Excessive mucous after throat cancer treatment: How did you cope?

HIMALAYA SALT MINTS MINT CANDY LEMON FLAVOR,you can buy them on Amazon worked great for dry mouth,and thin mucus I use them everyday ,make mouth moist instantly

They are a bit intense until your mouth adjust to them

Yes. I'm day 2 though.i hope it clears up. I'll be praying for your husband. I'm just trying to stay calm and hydrated. I'm blowing some of it out my nose before I lay down and clean my nose with a moist swab. It still seems to be stuck in my throat though. I try to keep my mouth closed when I sleep. I actually got some sleep last night .good luck. Send some tips if you got any. This is rough.....I had Tors surgery base of tongue and one tonsil not sure how many lymph nodes they took in the neck dissection.

Hi @philip123, I'm tagging fellow members like @hrhwilliam @sepdvm @srm @sapphire1158 and others to share more tips with you.

Am I understanding correctly that you just had TORS surgery at the end of February? How are you doing?

Hello @phillip123,
I did not have throat cancer, but parotid gland removal and radiation have left me with a dry mouth. Nighttime is the hardest, but during the day staying hydrated helps so much. An ultrasonic cool mist humidifier right beside the bed is helpful. An ultrasonic essential oil diffuser can also help. Certain oils can help to thin mucous, I believe Eucalyptus is one. I use a combination which includes that when I have respiratory congestion. I use Xylimelt tablets at night to increase saliva production. Overall, though, I feel like staying hydrated makes the biggest difference. I would think that warm saline gargle before bed would be helpful for throat mucous. I like the NeilMed packets for nasal flush for convenience and comfort.....no mixing or measuring, just add water. Good luck and rapid healing.

This isn’t uncommon but usually doesn’t last as was my case. I slept sitting up in a recliner for a while. Certainly a humidifier or cool air mister helps.
Try to gage day by day and week by week. I think you will see improvement although rather slow at first. I know this isn’t easy nor is it impossible, but sometimes it seems nearly so.

I have the sticky mucous. It is very strange. I don't get much sleep at night. I keep a bowl on the bed that I spit into. I have a cup that I carry around the house to spit into. If I am out, I spit into a tissue.
I googled AI and AI said 1 to 2 years for recovery.
I try to drink water during the day. It is very painful to drink anything, but I do it very slowly. It may take me 1 hour to swallow 1 glass of water.

I am still here. My grandchildren are visiting today.

Hello @kmlnj. After radiation treatments for a cancerous throat tumor, I suffer with severe mucus. After one tortuous year of constant antibiotic use, ER visits, inability to breathe, etc., it was discovered my vocal cords are paralyzed. All that mucus was trapped behind those closed "doors." That said, if it had not been for the saline nebulizer, I would be long gone. I would be up night after night trying to cough up the mucus. The nebulizer thinned out the mucus, allowing me some comfort. Ultimately, I ended up having a Tracheotomy, which has been an absolute Godsend. The mucus is readily accessible...and I can BREATHE!!! Please ask your doctor about a high-percentage Saline nebulizer. The lower strength saline solutions usually do not "cut it." You may try an over-the-counter saline-mist product first. They are not prescription strength but may help. You are in my thoughts.

Hi susanciam @susanciam,
Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with Tongue cancer on my left side of my mouth on March 1, 2024, and had a left partial glossectomy with a radical forearm free flap surgery on April 3, 2024. It also included a modified radical neck dissection. This one was not caused by HPV and was most likely from too much radiation from the first cancer as it is literally adjacent to my left tonsil. That being said, I too had a lot of excess salvia/mucus but with Speech Therapy it definitely helped some and now that I am almost a year out it is way better, however, still get some occasional if talking a lot and I don't keep my head level or up.

You will get better.

Best,
Rob