What Are You're Experiences With Phlegm?

Posted by AL GiL @jg99t9, 5 days ago

I am 8 months + post radiation treatment for my throat cancer, but still experiencing non-stop mucus in my sinuses that won't go away and are driving me crazy. Is there a reasonable time frame that I should expect this to go away?

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Hey Al, you can try Mucinex. It never did work for me but it is known to help others.
If you can keep a humidifier by you it will help but not a total fix.
I dealt with that for many months and I still after 8 1/2 years suffer from dry mouth and thick phlegm.
This is what I found works best for me:
First thing in the morning, after I eat each meal and sometimes in between; run as hot as possible tap water, swish and spit, swish and swallow small amount and hack it out and repeat until clear. Water pic my teeth and gums, brush well with quality paste, rinse well and brush with Sensodyne and prescription fluoride paste, spit but don’t rinse.
I imagine you’re experiencing dry mouth and the above regimen along with drinking lots of water will help. No medication or mouthwash has helped me with dry mouth.
Some people recover quickly and others like myself never do so don’t give up and continue to fight the good fight!

MOJO

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Rule out a sinus infection. I reported symptoms (pain, mucous and fluid when I pressed on my cheek) for four+ months and was told it was ‘just’ lymphedema. I finally had a facial ct scan to prepare for a follow up surgery and the surgeon could see the blocked sinus cavity and opacity of fluid and prescribed an antibiotic—pain and mucous lessened in days.

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@mojo244

Hey Al, you can try Mucinex. It never did work for me but it is known to help others.
If you can keep a humidifier by you it will help but not a total fix.
I dealt with that for many months and I still after 8 1/2 years suffer from dry mouth and thick phlegm.
This is what I found works best for me:
First thing in the morning, after I eat each meal and sometimes in between; run as hot as possible tap water, swish and spit, swish and swallow small amount and hack it out and repeat until clear. Water pic my teeth and gums, brush well with quality paste, rinse well and brush with Sensodyne and prescription fluoride paste, spit but don’t rinse.
I imagine you’re experiencing dry mouth and the above regimen along with drinking lots of water will help. No medication or mouthwash has helped me with dry mouth.
Some people recover quickly and others like myself never do so don’t give up and continue to fight the good fight!

MOJO

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Thank you, Jody.

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@anndri3

Rule out a sinus infection. I reported symptoms (pain, mucous and fluid when I pressed on my cheek) for four+ months and was told it was ‘just’ lymphedema. I finally had a facial ct scan to prepare for a follow up surgery and the surgeon could see the blocked sinus cavity and opacity of fluid and prescribed an antibiotic—pain and mucous lessened in days.

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I will bring that up with my doctors.
Thank you.

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At eight months, that may be one of those issues you might have to deal with for a year or more if all other attempts to resolve it fail.
For me I had an ENT take a look a couple of times without any real help until things cleared up literally two years out.
Our healing from radiation is so very slow. The body’s response to radiation is unlike anything else we ever experienced. For many of us, we have symptoms and issues for many years that we either learn to live with or we just get used to these things as normal in our everyday lives. Phlegm and mucus however are not socially accepted public issues. I had at times said simply to annoyed people “Forgive me. I am recovering from cancer treatment.” Then I could turn and hack up a lung with impunity.
Hang in there. Time will pass and you will feel better.

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@hrhwilliam

At eight months, that may be one of those issues you might have to deal with for a year or more if all other attempts to resolve it fail.
For me I had an ENT take a look a couple of times without any real help until things cleared up literally two years out.
Our healing from radiation is so very slow. The body’s response to radiation is unlike anything else we ever experienced. For many of us, we have symptoms and issues for many years that we either learn to live with or we just get used to these things as normal in our everyday lives. Phlegm and mucus however are not socially accepted public issues. I had at times said simply to annoyed people “Forgive me. I am recovering from cancer treatment.” Then I could turn and hack up a lung with impunity.
Hang in there. Time will pass and you will feel better.

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Thanks, William.
I hope you're doing well.

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I finished radiation/chemo treatment for tonsil cancer 14 months ago. My taste has somewhat returned but lack of saliva is still a problem. Phlegm has been a problem, sometimes worse than others. My nose is clear but phlegm in theback of my throat is currently an issue. I started back on azelastine nose spray a few days ago. Two sprays morning and night. That is giving me some relief already. I also have and continue to drink a lot of water.

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Al,
My husband had issues for at least three years. It gradually went away and he is not having those issues anymore

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@longboat1

I finished radiation/chemo treatment for tonsil cancer 14 months ago. My taste has somewhat returned but lack of saliva is still a problem. Phlegm has been a problem, sometimes worse than others. My nose is clear but phlegm in theback of my throat is currently an issue. I started back on azelastine nose spray a few days ago. Two sprays morning and night. That is giving me some relief already. I also have and continue to drink a lot of water.

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Hi @longboat1 and welcome to Connect. My experience with taste is it never was the same after radiation but I would just say it is different, not bad, just different. I found tastes I formally shunned whilst others I have gone away from, particularly very sweet desserts.
Dry throat is still an issue more than twenty years out. Phlegm was a few years until it seemed to clear up or I just got used to it and it slowly went away. It took two full years for about eighty percent of the healing process and about a half dozen more for some lingering nerve effects to vanish. I sneeze brought me to tears for roughly ten years due to the pain shock. I'm OK now.
As for you, there is a lot of good throat pain and meds advice on these feeds, certainly more current than what I had in the first decade of this century. Good healing.

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Thank you for this info William. I just found this forum and appreciate your feedback!

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