husband. 

Texture is hard to manage so things like soggy weetbix with Fortisip in it and pureed tinned fruit all mixed together works well, also different home made soups pureed particularly those with milk in it for extra calories. 

Lyn

Hi Dora,

Your husband has done really so far and should be just getting past the very worse part of his journey so far. 2- 6 weeks post treatment was definitely the worst for me and that was 8 months ago.

With regards to when he should be eating again, the sooner he can get those throat muscles working again the better. Believe me I know (as do many others here) that as awful as it is to sit down to a bowl of something and know 1) this is going to hurt, 2) this will taste awful, and 3) I need to finish this and get some goodness inside, he really needs to do this and if possible, at least two or three times a day at this stage, in my opinion. Breakfast, porrige made with full fat milk, with chopped up banana and runny honey. Lunch, a cup or bowl of cream of chicken soup with white bread broken into it (i found a cup easier to cradle and drink from), and diner a fish pie or simple pasta dish with as few lumpy bits as possible. Minced meat at this stage, like rice, is not great as the texture makes it difficult to manage to eat.

At your husbands stage, I made small portions of things like these, three times a day,  and set my goal to finish them, and you and he will not believe how great the felling is to finish a meal. I know it will hurt, but that will subside after a while. I vividly remember calling my wife at work just to tell her I had managed to eat a two egg cheese and ham omelette as I was so pleased with myself!

Always remember from here on, it's all about recovery, getting better and getting back to some kind of normal. And it does get better and it will get better quicker if you remain positive and make little gains and improvements every day, and that includes making yourself eat meals even when you don't want to.

The best feeling I had during the whole process of treatment and recovery, was around week 7 or 8 post treatment, when all of a sudden I could taste the omelette I had made for myself that morning, I've never tasted something so nice and thats when I finally knew that it will be alright and I will get better, and so will your other half, but do get him eating sooner rather than later.

9 months on I can eat almost anything now (and it tastes great), as long as I have a glass of water to hand.

Best wishes to you husband on his recovery and to you as his moral support through this.

MickyC

Thankyou,that’s so helpful, I appreciate your detailed answer. Some great ideas and reassurance 

Brilliant. I have seen those online so will grab a pack

I challenged myself with different foods on the advice of my CNS and dietitian, early on in recovery it was very difficult as my taste and appetite had gone south and I was still totally reliant on my PEG tube, but persistence paid off and certain foods started to be tolerable, gradually things improved. 2+ years since finishing CRT treatment and I am eating well, taste and appetite are still improving.

Drinking Guinness alcohol free was a small pleasure at the start of recovery, helped with my dry mouth.

Yes, I think I’m worried he will become reliant on the tube I will keep pushing him to try a few spoons, thanks Micky 

Try not to worry. Six weeks is far too early to be concerned about dependence. He has plenty of time. If something doesn't work, take a break and try again a few days or a week later. 

Doramouse2736a33 said:

Yes, I think I’m worried he will become reliant on the tube