Dry mouth

What?? No ice cream??

Actually, my diet changed to a more healthy one, simply because sweets had no taste for a long time....took about 3 years for my sweet tooth to redevelop.  But I gave ice cream a try a couple times a week to "check up" on the progress.  I ate, and still eat a lot of soup....and on of fave things was soaking well-buttered custy bread in my soup...or dipping into my soup so it gets some liquid soaked into it.  Crackers, chips....those need added liquid still for me (going on 5 years out)...unless you soak them in something.... I love nuts....and am fully willing to have my water bottle handy in order to eat them.

Add lots of butter to veggies....if you can eat salad, add extra dressing.  You don't say what you can eat...I'll bet I can dream up a way to add enough calories to it to make it eatable and tasty.

p

Tak,

Dry mouth, lack-of-saliva, taste, no taste, awful taste, low (difficult) speech  are side effects many H&N members live daily.  All my afflictions from radiation have improved many times over in the last 5 years and continue today.

I was on smoothies for 8 months before my taste buds (suddenly) kicked back on. I would add nuts and oil to juice up the calories.  I was always trying everything and often. The H&N forum can offer advice, but the work is yours to figure out your path. Also, I belong to phrannie’s ice cream of the week club; it is a dynamic indicator of taste.

I have tried many, many dry mouth aids including coconut oil and I do find some relief in them. I am a big fan of xylimelts at bed time (they work for me).

I drink multiple glasses of liquids for meals. In a restaurant it is always big glass of sweet tea and water.  Water is my buddy.

My life of eating is fairly normal, I do still deal with dryness and a mouthful of food stuck to my teeth and gums, but you learn to pace yourself and be careful.

Many of us have found a buffet to be a good place to put on the feed bag.

Matt

I finished chemo and radiation treatments the week of Thanksgiving. I went from 174 to 108 lbs. I lived on ensure alone for almost 3 months.  In addition to dry mouth and all taste loss, the pulled my bottom teeth prior to radiation because my enamel was weak.  I am still working on getting dentures but have been eating soft foods for almost a year. I am almost 6 Mon post treatment and have maybe 25% taste and saliva back. I can taste super sweet or salty that's it. I eat a lot of pasta and sauce, carnation breakfast, cream soups, eggs, potatoes and ice cream to try and gain back some weight. I used to wake up every hour because I needed a drink of water, now usually just once or twice. I always have water with me because my mouth gets so dry so fast. I don't enjoy eating at all and eating out is the worst (except buffets!)but  I am hopeful that these side effects will eventually go away. each week I get a little stronger and I am no longer losing weight or hair!

Had a nasal pharyngeal tumor stage 4 +., had a serious inhuman treatement of  33 radiations everyday and two chimos, I refused the 3rd one.

A year to this day, I am free and clear of the tumor but was left with no hair or a little on each side of my head..turns out the only disastrous consequence of this is dry mouth, but after one year i can see a bit of improvement , at leats 20% of salive do come back, and i was told my salivary glands would not work again because i had such a rad. treatement.

To improve your diet, because i still cant have bread, chips, all the goodies from the past are banished because it get stuck in my teeth and i cant swallow.

The solution is to cook or have everything cooked with olive oil, it does helps a lot the palate and the mouth, it greases it! I Cook a lot of fish with olive oil, with everyday an avocado for hair and skin, i cook also my meat with olive oil it makes a big difference in the mouth as well as eggs, under forms of omelette, because hard bolied eggs are hard to digest and gets moochy in my mouth.

Honyedew and cantaloupe are very good and helps alot with the factor no saliva.

But if you pretty much cook everything with oilive oil, it makes it possible for us to eat everything.Dont be afraid to pour a lot its the healthiest thing ever for the body. I dont drink coffee anymore, it does drys out my mouth, as well as red wine or cigarette,..so stay away from all this.

Unlike tequila and vodka, lol, these dont dry up your mouth if you need a litl drink sometimes.

Have a proper hygiene for your teeth, i go every month to the dentist to check if i dont have a cavity, no saliva will do that to us. And a teeth cleaning every 4 months.This is extremely important, I keep hoping the saliva will come back, this 20 % was inexpected, 3 months ago, i could not go out anywhere without a bottle in my hand, today i can go for a hike an hour without any bottle, but I carry with me a life saver! This french water sprey in a small bitlle, in my back pockt when i hike, and its just water spray in my mouth that helps me so i can exercuse, and i dont need to carry a dam water botlle 24/7

hope everyone is good../ Muriel

Steamed food can be surprisingly good.  Raw broccoli is painful now, but steamed it retains the taste and is nice and soft, easy to chew, and doesn't teeth-stick..  Breaded and hard stuff can be a problem, but give me a chip with quacamole on it and down it goes.   And part of this seems to be mental.  When I am out and about and feeling good I experiment with lots of foods, and usually find I can get thru.  Sitting at home at the table feeling grumpy and nothing is good.

Hi there, I am 1 yr out from the end of treatment.  Kept My taste & smell through.  Actually was Recoverying Excellect by 3 months. Salivia, extreme taste......life was good.  But at the 6 month, everything changed.   My main Salivary that the worked got clogged due to Delayed Radiation.   it still fills when I eat but can't get out.  The others just shut down recently.  Also have problems with Sinus & Allergies 24/7 I have a ton of mucus.  Combined with extremely dessert Dry  mouth I am miserable.  I also developed a Sodium Low & can get water poisoning Very easy.   So I have to monitor every bit of water I take In.  Can NOT drink much of anything with a flavor but beer.  I did find a great water substitute...... Propel clear drink water with electrolytes & vitamins.  Really helps.  Also found Great NA beer.  It is such a trial & error, One Day at a Time Thing.  Each day can be different.  Nature of this type of Cancer.  Good Luck & hang in there.  Big Hugs...... Lisa