Status
Not open for further replies.

glenn gavanaugh

Active member
Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
99
Reason
Learn about ALS
Country
CA
State
ON
City
Suburb of Toronto
lately I've been choking on my own saliva and phlegm - having to clear my throat every 5 minutes - it just sits there, like it's molasses in my throat, won't go down unless I force it - the muscles don't seem to want to do that as quickly... even swallowing won't clear it, until I clear it myself, really hard...If I leave it too long, I choke...

I told this to the neuro, she totally ignored this.

It started a while back, but now it's really uncomfortable and even scary at times (when I choke)...I'm afraid to go to sleep like this!

I thought this was a later symptom of MND?
 
Glen, is your saliva normal thickness, or do you feel that it is getting thicker?

Your neuro should definitely do something about this! It can be solved. I wear a "Scopaline" patch behind my ear to cut down the volume of saliva. However, the patch tends to make the saliva thicker, so I use Musinex sometimes to thin out the secretions. (The Musinex pills are horrible to swallow, and the liquid tastes lousy, but since I'm on a feeding tube, that problem is solved.)

My solution may not be the best ... have heard some people have side effects from the Scop patch and there are other meds available that may work better ... but this is a very common problem with ALS and your neuro should be prepared to handle it.
 
Thats one of my biggest complaints. My neuro prescribed glyco something. Its hit and miss. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not. My Primary Doc Said Robitussin. Hit and miss too. I'm sure there is something that works. I'm gonna bring it up again next visit.
 
Glen, you should get yourself a suction device to suck it out when it won't go down. I find that if I've got a cold or am feeling under the weather at all my saliva increases in volume and thickness and having the machine to suck it out really helps. Even still I can't sleep on my back as it pools in my throat and chokes me.

As far as being a later symptom I have had saliva issues right from the beginning and my nuero offered me radiation treatment which really helped.

Barry
 
Glen, Why don't you go to an ENT doctor? This is their area of specialty. An ENT doc could arrange for you to see a speech pathologist ~ not speech "therapist" There are specific tests that can be done to see what's going on, one of which is called a modified barium swallow. Easy for you to go through, & tells them a lot.

I'm thinking the neuro gave you a clean bill of health, so whether or not you seek second opinions by another neurologist, you should still try to get some help, as swallowing and choking problems are not healthy for anyone.
 
I think it is an earlier symptom as I used to have it big time but not any more. I could control it by drinking a lot of water, at least 3 liters, or quarts, per day. Be careful, as Beth pointed out on another thread, if you have heart problems you might not be allowed to drink that much.
 
I thought going to a Neuro and getting good news would clear my problems. But it doesn't. Not when you're still losing muscle, still weak, still with fascic's, swallowing problems, fatigue, gag reflex...
Wouldn't at least Babinski be positive if I had ALS, though?
I know only an ALS specialist knows the disease intimately... but a regular Neuro would pick up something, right?
 
Glen, don't confuse choking with having something wrong with your gag reflex, or excess or thick saliva as being a symptom solely relegated to ALS. The body is complex, everything does not have to be related to each other. Don't try to pick an illness you don't want, and then see if the doctors agree. The neuro you saw may not have given you the complete exam you deserved, but don't think that she was not very observant, and noticing things while she conversed with you, whether or not she was officially "testing" something at that very moment.

I'd suggest to either get more general, i.e. go back to an internal medicine doctor and say, "what type of doctor do I need to see? what kind of screening can you do for me?".... or, go to a specialist and fan out, go for your throat, a lot can be seen by a doctor that looks in people's mouths every work day, believe me.

If you want answers, don't try to steer the doctor, go to the doctor who's area you have problems with. If your legs or arms are weak, why not start with an orthopedic or osteopathic sports medicine type doctor, or, get scheduled to see a neuromuscular doctor. If you've got swallowing trouble, go to a throat doctor, Have you considered seeing a rheumatologist, as many immune problems can cause all of this and fatigue as well.

You may be wasting valuable time that could be spent treating the cause of a disease, as you've allowed yourself to become focused on ALS.



I hope this helps. :)
 
I wanted to add that the "gag" is a reflex, swallowing is more of a "response" ... The effectiveness of the swallow is dependent on the strength of muscles involved.

About aspiration she said studies have been done and It was concluded that the presence of a gag reflex does not protect against aspiration, and the absence of a gag reflex does not predict aspiration.
 
Yeah, It Helps. I will look into that other stuff.

But as far as ALS goes, I'm just baffled that the journey continues . I thought a Neuro's opinion was a pretty great signifier that you don't have something you think you have. And tests like Babinski & Hoffman's are great signifier's that you don't have UMN damage.
Yet it doesn't take away from the fact that I have assymetrical weakness, atrophy, etc. Fascic's. Cramping. etc., etc.. Have had numerous blood tests, MRI/CT, etc.

I'm just simply repeating this stuff. There's no use. I'll wait until the EMG.
 
I'm not following why you believe you have upper motor neuron damage.

Again, I'd put worries about ALS on the back burner (actually I'd take it off of the stove and wash the pot) Start lining yourself up to be seen by specialists, or your primary again, to look for a cause or causes.

Are you able to work? Is the fatigue interfering with your performance? If any of the problems you're having are affecting you at the job, you need to get some sort of diagnosis to protect you from possible discipline there.

I can understand wanting to get EMG results, but if you're getting progressively worse, as you describe yourself to be, doing something positive toward diagnostics is better than sitting and wondering what is wrong.

Have you seen a rheumatologist?
 
This is unrelated....but what is with all the ads and links on the page? A new feature? Does anyone else see them? Don't know why I think it is just me....?
 
Lydia, I think its just you.

Now, I could make a joke out of this....(I keep typing and making myself erace LOL)

I must go before temptation gets the best of me.
 
I'm not seeing links or ads here Lydia. What are they for?

AL.
 
Al - I think Lydia is talking about the "Ads by Google" that appear as frames interdispersed in the forum threads. They often appear after the first post in a thread. It appears that the ads are tailored to key words in the thread/forum. It's unfortunate because some of the links appear to be very generic/borderline questionable, and they look to the causual observer to be site sponsors. I think it may have somethign to do with having Google toolbar installed or using a browser that has Google integrated by default (Like Firefox), but I'm not sure. That might explain why some see them and others not.

Here is an example from one of Tracy's recent posts regarding her husband's spine (I've removed hyperlinks and dot coms so there is no delay in the post).

<REMOVED HYPERLINK>
Neural Scan Axon 2
A-DELTA Fast Pain Fiber Test Finds What EMG/NCV Cannot
<REMOVED WEBSITE ADDRESS>
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top