End of week five no pain but thick mucus....HELP!!

Charmit
Charmit Member Posts: 87
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

Hello everyone....

Today marked the ending of week five and I’m fairing pretty well my doctors tell me. Aside from being tired all the time and now build up of mucus is gagging me and making me throw up!! And secrets or suggestions to help with this??? I have two weeks left and I am anxious and waiting for the ball to drop in reguards to the pain. 

Thanks in advance and as always God Bless all

Charlene

 

Comments

  • Clon
    Clon Member Posts: 20
    #2
    It gets worse before it gets better

    Charlene,

    The mucus is one of the worse things about the radiation! I would use my mouth rinses (Salt and Baking Soda, Magic Mouthwash and Neutrasal) rotaing them every two hours.  It was annoying but really did help a lot.  It sounds gross, but I would gargle with salt and baking soda just before I put the mask on because it would break up the mucus and I could spit it out/throw it up and give myself enough time to get through the radiation before i started gaging again.  I didn't find anything else that helped at all.

    Not to be a downer, but when the radiation treatment is over you will actually get a little worse with the side effects before you start to get better. You will keep cooking for a couple of weeks after you are zapped the last time.  The good news is that is is only temporary.  This is what I would tell myself every day, especially when I would feel overwhelmed.  I am almost a year out of treatment now and I have my life back.  Eating still sucks, my taste buds are still wonky and I have little to no saliva but I am here and living my life to the fullest.

    As for the pain, it was very manageable for me, I just ended up with a feeding tube because I couldn't swallow enough to sustein myself.  I was on pain meds for the last two weeks and only for about four weeks total.

    Hang in there and and keep pushing through it, you will do great!!!!

    God Bless,

    Charlie

  • wbcgaruss
    wbcgaruss Member Posts: 2,466 Member
    #3
    Tough But You Will Get Through This Difficult Period

    I had bad mucous also among a large number of other folks on here.

    I could tell it was getting worse when I couldn't sleep in bed anymore.

    Couldn't lay down long and it would be gagging me-pretty good as long as I was upright.

    So I brought a recliner chair from the basement that way i could lean back as much

    as I could take or sit completely upright.

    Hard to remember the time frame now but at some point the worst was several times

    I awoke gagging and could hardly breathe and was hot so I got up and stood on front of the AC

    vents sort of used it for support and choked and gagged till I got it cleared out and could breathe normally again.

    Apologise if my description is a little dramatic or discusting but I was in a separate room and told my wife

    the next day-I thought I was going to die last night at the time that was how I felt for a few short seconds.

    Probably I was on the verge of going to her when I started getting some relief.

    My point of telling you this is the previous poster gave you good ideas for rinsing etc. so stay ahead of it

    the best you can rinse, cough it up, keep cleared out the best you can I thought a many times will I get

    through this others on here did I will too? But keep reading this forum, listen to your docs and support, stay strong, trust in God and you will

    get through this because many of us went through this very difficult phase and made it and You will too Charmit.

    Also I read The Lords Prayer and the 23 Psalm each day among others.

    So Stay strong, hang in there, don't give up. I remember reading on here someone stated they look to get through 

    each week, eash day, even each hour or minute whatever moment you're in and whatever it takes and it helped me many times to beat this beast which sometimes applies

    to other things in our life.

    Hang in there-

    Thinking of you and keeping you in prayer.

  • SuzJ
    SuzJ Member Posts: 446 Member
    #4
    It will get worse

    Some mentioned suction machines from medical supply places?

     

    You got this, you are almost done, you have got this!

     

    Yes, the 3 weeks after are gonna suck, but there will be a day when you'll look back and think "you know, yesterday wasn't as bad as the day before, and today wasn't as bad as yesterday"

  • HelenBack
    HelenBack Member Posts: 87 Member
    #5
    Mucus

    Try mucus thinning products like Guafenisen ( eg.Mucinex) or papaya enzymes. Both helped my husband.

  • Darkdancer333
    Darkdancer333 Member Posts: 115 Member
    #6
    I am starting 4 weeks post

    I am starting 4 weeks post rad and I will tell you the mucus is the worse. It runs non stop. I got a machine from the hospitol but the mucus was so thick all i would do is gag and choke.

    I am praying it ends this week. I been told it can last 3-4 weeks post rad. Soon as the mucus stops I plan on eating.. My taste is still off but this feeding tube and boost needs to go lol.

    Charmit it won't be long you canhave a good pizza !!!!!!!!! My wife told me now eat healthy food.... I said bs its pizza, burgers and taco bell lol

     

  • OKCnative
    OKCnative Member Posts: 326 Member
    #7
    I tried suction machines and

    I tried suction machines and they did no good at all. The first one my wonderful neighbors actually bought online and surprised me with it. It didn't have enough suction to do me any good. Then we rented one from a medical supply company. It was pretty much the same machine with the same results.

    I actually have the one given to me and would happily give it to any patients who live in or around OKC. Maybe it would work for them.

    The worst was a week or so with literally no sleep because I had to hack up and spit every minute or so.

    It all eventually passed though.

  • SuzJ
    SuzJ Member Posts: 446 Member
    #8
    ok

    somewhere I saw, read, was told.. that if you have to take an antacid, such as Zantac, the mucus isn't as bad.

    I do have to take one - kinda prevacid stuff, and my mucus wasn't so bad. It was bad in the AM, but dealable..

  • Darkdancer333
    Darkdancer333 Member Posts: 115 Member
    #9
    Im starting week 5 post rad

    Im starting week 5 post rad and my mucus is still bad... 3-4 weeks I guess my decides to stick around a little longer

  • LongBird
    LongBird Member Posts: 1
    #10
    Mucus

    Like others in this thread, things got worse after treatments ended.  Mucinex helped to thin the mucus to a tolerable level.  I was taking mucinex during treatments but stopped because I thought I was doing ok and didn't need it, which turned out to be a mistake.   I also discovered that club soda provides me some relief.  Good luck on your last treatments and may you have a quick recovery! 

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