Phlegm and Saliva filling in the mouth after tongue sarcoma

Now he has had 35 treatments HBO with no success. Snyone out there have u had success and with how many treatments. Feeling desperate because of the mucus he is still on the feeding tube , nothing by mouth and his speech is terrible

wretired2000, Hello. Have you ever researched "Red Light Therapy?" The wands are very inexpensive...The red light is purported to really help with radiated tissue problems. Please research this option.

... may I say that I have quite a few health issues and often feel sorry for myself but reading about this problem, can imagine what every day is like for you/spouse not being able to speak properly and a feeding tube and the other mouth issues, I hope that there will be some relief soon... such very brave people ... I used to work with a lady from Italy and she said an old saying there, I think it was, that if we all went to the village square bearing our 'cross' and laid it down and could pick up any other person's cross to take home... we would pick back up our own! ...sincere wishes for help sooner than later... J.

Thank you for your response. We have not heard of it before but I will look into it.

How did the HBO treatment work for you? After 45 treatments there has been no improvement in the amount of saliva in my husband’s mouth. My husband is thinking of stopping the treatment. He goes every day and is in the machine for 2 hours.

It was @mindyt who shared her experience with hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in this discussion in the Esophageal Cancer group:
– Excessive Mucus with Esophageal Cancer: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/excessive-mucus-with-esophageal-cancer/

@alpaca suggested "Soda water, sparkling water, ginger beer can help but are not good for the teeth. They sort of cut through the slime. Some moisturizing products like Oral 7 and Biotene can make the thick mucous/saliva a bit thinner."

My husband had treatments last year. His doctor prescribed a suction machine that helped. He would suction his mouth when the saliva flow was really bad, about every hour or so. At least that made it bearable. It’s your body’s reaction to try to heal your mouth by producing so much saliva

Welcome @blondeboss (love your @username). It sounds like the suction machine was temporary. Was your husband's need for suction diminish after a time or does he still use it?

It was temporary. Once his mouth healed, about 3 months after completing radiation, he no longer needed it. Now, because salivary glands were damaged by radiation, he takes a medication to help with saliva production.

What medication is he taking to help with the saliva. My husband is still producing a large amount of mucus after many months and has tried many treatments including the HBO treatment. Thanking you in advance. 😊