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Phlegm and Saliva filling in the mouth after tongue sarcoma
My husband had a sarcoma of the tongue and throat He was diagnosed in 10/20 and has been cured by radiation and immunotherapy. Now his mouth fills with mucus in great Quantities preventing him from being able to swallow food and also affects his speech. He has been on a feeding tube for over a year. The doctors do not know how to stop the flow. Next step to try is hyperbaric. Any one out there that has success with dealing with this problem.
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Thanks for getting back to me.
In my experience, muscarinic receptor antagonist like atropine or scopolamine, or tricyclic antidepressants like Elavil may help with excessive salavation. Chewing or sucking on ice cubes and pilocarpine will stimulate salivary secretion. Ask your doctor about these agents.
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2 ReactionsThere was no medication to curb saliva production, only medication to help make more saliva now that he has next to o saliva.
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1 ReactionWhat 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. 😊
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.
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1 ReactionWelcome @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?
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
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."
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.
Thank you for your response. We have not heard of it before but I will look into it.