I've been tested for Sjogren's (negative test)-- but continue to have a very dry mouth. Don't think it's my meds.
nothing works - I sip water all day long.
Any suggestions? Does this get better with treatment? Thanks!
Posted by skigal (Member # 7443) on :
Try a product called Biotene, its specifically for dry mouth. I believe you can get it at walgreens, walmart etc.
Posted by nefferdun (Member # 20157) on :
I got a very dry mouth from Biaxin. It would get so dry sometimes I could hardly talk.
Posted by pugs (Member # 20954) on :
thanks for the responses - anybody else?
Posted by bill+1 (Member # 24446) on :
Pugs , I fix me a glass of ice water and squeze in a little fresh lemon juice and sip on that .
Helps me out BILL
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- Check the manufacturers' product information sheets on all Rx.
Many medicines cause dry mouth (especially sleep meds). Unless an essential medicine, I'd drop any med with this side-effect. Dry mouth can lead to gum disease and thereby, heart disease.
With dry mouth, you want to do all you can to prevent gum recession as it is permanent. Using a waterpik to clean gums is very helpful.
If you must continue a medicine that causes dry mouth, there are ways to offset it.
I had major damage from dry mouth, lost a lot of tissue and gums receded terribly. Then I found out it had been medicine prescribed for "fibromyalgia" - years afterward, I found out.
Andrographis has cleared this up for me, totally. Fish oil helps, too. At times, a tiny bit of coconut oil can be soothing.
Although, I do constantly have water within reach. Never without it. But my mouth is not as dry overnight.
Biotene tooth paste helped some but be aware that their mouth rinse contains a petroleum product and that has been linked to cancer. Ingredients change from time to time, so just be sure to check. You want to avoid propylene glycol.
Many commercial toothpastes (and rinses) contain very harsh ingredients such as sodium laurel sulfate, etc. You might consider a toothpaste that is more natural.
I must have tried over 20 different toothpastes. These (and, sometimes, just a plain baking soda paste) are the only ones that worked for me:
Auromere's highly effective line of Ayurvedic toothpaste combines the natural tooth-whitening fibre PEELU with the astringent and invigorating properties of NEEM and 24 other barks, roots, plants and flowers which have been esteemed for centuries by Ayurvedic specialists for maintaining optimum dental hygiene.
CONTAINS NO: animal products, fermentable sugar, color, dyes, artificial flavoring, or preservatives and no products of peanuts, tree nuts, corn, wheat, rice,
[There is also one with mild natural peppermint flavor.]
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Actually, I think the CANKER MELTS (also by this company) are better and have a more therapeutic effect with a small dose of licorice, which helps in many ways. They can last through the night and adhere to the side of your mouth. No chocking hazard as they are sort of gelatinous.
I used these to prevent coughing at night during coughing spells. Also kept the mouth very nice and moist. -
[ 06-13-2010, 12:22 AM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
- If you have not yet done so, switch your regular table salt with SEA Salt. Rinse with warm water and a little sea salt a couple times a day.
Topical application (toothpastes, etc.) can help but it's an internal thing, too. Enzymes, hormones, our ability to balance sodium, etc. all comes into this. The endocrine system is often out of balance.
Therefore, adrenal dysfunction can also be connected to dry mouth, as the whole endocrine system is usually frequently a huge problem for lyme patients. More about what helps that so that our body can work better from the inside out:
======================
Cordyceps is recommend here:
This is included in Burrascano's Guidelines, but you may want to be able to refer to it separately, too:
Curcumin Prevents Some Stress-Related Changes (By CP Staff)
Excerpts:
A recently published study investigated the effects of curcumin, a constituent of the botanical turmeric, on changes in cognition and memory caused by stress. . . .
. . . In this new study, researchers investigated the effect of curcumin supplementation on stress-induced learning defects in mice. . . .
. . . In addition, curcumin reversed the stress-induced increase in the levels of serum corticosterone, the primary hormone secreted during the stress response. . . . -
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
This symptom can go away with good treatment.
I had a terribly dry mouth and dry eyes for years. Lousy lyme treatment didn't help it, but good lyme treatment got rid of my lyme, babs, bart and all my symptoms.
It has been 5 years since I completed my lyme treatment and I am still symptom-free.
Dry mouth is a very common lyme symptom. Dentist had me use Biotene to get rid of the absolutely awful bad breath the dry mouth caused.
I couldn't go to sleep at night, lying there feeling like I was dying of thirst in a desert. So, I would suck on a sugar-free hard candy to get myself to sleep. It helped.
I went everywhere with my bottle of water--everywhere. Once on LymeNet I read that you can tell the people with lyme disease because they all carry bottles of water with them. They walk into their lyme doctor's appt with them. That was me. It was a permanent fixture to try to alleviate that terrible dry mouth.
Nothing really helped but the good lyme treatment. But, the lack of saliva does threaten the health of your teeth. So, see what the dentist wants to do to try to keep from getting cavities. Saliva cleanses the mouth, and that is not happening for you right now.