Thick mucus

Mutant Mucus
Ah, yes, mucus, not just mucus, but mutant mucus, ropey, clingey and 200 weight viscosity. I have found that the intervention that works best for me is to wipe it out with a wet paper towel, or Puff tissue (I have found that Puffs are sturdier than other brands, and do not shred in my mouth as readily). I have not found a wash or rinse that works without the swab out accompaniment. I must say that it is a bit of an effort, and that after utilizing my intervention, I always feel wiped out.

Patrick

patricke said:

Mutant Mucus
Ah, yes, mucus, not just mucus, but mutant mucus, ropey, clingey and 200 weight viscosity. I have found that the intervention that works best for me is to wipe it out with a wet paper towel, or Puff tissue (I have found that Puffs are sturdier than other brands, and do not shred in my mouth as readily). I have not found a wash or rinse that works without the swab out accompaniment. I must say that it is a bit of an effort, and that after utilizing my intervention, I always feel wiped out.

Patrick

Suction machine!
My husband had mouthfuls of thick ropey mucus and we did about what you described until the Onco's NP prescribed a home suction machine, it's a really neat compact gizmo that resembles a thermal lunchbag with shoulder strap. This thing sucks out the mucus like nobody's business, two months after rads ended we're still using it, I don't know how we'd have survived w/o it.

I learned here (props to Sweetblood) about L-Glutamine and it's helped a lot too, it's cheap and easy to get, one heaping flavorless teaspoon a day dissolved in a couple oz water, through the PEG if you can't swallow or, ideally, swished and swallowed.

Lelia said:

Suction machine!
My husband had mouthfuls of thick ropey mucus and we did about what you described until the Onco's NP prescribed a home suction machine, it's a really neat compact gizmo that resembles a thermal lunchbag with shoulder strap. This thing sucks out the mucus like nobody's business, two months after rads ended we're still using it, I don't know how we'd have survived w/o it.

I learned here (props to Sweetblood) about L-Glutamine and it's helped a lot too, it's cheap and easy to get, one heaping flavorless teaspoon a day dissolved in a couple oz water, through the PEG if you can't swallow or, ideally, swished and swallowed.

Thanks for the information
I did use a suction machine a lot for a few months after the conclusion of rad treatment, but stopped when my saliva dryed up. I have needed to use it again for the past couple of months, but I am now tapering down my use of it as the volume of mucus is decreasing. I am deffinitely going to try the L-Glutamine, and see if it might further decrease the volume and viscosity of the mucus. My thanks to you and Sweetblood for the suggestion.

Patrick

ahhhh the mucus
15 years out and I still have mucus that would lubricate the engine on a 747. I use several methods, 1) the tissue down the throat 2) gargle with peroxide and water mix and 3) steam up the shower and breath in the steam followed by a lot of coughing (hacking)

I do rate each "mission" on a 1-10 scale.

I am going to try the suction machine next.

Not a simple solution.

I had superglottic and a
I had superglottic and a laryngectomy with radical disection for stage 2 on 5/2/11 at Duke University. Having been a heavy smoker had constant thick dark mucas for 6 weeks, but thick clear mucus continues. Have a real problem with mucus plugs that are the hardest darn things to cough up. My speech therapist recommends brushing teeth 5 times per day with 5 rinses with non-alcoholic anti-bacterial mouth rinses. This takes care of the mucus in the mornings. They also recommend ginger ale as it cuts through mucus.