Hi All !!

Well here is what I found that will help.

1. Those of you who have that Nasty Saliva Substitute Just add sugar! Now wasn't that simple!
I only mix up what I need at the time.

2. Then I found Lemon-Glycerin Swabsticks. These come in a Pk. of 3. You can get the box which is 25 packets. You can get from Drugest. They are manufactured For dynarex. These do not sting the mouth. Easy to take with you.

3. Then there is AquaDrops (sugar free)Hydrating mints. Comes in different flavors. These I found at Wal-greens drug store. Easy to take with you. (When I was first out of treatment I could not use these, had to wait few months)

I just wanted to share this little bit of information. We are all fighting this side effect. Maybe you already found something.

Take care.
DM

I chew sugarless gum all the time. It even lets me get through an aerobics class without constantly stopping to drink my water.

I haven't found anything that actually PRODUCES more saliva for me. (The most common solution tried, Salagen, just makes me sweat all over like a bull) I got nuked to the max, so those glands are way past dead, and you can't get blood out of a stone. For those of you that have some salivary function left, the issues is a lot about keeping the mucous membranes in you mouth moist, and keeping the natural flora that protects your dental and periodontal health in balance. In my book there is more to this than meets the eye. The simplest way and the manner that the new Oasis mouthwash from GSK does this, is to put plain old glycerin and water in a spray or squirt bottle and swish it around regularly. You can make this up yourself if you want to. But the Biotene Oral Balance liquid has become my best friend. A squirt of that in my mouth and rubbed around with my tongue will get me through an hour or more of lecturing. The Oral Balance gel, which I don

I would add to what Brian wrote is to try some xylitol dental gum (one brand is XyliMax, there may be others) -- this gum was developed to chew after eating to reduce or eliminate the sugars in the mouth (thus reduces risk of caries) and to increase the production of saliva. Obviously the latter won't work if you have no salivary fnction left but most patients who got IMRT have some, but it probably needs some boosting. The chewing action alone stimulates saliva. We get the gum from our dentist, it comes in several flavors including a non-irritating fruit type.

My husband finds that chewing the gum actually works better (for him) than anything else incuding the various Oral Balance products, but he does use a squirt of the OB liquid at night before going to bed.

He is trying Numoisyn lozenges and didn't find much change in first few days -- he's in England now so not sure how they've panned out -- the literature indicates it takes several days for full relief. There is a liquid for persons with no salivary function.

Finally, Evoxac (an oral med) is generally considered to be superior to Salagen, fewer side-effects and better effectiveness, per our ENT (who takes it herself) and our dental oncologist, a saliva expert.

Gail