Excess Saliva

[anneo]

Hi everyone. My stepdad has bulbar onset ALS. He is having trouble with excess saliva. We have tried 2 oral medications which caused too much dizziness and he can not tolerate the drops. From our first ALS clinic in June, they spoke about Botox. Has anyone had that procedure? And if so, was it effective?

 

[tinyandme]

No to botox but may I ask the name of the drops?

 

[bigmark1954]

Search botox...I am sure there have been some positive discussion on this in the last few months.
Also, some meds help as well with bulbar and excessive salivation.....amitriptyaline, oxybutuane, mucinex, and even some other anti depressants like prozak etc.
In analyzing my saliva issues, I think it is more related to management ...meaning before bulbar onset we had the coordination to mange saliva and it went unnoticed. Just my opinion.

 

[affected]

I think I follow you there Mark.

One thing with saliva is that sometimes it seems you are producing excess saliva, but we actually produce around 2 - 4 pints every day. Normally without thinking about it we are swallowing it.

With bulbar issues, the swallow is impaired, so even with normal saliva production it seems like you suddenly have all this excess saliva because it's not just being swallowed without thinking about it.

It is difficult (well we found it to be so) to have anyone able to really tell how much saliva you are producing to know if there is excess ...

Now in answer to the OP - we did not try botox, we felt that it was a rather extreme treatment choice. How long has your step dad had ALS for? I would also be interested to know what 2 meds you have tried already?

 

[MaxEidswick]

>In analyzing my saliva issues


for me, it's more the thickness stuck in the back of my throat -- and I mean thick like glue. Sandy has me drinking more water, but I can't figure what triggers t. It is everyday, sometimes all day :-(

 

[dalvin]

Max, I have similar issue but I think I've figured it out. Since my breathing is compromised I'm breathing through my mouth instead of my nose, since I have trouble getting anything to the back of my throat to be swallowed, I think the water in it is evaporating leaving a more condensed saliva which of course becomes even harder to move to the back and swallow. I've started using tongue scrapper with listern and scrapping my tongue. seems to help some

 

[MaxEidswick]

> I've started using tongue scrapper with listern and scrapping my tongue. seems to help some

yup,m I use a paper napkin to scrape it out -- disgusting, but it helps for a while ... I don't breathe much thru my mouth ...

 

[ECpara]

My husband gets Botox shots every three months. It has made a huge difference! Before that he was using Atropine drops but not having much success. He also tried other products but nothing really worked. The problem is certainly not "gone" but it is so much better. He also uses a suction machine with regularity. He was told if he wasn't satisfied he could try radiation, but then you run the risk of dry mouth permanently. He said no, he can live with this. So Botox it is!

 

[MaxEidswick]

>My husband gets Botox shots every three months.

does this help with the thick stuff in back?

 

[ECpara]

Max, no, the Botox doesn't help with the thick "goo". He has to somehow hack that up and retrieve it with the suction machine. It's not easy, he makes enough noise to wake the dead! But the Botox does take care of the constant drool.

 

[MaxEidswick]

>It's not easy, he makes enough noise to wake the dead!

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me too :-(