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Medical Forum / General / Pharmacy / March 2004Dry Mouth
Hi .. is there anything I can do or take to alleviate the awful dry mouth I have always ? I'm on a lot of medications .. i.e. .. beta blockers, calcium channel blocker, SSRI , niacin ,questran , hydrocodone and percodan ( degenerative disk disease, cervical spine) . The dry mouth is so bad, I have to take a sip of liquid after I've talked even a few sentences. Chewing gum lasts about 1/2 hr .. sucking on a hard candy helps. But Isn't there anything I can get that might make it a little easier. It sounds like a minor problem , but sure makes things difficult . TIA and Thanks Ever try Salivart? > x-no-archive: yes > Hi .. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > things difficult . > TIA and Thanks Maybe I should elaborate a little more. Because you have dry mouth, you are at a increased risk for developing dental cavities because of your decreased saliva levels, so I'd recommend chewing some SUGARLESS gum and sucking on SUGARLESS hard candy. These are usually sweetened with something like manntol or xylitol so they dont promote dental cavities. You should also stop smoking and decrease any caffeine intake since these also contribute to dry mouth. If that doesn't help, you can try some non-prescription products called saliva substitutes. There are many available like Moi-Stir, Salivart, Optimoist and Xero-Lube which are available I believe as swabs, sprays and solutions. Mouth Kote is a herbal mouth moisturizing product you can try. There is also "Oralbalance Gel" which works great for very severe cases of dry mouth. There are also anhydrous crystalline maltose lozenges (200 mg --> three times a day) that you can try, although you need to take them for about 12 weeks until you see a significant improvement If those don't help, you can go to your doc and ask him about a prescription for pilocarpine (5 mg --> 3 to 4 times a day). It's a drug used to treat dry mouth symptoms in patients who were on radiation therapy for the head, and in patients with Sjogren's syndrome. But since you are taking alot of drugs, there is always the possibility of drug-drug interactions, so be sure your doctor knows about them. Hope this helps, Sam PharmD student > Ever try Salivart? > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > things difficult . > > TIA and Thanks thanks a lot for all the advice ! I've never tried anything other than sugarless gum and candy..and I take a little sports bottle with me all the time..it's so embarrassing to have to stop in the middle of even a short conversation to always have to take a sip of water. or to never be able to go anywhere without some kind of liquid. I'll look for some of the things you suggested .. maybe the Salivart etc if my local CVS or Eckert's carrys it. I'm not near a walmart. sure hope something works :) thanks again I have similar problems, but after a month or so on my new meds it was much better. During that time I tried many different things. I couldn't find a sugar-free candy that helped, and water just made it worse. Although there are issues with sugar consumption, I found that drinks with some sugar, along with a limited supply of hard candy, worked the best without having to worry about another drug interaction. Diet sodas didn't work either, but I found that colas(in my case coke) were unique. Sipping a small amount helped and lasted longer than any other liquid, from fruit juices to gatorade or other soda brands. In my case I was able to cut down from an unhealthy 8+ a day of sweet drinks to drinking a few cokes. Don't know if there is anything to base this on, but it helped me. Please post if you find that any of the other suggestions helped as I would also love to know. I have dry mouth also... use Biotene products. Available at Walmart. Great stuff  Signature3 of every 10 Americans Know Someone With Lupus Help find the cure. www.lupus.org > x-no-archive: yes > Hi .. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > things difficult . > TIA and Thanks what is that ? what kind of product ? Severe dry mouth is realllly a problem, isn't it ? thanks Biotene has toothpaste, mouthwash, gum and a gel. My dental hygienist recommended it to me cuz I get cavities from dry mouth. http://laclede.com/ Signature3 of every 10 Americans Know Someone With Lupus Help find the cure. www.lupus.org > x-no-archive: yes > what is that ? what kind of product ? > Severe dry mouth is realllly a problem, isn't it ? > thanks There is a drug that may be used to treat dry mouth -- its pilocarpine and may be taken orally, or prepared by a specialized pharmacist as a lozenge. However, you MUST have your physician evaluate your medical conditions, and other medications, before making a decision if you would be a candidate for this treatment. Good Luck. SignatureHarold Boxenbaum, Ph.D. Pharmaceutical Consultant Arishel Inc. 14621 Settlers Landing Way North Potomac, MD 20878-4305 (P) 301-424-2806 (F) 301-424-8563 Email: harold@arishel.com Website: www.arishel.com > x-no-archive: yes > Hi .. [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > things difficult . > TIA and Thanks > is there anything I can do or take to alleviate the awful dry mouth I >have always ? Sounds terrible. I can sympathize, my friend just lost nearly all her teeth to radiation induced xerostomia (dry mouth). You can read about it at www.rdhmag.com and in the search box type in Renate. First you need to get some moisture in there. Water is good, any soda is bad. Teeth melt (decay) at a pH of 5 or so. Most sodas have a much lower pH, I just learned that Listerine has a pH of 4.2 yikes. OK, so how to get moisture, the Laclede products are excellent, specially the Oral Balance. I've found that you need to ask the pharmacist for it, most places don't keep it out on the floor for some reason. It's not a prescription item. Rinse with municipal tap water all day, the fluoride in there will help rebuild your teeth. Chew xyitol gum (www.xylitolinfo.com) Chew gum with Recaldent in it, (www.recaldent.com) Next, get ye to a dentist and hygienist who practive preventive dentistry. I know you'll get some weird looks. You want a paractice that uses 1. DIAGNOdent - laser caries detector that catches decay at a very early stage (www.kavousa.com 2. Digital x-rays 3. Glass ionomer as a sealant material for all the rest of your teeth that don't already have sealants or fillings on the biting surface (www.gcamerica.com) 4. Prescribe Lozi fluor fluoride lozenges, fluoride trays don't work as well as the lozenges (www.drierpharmaceuticals.com) 5. Ask them to use Proclude as a prophylaxis paste, and ask them to provide you with Denclude the home version (www.proclude.com) I should get paid for this information! ;) Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH "Everbody wants to save the earth - nobody wants to help Mom to do the dishes." - P. J. O'Rourke ~~~~~~~~~ http://www.dentistry.com/poralhealth_02.asp |
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