Mouth sores and sleeping problems while undergoing chemo/radiation

andrearachel

Hi all! I am posting in the hopes of finding some helpful tips to share with my dad who is currently finishing his 3rd week of daily radiation treatments and 1x/week chemo to treat H&N cancer. His most persistent problem right now seems to be that he's barely able to sleep at all because during the night he is waking up multiple times an hour having to urinate. This does not happen during the day and only becomes a problem at night. I haven't been able to find anything online that can help and am not sure if it is even a common problem. Has anyone experienced this and if so, would you be willing to share anything that helped get you/your loved ones through it? He is miserable with no sleep. Additionally, his mucositis is getting really bad. I know some of the typical recommendations to help deal with the discomfort, but does anyone have any personal experience with things that really helped them?? I appreciate anything and everything you all are willing to share!! Thank you in advance.

wbcgaruss

Hello Rachel, and welcome to the CSN H&N forum.

As far as the frequent urination at night I have never had it nor remember someone who mentioned it. It may be due to his treatment somehow but I would say he has something going on besides a treatment effect. What about the rest of the day does he urinate a lot then but it is just not disrupting anything because he is awake or does it strictly start when he is sleeping? I would definitely get with his care team and let them know what is going on so they can get to the bottom of this. That's what they are there for to support you in every way and get you through your treatment regimen and recovery. My team even had a doctor on call for patients that we could call on the off hours if something was not going as it should be. So contact them as soon as you can, getting rest and nutrition are the 2 most important things during treatment and recovery. Also, bring this mucositis issue to your care team's attention also.

As far as mucositis goes herew is a link to a great article that seems to cover it completely by the OCF (Oral Cancer Foundation). I hope this helps--

https://oralcancerfoundation.org/complications/mucositis/

Also here is a short video that covers it very well--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U8jIiX-zjI

And one other thing that I believe helps is rinsing your mouth pretty regularly with a salt and baking soda rinse. I am posting the recipes for that below--

Wishing You the Best

Take Care God Bless-Russ

Salt and Baking Soda Rinse Recipes

Soda and Salt Mouth Rinse

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup of warm water

Mix well until salt dissolves. Rinse your mouth gently, being careful not to swallow the mixture. Follow this with a plain water rinse to clean out any remaining salt or soda.

Soda Mouth Rinse: A Good Rinse for Before You Eat

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup of warm water

Mix well to dissolve the baking soda. This is a good rinse to use before and after a meal because it may soothe any mucositis pain you have, making it easier for you to eat well. Swish and spit, but don't swallow this mixture.

Saltwater Mouth Rinse

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup of warm water

Mix well to dissolve the salt. This saltwater rinse is close to the natural chemistry of your own saliva. This may make mouth sores feel better. Rinse well with plain water to remove excess salt.

Salt and Soda Rinse for Gummy Mouth

Some chemotherapy drugs can increase the acidity in your mouth, leading to thick saliva that can be very annoying. This rinse works well for "gummy mouth."

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons baking soda

4 cups of warm water

This rinse will help to neutralize the acid in your mouth and will help dissolve or loosen thick, gummy saliva. Don't drink it, just rinse and spit it out.

wbcgaruss