5 months out

Barbaraek

MrsBD said:

Acupuncture

At the suggestion of my oncologists, acupuncture was done once a week during the eight weeks of treatment (IMRT and Erbitux) and for several weeks after. My acupuncturist used a protocol developed by MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. I didn't lose my sense of taste although a couple of foods tasted weird. My saliva function remained pretty good, but it has a tendency to be a little thicker. Acupuncture really helped with nausea too. A bonus is that all the hair on the back of my head which was lost due to radiation grew back. I was a big skeptic about trying acupuncture,  but I am a believer now!

Thought I would chime in on the acupuncture

My husband didn't have acupuncture during treatment, but enrolled in a study as soon as he was eligible (right after first post tx scan was clear) that utilized ALTENS or acupuncture-like transcutaneous nerve stimulation (say that 3 times fast!) or as my husband referred to it "Shake and Bake". Electrodes are placed where the acupuncture needles would be inserted to stimulate saliva - for him they were on the chin, inner part of the ankles, inside of the wrists and behind the knees I think.

An electric pulse current was delivered to these different areas over 20 minutes, 2 times a week for 12 weeks totalling 24 sessions. It did nothing in our case which was very disappointing...BUT others have reported a positive effect in reducing xerostomia or dry mouth. 

The doctor has offered him the opportunity to repeat the treatment in a bit, so perhaps we'll try again. For us the most debilitating lasting side effect of all the treatment has been the xerostomia - it affects swallowing, sleeping, speaking and... dammit! kissing.

Barbara

the_wife

Barbaraek said:

Thought I would chime in on the acupuncture

My husband didn't have acupuncture during treatment, but enrolled in a study as soon as he was eligible (right after first post tx scan was clear) that utilized ALTENS or acupuncture-like transcutaneous nerve stimulation (say that 3 times fast!) or as my husband referred to it "Shake and Bake". Electrodes are placed where the acupuncture needles would be inserted to stimulate saliva - for him they were on the chin, inner part of the ankles, inside of the wrists and behind the knees I think.

An electric pulse current was delivered to these different areas over 20 minutes, 2 times a week for 12 weeks totalling 24 sessions. It did nothing in our case which was very disappointing...BUT others have reported a positive effect in reducing xerostomia or dry mouth. 

The doctor has offered him the opportunity to repeat the treatment in a bit, so perhaps we'll try again. For us the most debilitating lasting side effect of all the treatment has been the xerostomia - it affects swallowing, sleeping, speaking and... dammit! kissing.

Barbara

xerostomia

That's very interesting about the acupuncture. I don't think it's available for us locally, so that's out. I'm a big believer in integrative medicine, though, and use it as much as I can for myself.

Yes, ditto on the xerostomia. The dry mouth and throat is keeping him from eating. He's almost at the 6 month mark. In the beginning, the RO said that at 6 months he'd be 90% of his new normal. They left out the part that (for some patients) it actually takes a few years to fully recover your sense of taste and that your saliva may never return. Who knew that saliva was so important - even for kissing, apparently! We do the air peck these days!

I wonder if anyone has ever tried coconut oil? I would think that just swishing it around in your mouth would help moisturize, but something tells me it doesn't help much, otherwise we would have heard about it by now. Never hurts to try...

 

MrsBD

Barbaraek said:

Thought I would chime in on the acupuncture

My husband didn't have acupuncture during treatment, but enrolled in a study as soon as he was eligible (right after first post tx scan was clear) that utilized ALTENS or acupuncture-like transcutaneous nerve stimulation (say that 3 times fast!) or as my husband referred to it "Shake and Bake". Electrodes are placed where the acupuncture needles would be inserted to stimulate saliva - for him they were on the chin, inner part of the ankles, inside of the wrists and behind the knees I think.

An electric pulse current was delivered to these different areas over 20 minutes, 2 times a week for 12 weeks totalling 24 sessions. It did nothing in our case which was very disappointing...BUT others have reported a positive effect in reducing xerostomia or dry mouth. 

The doctor has offered him the opportunity to repeat the treatment in a bit, so perhaps we'll try again. For us the most debilitating lasting side effect of all the treatment has been the xerostomia - it affects swallowing, sleeping, speaking and... dammit! kissing.

Barbara

Barb, It's Worth a Try

My acupuncturist said it does work best to do the treatments during the course of radiation,  but she did have some success with people who came in later. The acupuncture  points you mentioned are different from the ones she used on me though. Her protocol was developed by MD Anderson and maybe your husband's therapist could check out the difference. My acupuncturist told me that acupuncture irritates specific nerve 'channels' which stimulates them to repair the area. It makes sense that electrical current could do the same. Years ago, I had a partial rotator cuff tear and the physical therapist used a TENS type unit on it twice a week. It worked. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a therapy could be developed to prevent or eliminate the problem of xerostomia! I will pray for success in your husband's case.