Two days ago I visited my ENT who suggested I take Mucinex for the constant gagging on phlegm problems I've been having. He said Mucionex won't make the phlegm go awya but will help me be able to swallow some of it instead of throwing up.

I bought a bottle of Tussin with just Guafenisin (I think I spelled that right?) which is also the med in Mucinex, after finding that the Mucinex pills are large (thus making them very hard to swallow for me at this point) and have this odd coating on one side that doesn't make them good candidates for grinding up and sending down the PEG. I have been trying the Tussin for the last day and 1/2. It definitely produces less thick clumps of gunk in my throat and this was really an aid to keeping me asleep except when I needed to wake up to take pain meds last night.

But I did end up swallowing more of the more liquid phlegm as a result and then this morning ended up vomiting when other stuff I put down the tube met up with all that phlegm in my stomach (however, the stuff I put down was cranberry juice which is very acidic and wasn't a good choice probably. Next time I'll try a can of jevity first). And I'm still spitting phelgm, it's just more liquid. Whihc, it striked me, means I probably need to consume more water as a result.

So I have my doubts about thsi recommendation, although I'm going to try it for a few more days.

Does anyone else have experience with Mucinex or the cough syrups with the same stuff?

Then I met with my RO yesterday and he perscribed another medicine--Salagen--for my saliva. Hopefully waht is will do is great more good saliva when my mouth is dry--not more gunk.

I did a search on Saligen and found that a lot of you ahve tried it and didn't think it did much but few of you did find it helped--especially in the first few months after radiation. I am willing to give it a try but I'm not sure how it will work with the Mucinex. It strikes me they both are affgcting mouth secretions in some way and both seem to be about making things more moist one way or another.

In genral, I don't like being on lots of meds which may or may not actually be heloing things. Until these two new prescriptions, I was down to rising with saline and baking soda and keeping track of pain meds and meds for constripation and that was it. Now I have two new things to add and it's all seeming loike a lot to keep track of.

has anyone taken Saligen with Mucinex? Or have any other comments on their Saligen experience? They started me on the lowest dose of Saligen because I told my RO (and the ENT had recommended Saligen too) that I wasn't going to take it if it caused blurry vision. I can't do my job if I have blurry vision--that's too major a side effect. But they seemed to think that wasn't a common side effect.

sorry for all the typos above. was trying to post in a hurry....

Nelie,

I didn't use Mucinex, so I can't comment on that part of your question. I have been taking Salagen continuously for almost 15 years (including the clinical trial phase where they experimented with different doses), and at the level of 5mg taken 3 times a day I have fairly minor side effects.

One of the side effects most often cited for Salagen is sweating, but I've found that if I take it toward the end of a meal, that seems to minimize the sweating problem. If I miss a dose, I definitely notice a decline in my saliva level. Because of the possible impact of Salagen on vision, I see an ophthalmologist every two years for checkups; however, I still don't need to use glasses very often (and I'm 55 years old).

Cathy

I took Salagen althrough rad and for about two years after. Only minor sweating problems for a little while after taking pill. Stopped it after I had major swaeting episode on a 100 degree day with 110% humidity. I also took Guiafenex (sp) pills from second week of radiation and for several weeks after until phlegm got down to a manageable level. I had no peg and these ar ebig pills but seemed to work better than nothing.

Hope that helps.
Eileen

I have tried the salagen. I don't know if I give credit for it working or not, since over the course of time, I've been slowly getting some saliva back. Back during my horrible flem attacks, I did get some tussin, but never got to the point of trying Mucinex.

Swallowing it instead of expelling it, as you have found, creates new problems. I would try to be the good soldier and keep up with the PEG tube feedings, only to have my tube all clogged up with big ropey flem.

I hadn't experienced any of the noted side effects from Salagen at all, perhaps because I experience a crapload of them from the Iressa.

The biggest relief I found with the flem stuff when I was going through it was the "magick mouthwash" they prescribed for me. I forget what was in it, but it not only relieved the mouth sores but after rinsing my mouth out with it, it sort of helped with the flem.

Like you, the flem was the major problem with me throwing up. I'd cough and sure enough everything in my stomach, including the flem would do a sudden exit.

If you don't have much luck with the Salagen, another cancer patient that didn't have much luck with it said that Evoxac worked better for him.

Jen