Any tips for excess saliva?

[Sharks1967]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has come across anything that helps reduce saliva? My Doc put me on 50mg Amitriptyline tablets which are an anti depressant that have a side effect of drying the mouth. They were initially also helping me sleep but recently have had a reduced effect. My GP suggested I up the dose, which I did but another side effect of constipation came to the for front. I've since reduced to the original dose and have been prescribed Tamazapan to help me sleep, which work great.
My excess saliva is very frustrating to say the least. I've tried a few herbal remedies but to no real effect.
Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful.

Cheers
Danny

 

[panguinjen]

Danny,

My husband had the same problems as you with the amytriptaline and stopped taking it, switched to atropine drops on the tongue. Neither helped much, he got a gastric tube which slowed things down a bit and finally Botox which is helping some. He goes through several wash cloths a day and I made him some bibs as well. We are still working on the issue...

Jen

 

[Sharks1967]

Hi Jen,
Yeh it's a bit of trial and error my neurologist has tried me on some drops as well but didn't really do much. A Naturalpath friend of mine suggested I try sage liquid but again didn't make much of a difference. I'm much the same getting through quiet a few microfiber cloths a day there a bit more absorbent then normal wash cloths. I'll let you know if I come across anything that helps.

Danny

 

[momap53]

Danny, search the archives for other threads about the use of Botox

 

[Sharks1967]

Thanks Deb I'll have a search.
Danny

 

[Steve Dukes]

I take six papaya tablets daily(Tropical brand). They are chewable, taste pretty good. I'v been doing this for over two years. For some unknown reason I stopped a few months ago and within three weeks I had the worst onset of heavy thick secretions ever. Five days on cought assist and suction. Got back on papaya and in about one week I got much better. My ALS clinic gave this tip pretty much on first visit. I sure it will not work for everyone, but several of my ALS friends say that it helps them also. Good luck.

 

[Sharks1967]

Thanks mate, I'll definately look into that one.
Cheers
Danny

 

[Bella77]

My husband was given Glycopyrol for excess saliva he can take it up to 4 times a day, it helps alot. He has to take liquid meds now so we have to have it made at a special pharmacy, and that is called Cuposa. It is a script from his ALS Dr. He also uses a suction machine and a cough assist machine. He is on liquid meds because he had a stomach tube put in. After his tube was put in he has not had as much of a problem. Hope this helps. Bella

 

[mich5]

Steve - do you take all six papaya tablets at once or space them out throughout the day? I just asked my doc about papaya extract and he said 'give it a try but he had no proof it worked'. Do you purchase at grocery store or specialty vitamin store?

 

[Steve Dukes]

I buy them at a health food store. About $15.00 for 500, when not on sale. I take 3 with morning meds and 3 with evening meds. I don't think there are hard rules when to take or even how many. At first I only took 4, but as saliva thickened I Increased to the 6 amount. I sometimes also mix pure papaya juice and water on one of those bad days. Luckly I am not having many of those right now.

 

[pscheffel]

My Mom is doing the atropine drops, she tried the amytriptyline pills but said they made her feel funny/nervous. She uses wrags at times. I want to ask about a suction machine, she's not thrilled about botox injections just yet.

 

[BrianD]

For this papaya stuff, do you know if it is the enzyme/whatever needing to actually go in your mouth, or if you just need it in your system like through the PEG?

 

[Steve Dukes]

I think in the peg is fine. I haven't tried this, but someone told me that aloe spray in the throat helped them clear throat.

 

[margaritachick]

Do you know if there are papaya drops? My mom has a PEG but can handle drops

 

[happygardener]

My husband cant swallow pills but a got a suction machine,,,he wont take meds,,,