1. < Head & Neck Cancer
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Dry Mouth. Particularly at night. Solutions?

Posted by sandy8043 @sandy8043, May 20, 2024

I was diagnosed with Squamous of the tongue and lymph nodes. Following surgery, radiation and chemo/cysplatin I've had chronic dry mouth. A friend of my husband's who had similar surgery recommended Xylimelts stick on mints. I bought mine off Amazon and the box of 40 was less that 20 bucks. They really work. I sleep through the night. And my daytime dryness is much better also. They work for me.

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roblem | @roblem | Jul 11, 2025
In reply to @longboat1 "Where did you have the electroacupuncture done? So far I've not been able to find it..." + (show)
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Where did you have the electroacupuncture done? So far I've not been able to find it in my area....Greenville, SC.

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Hi @longboat1,
It was offered at my cancer clinic for head & neck cancer which is Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin. You could ask your cancer doctor, or you could also google it so you can find someone close to your home- it doesn't have to be at the cancer clinic or need to be a doctor.

Best,
Rob

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dmg64 | @dmg64 | Jul 12, 2025
In reply to @roblem "Hi @longboat1, Yes, it was for the brutal dry mouth I had, but it had some..." + (show)
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Hi @longboat1,
Yes, it was for the brutal dry mouth I had, but it had some other positive effects too on my neck. Electroacupuncture is a form of acupuncture that uses electrical stimulation to enhance the therapeutic effects of traditional acupuncture. Thin needles are inserted into specific acupoints on the body, and a mild electrical current is then passed between the needles.

Tried it in 2015 which was offered at my cancer clinic for head & neck cancer patients. I was tested to get a baseline and retested after 8-10 appts. and had great results. Never needed to go back and to this day 10 yrs. later dry mouth is a non-issue, and I don't have to carry a water bottle with me either.

Best of luck,

Rob

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Sounds like this worked extremely well for you. I see you did the electroaccupuncture in 2015, can you please tell me how long this was after your treatment (surgery and/or chemo, and/or radiation) was all completed? I'm about 5 months past radiation treatments and I am having significant issues with dry mouth. Thank you so much! It's nice to read stories that offer hope of better days down to the road.

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roblem | @roblem | Jul 13, 2025
In reply to @dmg64 "Sounds like this worked extremely well for you. I see you did the electroaccupuncture in 2015,..." + (show)
Profile picture for dmg64 @dmg64

Sounds like this worked extremely well for you. I see you did the electroaccupuncture in 2015, can you please tell me how long this was after your treatment (surgery and/or chemo, and/or radiation) was all completed? I'm about 5 months past radiation treatments and I am having significant issues with dry mouth. Thank you so much! It's nice to read stories that offer hope of better days down to the road.

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Hi @dmg64,
I had 35 rounds (7weeks) of Photon radiation for a total of 70Gy and 3 rounds of cisplatin chemo for tonsil cancer back in 2008 but no surgery and to help with the brutal dry mouth tried ELECTRICAL STIMULATION ACUPUNCTURE in 2015 which was offered at my cancer clinic for head & neck cancer patients. I was tested to get a baseline and retested after 8-10 appts. and had great results. Never needed to go back and to this day 10 yrs. later dry mouth is a non-issue, and I don't have to carry a water bottle with me either.

Best of luck on your journey,
Rob

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tready | @tready | 1 day ago

I particularly don't like mint-flavored remedies. I found Nokkomo Strawberry mints some time ago, and they work great for me creating a quick saliva flow. They take about 4 or 5 minutes to dissolve in your mouth.

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shane1954 | @shane1954 | 7 hours ago

My dentist recommended xylitol gum.

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ban1952 | @ban1952 | 3 hours ago
In reply to @sandy8043 "I've been having trouble with mint, too! I had radiation and chemo for tongue cancer in..." + (show)
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I've been having trouble with mint, too! I had radiation and chemo for tongue cancer in Jan 2024. Since the a variety of foods bother my tongue. My saliva production is pretty good. But anything mint burns. Mayonnaise is like fire! Sugar, too. Any beer or wine burns, too. I read about the acid vs alkaline balance and started using baking soda. While recovering from cancer I used a lot of baking soda rinse. I stopped that once I was healed. I've now gone back to that and its helped a bit with the stinging. I also take a 1/4 tsp in water and swallow it twice a day. It has stopped the general mouth/tongue burning.

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@sandy8043

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ban1952 | @ban1952 | 3 hours ago

I will have to try that get alot of throat and upper mouth burning

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sandy8043 | @sandy8043 | 2 hours ago
In reply to @ban1952 "@sandy8043" + (show)

@ban1952 Even my fluoride treatment had mint and made my mouth swell. Throat swelled up, too! Now I'm using the children's fruit flavored fluoride. Tastes awful but is the only alternative.
I never had any food allergies a until chemo and radiation. Now its mint and dairy will also make my tongue swell a little. Affects my speech.

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