Swallowing issues, Little or no saliva, extreme dry mouth

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BlacksuitDC
BlacksuitDC Member Posts: 18
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

If you have little or NO SALIVA, dry mouth, or just a VERY HARD time swallowing, loss of soft pallet, this is for you.  Buy frozen bags of OKRA. ($1.00 a bag at regular groc stores).  I put 4 bags into a deep covered pan and cover the okra with water.  I simmer it for 8-10 minutes to speed up the process.  Then I turn off the heat and let it ‘steep’ for 3-5 hours. The ‘product’ is the liquid not the okra.  I save the drained liquid and repeat the process (without the heat). I even repeat a 3rd time.  Take a bite of food and a sip of this liquid and down it goes.  Warm the liquid for some foods according to taste.  Like making sun tea.  The ‘tea’ is the liquid.  The tealeaves, which get tossed, is the okra. I end up with a very thick heavy liquid. The thickness of this ‘tea’ protects the raw, sensitive skin in the patient’s mouth.  With no saliva, teeth edges can feel like steak knife blades.  This thick liquid keeps food trapped in a heavy solution and away from a sore mouth and tongue. If you don’t have such a hard time swallowing, then you can thin the ‘tea’ to suit. Great because it last longer and you have escaped a bad quality of life derailment. FYI: It is a challenge to pour.  Gravity can steal it and dump it on the counter.  I pour/transfer it over a bigger bowl using a small cup to help control this part.  I use a funnel to fill bottles. You can put the liquid into a small Gatorade bottle and take it to a restaurant. You can tint it orange or red.  It ‘looks’ like Gatorade to everyone.   There is not much of a flavor to this ‘tea’ and it takes on the flavor of some foods which makes it nicer. I make up a batch of this every other day.  Okra ‘tea’ makes swallowing EVERYTHING easy. No, it not fun but it works. I can eat steak, some breads, angel food cake, etc. It beats Ensure Plus 24/7.  It is easier to eat what the patient used to LOVE than trying to get the patient to eat something they never liked. Also learnt to enjoy the smell of things.  Maybe we always enjoyed the smell of our favorite foods as much as the actual taste.  The smell and texture. I think all 3 were/are linked to the foods we love. Texture is often shot along with taste.  Maybe all that is left is smell. Smell is better than nothing. FYI pick food that stays together when you chew.  Think bubble gum. You chew, and it stays in the same – one piece.  Find foods that do this.  Chicken and tuna break all up. Rice goes everywhere. Angel food cake stays but regular cake crumbles up. Ham stays together, hamburger does not and is sharp and hurts a raw tongue. Some brands of potato chips crumble up but some stay in a paste. Sweet potatoes stay together but Idaho potatoes (mashed, fires) are like a sponge and stick in the throat.  Steamed new potatoes are good and have a nice flavor that hopefully the patient can ‘taste’.   

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  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #2
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    I'm two months post treatment

    I'm two months post treatment, never did a feeding tube, and have been eating any and everything for a few weeks now.

    I never tried or heard of the okra tea (though we do grow our own okra). That said, my doctor early on told me to "drink water all day to aid in swallowing when you are not eating. But, when you eat, follow each bit with a drink of whole milk." It really helped to push the food down and also coats my throat so it doesn't hurt nearly as bad. The other benefit is the added calories to each meal (as many as 200+). I now go through a gallon every two days. 

  • hepkess
    hepkess Member Posts: 6
    edited December 2017 #3
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    Dry mouth

    I had the same trouble, but slowly over a perioud of about a year, I got normal saliva again. My doctors gave me some stuff call Bioteme. Works pretty good, comes in gel and spray form. It is minty! Taste slowly came back over a period of about 6 mos too. Not 100%, but I can enjoy a meal. 

  • Walt333
    Walt333 Member Posts: 4
    #4
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    hepkess said:

    Dry mouth

    I had the same trouble, but slowly over a perioud of about a year, I got normal saliva again. My doctors gave me some stuff call Bioteme. Works pretty good, comes in gel and spray form. It is minty! Taste slowly came back over a period of about 6 mos too. Not 100%, but I can enjoy a meal. 

    can you eat potato chips? and

     hello Hepkes, can you eat potato chips? and do sauces with vinegar burn your mouth?

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