Never ending phlegm

[blakej]

I've recently been dealing with a phlegm and saliva issue. A little thick and tough to work out even with cough assist and suction. Enter nebulizer with Albuterol and acetyl cysteine and a few doses of Mucinex and wow! Really works on thining to the point of being able to discharge by spitting alone. Only problem, it seems endless. Very few times in day where I'm not needing to get rid of crap. Is this normal? Maybe another med to dry up a bit?

 

[Colleen15]

I have cut down on dairy and that has helped a lot.

 

[lgelb]

A caution on drying it up is that it can then irritate and be harder to get up. I agree that diet can help -- not just dairy but tracking all your trigger foods/drinks.

Would also tinker w/ your BiPAP humidification, furnace filters, room humidification, any irritants, make sure you are treating allergies, etc.

 

[blakej]

Anyone have info or experience with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for phlegm and saliva issues? Due to nothing working for me, my neuro is recommending it.

 

[lgelb]

The literature is supportive that it is a relatively safe and effective option.

 

[blakej]

Can you provide a link to some of the literature? I only looked at one abstract.

 

[lgelb]

Sure, here you go. The earlier post was also hyperlinked.

 

[MupstateNY]

smart vest?

 

[lgelb]

If you mean the oscillating vest, that helps loosen thick secretions so they can be more easily sucked up with a cough assist device. The two work together.

But Blake is already getting rid of them successfully -- rather, he is trying to affect the amount of secretions to start with, to reduce the frequency of needing to expel them.

For anyone who felt secretions were still trapped after assisted cough, that would be the potential role for the vest.

 

[blakej]

Thank you!

 

[Tuner49]

My wife has the same problem and the Doctor has her on Glycopyrrolate. It is suppose to decrease the amount of saliva you make. The literature states it is in a class of drugs known as anticholinergics. She has only been using it for a week to 10 days but does seem to help. She also takes Guaifenesin which is supposed to be like Robitussin. Check with you medical team to see if it would help.