Your Mouth Will Salivate Less

This is something I don't hear any other ETS patients talk about so I can only assume this side-effect is quite rare. But waking up from surgery with an extremely dry mouth and throat does happen to some people. I can verify this because that's exactly what  happened to me.

I woke from ETS surgery to find the salivation in my mouth reduced to about 20% of what it used to be before the surgery, so I now have what feels like a permanently dry mouth and throat. In fact, I now have to carry a wattle bottle with me 24 hours a day and can't go for more than a few minutes without having to take a sip.

One issue this causes is it makes it much more difficult to swallow food when eating. Sometimes I can chew and chew and chew and there is just not enough moisture in my mouth to allow me to swallow. Foods like dry biscuits and pastries are the main culprits and I always have to take a bite and follow it immediately with a mouthful of water to moisten it.

Having a dry mouth also causes me to wake at night with my tongue 'glued' to the roof of my mouth. If you know what it's like to separate velcro, that's exactly what it feels like when I try to separate my tongue from the roof of my mouth. This has resulted in me now suffering from obstructive sleep apnea. But unlike most people where the underlying cause is the back of the throat collapsing and causing an obstruction to the airway, my obstruction is in my mouth. This means I now have to use a CPAP machine with the humidity up high to ensure my mouth stays adequately moistened.

Saliva also helps to reduce infections in the mouth and throat, and also helps to protect your teeth and gums. Not enough saliva in your mouth therefore means that your teeth will decay much faster than normal. Increasing your daily brushing is an absolute must if you want to keep those cavities away.

And last of all, continually having a dry mouth will have a huge impact on your ability to exercise and play sport. Some ETS surgeons claim that this procedure does not affect your ability to exercise. Bullshit is all I have to say to that. For those who never needed to carry a water bottle, you will need to carry one from now on. And this is an absolute pain if you need to drink every few minutes when you are on the playing field in the middle of a sports stadium. In fact, if you are a professional athlete, you can very well kiss your career goodbye.