Sour Candy/Gum Products Used After the RAI

At the RAI appointment.  Yes, that is the 100mc capsule of radioactive iodine in the vial.  It arrived in a small lead-lined thermos-like container---the container weighed about 15 pounds!

The following pictures show the sour candy products approved by his doctors for use 24 hours after the RAI.   Use of the sour candies is supposed to help minimize discomfort and increase salivary production.  Of course, the products selected should be sodium-free and not contain Red Dye #3- and ideally, be sugar-free!

Note:  Below are the ones my husband plans to use- he likes the ones with sugar... You may want to look in the diabetic candy section.  We could not find a "sour" sugar-free gum.  You should have see his "Halloween bag" of sour candy and gum- enough to make a small child cry!


As with all issues regarding your LID & RAI treatment plan, discuss this with your physician regarding their recommendation for you.







Sugar Free!  Purchased at Dollar Tree- highly recommended by a friend who is 6 mo. post-RAI.  She continues to use these for "dry mouth."


My husband's physician gave him this bag of sour lemon drop candy.  She approved the following non-sodium, Red Dye #3 free candies to also use:


















These are SUGAR-FREE! Purchased at Wal-Greens Pharmacy.
Note:  Some of the sour candies did not agree with his stomach...switched to slices of fresh lemon.


Dry Mouth:  If you are having issues with dry mouth after the RAI- and it seems many do, consider Biotene Dry Mouth Mouthwash.  You can find it in the mouthwash section of drugstores and many grocery stores.  It provided relief to my husband on several occasions.  It was recommended by my husband's dentist, physician and a friend who also had a RAI treatment a few months before my husband's.


 

January 7, 2014:  
Salivary Gland Issue-

My husband has recently experienced the dreaded salivary pain/swelling we have heard so many post-RAI patients discuss.  At around 15 months after his RAI, he began to experience extremely painful sensations in his jaw area- this was soon followed by swelling.  It seems that many experience episodic salivary gland pain due to scarring after the RAI treatment.  The treatment is massage of the salivary gland area, applying heat compresses and use of yes, more sour candies to re-open the salivary ducts.  

After trying many of the candies listed above that he had previously used following the RAI, he found that Lifesavers is now making a sour gummy candy that was even more "sour" to him.  Sour is what he needed to open the salivary ducts and these are the ones that ended up working better for him.  See the picture below.  He ordered a case from Amazon and has been using when he starts to experience symptoms and has been able to get relief using the gummies and massage. Note that this gummy sour candy does not contain Red Dye#3.   Best to you.