Only seventeen months after radiation treatments and this morning I was successful at licking a few envelopes. Didn't need a sponge, or help from someone else with better saliva.

Just wanted to give you new people a ray of hope and sunshine.

Careful Ron, you'll be dribbling in your sleep next!
Congrats!
Sue

Well done! Not sure whether my tounge would poke out far enough to allow me to try and certainly too dry to try!

I can manage this task as well....but with periodic sips of water to assist.

Hi,I'm jealous, still can't spit or lick stamps on, the post office counter hands think I am being difficult if I ask where is the wet sponge in a dish. Envolopes, I just run under the tap, in order to seal them. I am drinking pinapple juice as suggested by Dr Vinod, and I do get a bit of spit.

Pineapple juice?!? Doesn't it burn your mouth like acid? Can you handle orange juice or lemonade? I certainly can not.

Click to read:Pineapple posts

Hi Ron, when I read Dr Vinod wrote about pinapple juice, I rushed out and bought a fresh one, it almost crucified me, however the so called fresh pinapple juice, I can now manage, three months ago it would have been impossible.
The fact that my two operations were end of Nov and Dec I am coming up to two years end of this year, so things do take time. Orange juice I cannot take, or wine, would love a curry, but not up to that as yet.Still on loads of Fish, and softer foods. Big Bear Healing Hugs

All right, I'm going to try some pineapple juice. What have I got to lose?

Hi Ron, I'm back on porridge with double cream as it goes down without much bother, and is real comfort food. Garance

Just got back from vacation ("holiday" to you Brits) in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, where I was shocked to learn how easily I could drink "jugo de pina" (pineapple juice). I will never go another day without pineapple juice.

Smoked salmon and ripe papaya also went down easily.

Hi Ron, for ages I couldn't manage pineapple anything as it was so burning. But I can eat ripe sweet pineapple now and a small bowl is just great, but only say once a week otherwise get those damn mouth ulcers.

Cocodamol/Solpadol also creates other end problems and for me the best item for this is nothing that is prescribed, but good old prune juice from the supermarket. I like Waitrose Sunsweet the best which does not separate even at the bottom of the bottle. I've also discovered pineapple flavoured Danone yoghurt bio drinks in pineapple flavour and like one or two of these yoghurt drinks mixed with my prune juice. It makes a kind of very easy pruney milkshake that holds together and is not so much an I'm drinking this because it's good for me ugh factor as the prune juice alone.

Tried a cocount and pineapple juice as Ican taste cocount fine except can;t eat it due to choking factors! But that drink was still too tart for me 6 months ago. Maybe that would mix well with the little yohgurt drinks. Any of the flavours even strawberry yoghurts mixed with the prune juice improve it no end.

I never had yoghurt drinks when I had my radioetherapy although I did find small bowls of plain Onken yoghurt acceptable. I think 3 years ago they were not so fashionable here.

Garance I haevn't eaten porridge in 3 years since the event ... maybe this winter I'll try it again. Porridge is a life saver when you can eat next to nothing.

Licking envelopes - Any saliva I have I am keeping to myself!!! It's tap water on my envelopes. In fact I recently filled in a 3year out comment on treatment form at the hospital. The thing that made me chuckle was that it was a head and neck cancer survey and the envelope was not self sealing and needed licking.

Had an alcohol-free pineapple juice mixed with coconut milk in Mexico and it went down OK. Wouldn't go out of my way for it, as coconut shreds stick to my throat like they were coated with glue.

Forgive me, but what is porridge?

There is coconut flavour in these yoghurt drinks not coconut flakes which I agree are a nightmare and best avoided. But the flavour of coconut was one of the first I could taste so it was frustrating not being able to eat something that was tasty, as just a mouth of coconut cake made me choke then and still does.

Porridge is rolled oats ( Quaker rolled oats) cooked up with milk. Some people use water to make it, or half milk half water, some add salt and prefer it that way, but I hate it like that.
I prefer mine with a teaspoon or two of golden syrup or sugar and single cream. Although I haven't eaten it since radiotherapy as in the end my tum revolted against it after living off soupy style porridge for 3 months.

There are other instant versions you may know ( poor substitutes in my opinion) called Ready Brek etc.

Test Shows Sticky Porridge Used to Cement Ancient Chinese Wall