Anyone used Salagen for dry mouth? It's working for another tongue cancer survivor that I know so I'm ready to ask my doctor for it. PS. Monday is my one year scan checkup! I'm counting on a good grade!! If so, yogurt for everyone. (I'm still swallowing liquids.) I did try canned pears last night and tonight and had some success (not much choking and carrying on). Baby steps that I can't tell everyone, but I knew you guys would know how hard canned pears could be for someone like me.

Hi Midwest gal.........Salagen didn't work for me, but oh how I wish it did. About the only thing it did for me was make me sweat like a bull, and go to the bathroom more frequently. However, I have heard from many folks that it works for them, and hopefully you'll be one ot of the lucky ones! The only thing that has ever helped me with my constant dry mouth is good ole fashion water--the colder the better.

Good luck with all your tests next week. Let us know how everything turns out. Good to see you posting again! Sincerely, Donna

PS I was born in Des Moine, and raised in Waterloo, Iowa. Small world, huh?

Salagen didn't do it for me either; I had the sweats all the time. Not just in the areas you would think, but my hands, the top of my head, etc. it was too distracting for the benefit for me, though I have talked with a couple of people who have adjusted to it all and are mostly happy with using it. You need to give it at least a 30-day run before you give up, after the first week or so you'll be adjusting you intake of it to try and balance the results. These days I

When I first took Salagen it seemed to help. My mouth was so dry that I couldn't sleep for more than 1/2 hour at a time. I kept waking up and having to sip water or sometimes get up to rinse my mouth. That was about 3 months after my radiation ended. I took Salagen for a while and the improvement happened fairly quickly and fortunately for me without the side effects. My ENT then had me try a new med Evoxac(?)(I think that was the name) and that was the same for me as the Salagen. Finally I stopped taking both (after about 6-8 months total of taking one or the other) I didn't notice enough of a change in the level of dryness to make it worth the difficulties I had swallowing the pills. You'd think that something for people with dry mouth would be in liquid!

I am unable to take pills so far. I had hoped that I'd be able to crush Salagen. Do you think that's possible? If not, I'm too scared of choking to try the pills. I can get thru the whole night now without water. That is an improvement. I'm hoping that more salivia will make the food go down the throat better.

Midwest gal...........Some pills are OK to crush and others are not. Don't know about the salagen but it is probably best to check with your doctor--although I'm sure you already know that!

As far as eating, have you tried any scrambled or soft boilded eggs? I ate a ton of eggs and for a very long time. Also what worked for me was steamed/poached fish, very tiny bites, but a great source of protein. I surely do remember what it is like getting food caught in my throat and it still happens to me on occasion. To this day if I don't have a large glass of liquid at my side, whether it be water or milk, I simply cannot eat. Gone are the days of "eating on the run," I just can't do it. I hope that soon instead of taking baby steps, you're running full spead ahead! Sincerely, Donna

My doctor said it's ok to crush the salgen. i will be having a peg tube put in, and they said i'll be able to crush up the pills and slip them in the tube. none of this happens until july, but just sharing the info with you.

Just be careful when you crush up any tablet to put in your PEG, that it is crushed VERY FINE. Once you get the tube, you will realize how easy it is to have it plug up, and what a major pain in the rear it is to unplug it. I actually bought a small pharmaceutical type mortar and pestle. After crushing a tablet I would then add it to a very small amount of water in a plastic cup, stir it into solution, and then suck that up with the syringe, and finally squirt it all into the PEG. That was followed by several more squirts of clear water to ensure that the peg was completely clean and free from anything that would dry up in it and clog it. Since you haven't had the joy of having one of these things yet, I just thought I would warn you. They are a temperamental contraption at best. One day when I was particularly sick, after eating (if you can use that term) a few cans of Ensure, (high protein and fiber containing, mixed with 50% plain water) I fell asleep for the balance of the morning. Pain meds will do that to you. I woke up and went to unhook the bag and rinse the tube with a syringe full of water. It seemed that no amount of pressure on that syringe plunger was going to clear it. It took an hour of flexing the tube, and trying to force hot water through it (and into me) to get it cleared out. I was about to have to go back to the hospital to have it changed out when it finally blew through. Just be careful what you put in the PEG and rinse it after everything.

Boy, I forgot about peg tube plug ups! Had a few of those myself and it is no fun monkeying around with the tube trying to unplug it either. One of the things that my oncology nurse did tell me though was to fill my tube up about once every two weeks with a cup of coke a cola. Coke being what it is actually was supposed to clean the tube and help it remain unclogged. I used the coke but still had a few episodes where the tube would plug up. I do think some of my problems with the tube occured because I always tried to "feed" too fast. Take your time when eating, and like Brian says, remember to rise well. Sincerely, Donna

Wow Donna! Coke for the peg tube, huh? I never heard that one before!! Amazing how different docs have different solutions for the same things. We always only flushed mom's peg with water......the poor thing always thought she would eventually float away!! Sooo much water, but, boy does it help!!
Also, Midwest Gal....always check with the doc about crushing pills, but in our experience, the only medicine we couldn't crush for my mom was Oxycontin and believe it or not, her Iron .....anything that's time released is not crushable. Once she was to the point of not swallowing anything, those meds were simply out of question. Thankfully, these days, there are many meds available in liquid form, and many others crushable.
Good luck!!

Re pill crushing, when just out of the hospital and dependent on the PEG, I used a pill crusher bought at the drugstore to crush even the iron. That was the toughest, but it can be done. The crusher is a screw-type that costs about $2.

My Mom's doctor was not comfortable with us trying to crush her meds & putting it through her tube. We now have all her meds in liquid form.

Hi, I have had a G-tube for almost two years, it was nor-t suppose to be that way just delay in surgery . Easier to maintain than to take out. I never tried to crush pills in, just get medicine in liquid form. It will clog, we once got choclate ensure my mistake, the bag clogged, the tube clogged, but guess what, I wasn't constipated any more. My Radiology Technologist changes my tube every three months.Thats the rule I guess. They say 7UP to wash out a clog. One day I was clogged and I used Pepsi, nothing, got some 7up and all clear immediately. I have also pulled mine out. The first time it hurt but I looked down stunned, pushed it back in again. A year earlier I would have passed out! I went in that day to get a new one. Next time it just fell out when I was sleeping, this wouldn't happen to a new one. They give you little lace skirts, I call them that to hold tube in place, they stretch right away. Tape, I am allergic to a lot of it, after you use for awhile red rash comes and goes. Then I read a thing in Dear Abby about the uses of old pantyhose, I cut the legs off and crotch, used the top to hold G-tube in place, no matter how active I am it keeps it in place and no pulling out. Good Luck gnelson