Thick saliva

[joanpaiement]

I am 48, female, and for the last two months have been going crazy because of thick bad tasting saliva in my mouth - but my mouth is not dry!. I have seen an ear nose and throat doctor, and several others and they dont see anything.

Any suggestions...

[Larsen70]

Dear Fancyjoan,

I have problem with my vagus nerve and also spitting little blood in the morning,  could you guide me. Thanks

Kind regards

Henrik

[dot56]

please contact me on how you got your problem fixed.i am in need for some help.

[fancyjoan]

Hello puffy

Best way is to talk to you. Long story. How can we contact one another? My problem is 85% resolved. I can now function which is a good thing.

[PuffyHon]

fancyjoan, I'm so hoping that you can help.
Can you please let me know how your problem was resolved?  Meds?  What type?  Did it go away?  All fixed now?  

My husband is suffering from severe thick saliva...almost gel form and sometimes foamy.  All doctors are stumped.

Hope to hear back from you.

Thanks,
PuffyHon

[fancyjoan]

Unfortunately, doctors know nothing about this condition. I have been ''living with it '' for 4 years now. The measures taken have made it more bearable, but the damages it caused without going untreated still linger. I live in the hope that time will heal as medically all has been done.
If you wish to contact me directly let me know.

[condolady]

thanks for th response. I have a an appointment with my Doctor on 1/4/2012 and will present him with your post.

[fancyjoan]

1) Check for silent reflux. Dr. Jamie Koufman NYC -
2) Saliva specialist in the USA is Dr. Louis Mandel - Columbia University salivary gland center.
Start with checking for silent reflux. (Laryngopharyngeal reflux)
Keep me posted

[fancyjoan]

Dr Louis Mandel at Columbia University Salivary gland center in NYC.
Keep me posted

[wheelfunone]

hi, my mom has super thick saliva and she needs to wipe it out with a tissue a 100 times a day. They said its cos she has a trach and I don;t believe it since I met many with a trach and they don;t have a problem with saliva...what do u think I can do for her?

[condolady]

I am still in hell. The thick sputum condition is present in a big way and also affects my voice. I do have reflux that has defied all medications to date. Please let me know who the saliva specialist in the USA is and any other info you may have.

Condolady

[skipperdee]

This thick sputum dilemma is beyond annoying for me. If chewing gum didn't help somewhat I think I would go mental. I know I am probably making my Dentist crazy. She ordered some saliva tesing kits and she and I and her assistant all checked our saliva at the same time. It tested ph and how well you started digesting sugar and something else with it's end purpose to tell how prone you were to getting cavities. It was not the saliva testing I had in mind. I wanted more of an analysis. I almost feel like there is sinus drainage draining into my mouth somehow. Sounds kind of crazy but there is nothing normal about me.

I am stopping Benefiber today to see if that helps but would be interested in having my saliva analyzed. I sent saliva specs in last year but that was for hormone testing. That's a whole other dilemma.

[skipperdee]

Forgot to tell you that sometimes a low Zinc level can affect taste in your mouth.

Also I don't know if you are taking any kind of fiber product. I started taking Benefiber the beginning of the year.  I found a website where people were getting side effects from it (a long list of them actually). Today is the first day I am stopping it so it will be interesting to see what happens (besides constipation). Since using this product I have been having increasing problems with my Fibromyalgia (alot of pain and fatigue) and it feels like the estrogen I have been taking isn't helping the Menopause crap. I know other fiber products can interfere with the medications a person takes.

[fancyjoan]

I have posted this 4 years ago.... and have been to hell and back... well almost back. A throat culture had been taken way back when, and it came back negative. I became totally dysfunctional so much that the discomfort was intense. I spent 3,5 years at my home researching....  I finally found a doctor in New York City (I am from Canada) who confirmed what I was suspecting. I also know a doctor who is the saliva specialist in the USA, so if ever you want to have your saliva tested let me know.
Turns out, I had severe silent reflux, which damaged my vagus nerve causing a crycopharyngeal spasm in the throat as well as putting my salivary glands out of whack.  If you need more info contact me.

[SassyLassie]

I agree with skipperdee, insist on a throat culture, it seems the docs of today are so rushed, they really do not think things out.

[skipperdee]

I had a similiar problem that started in April of this year. I described the bad taste as putrid. I could even smell something bad. Alot of soreness in my mouth and throat. I went to a couple of ENT's, my Dentist, oral surgeon, and an Internist.

The oral surgeon was pretty sure I had Sjogren's. I let him run with it even though I knew I didn't have it. He gave me several samples of Biotene toothpaste and mouth wash. I had already been using the product for several weeks but didn't bother to tell him that since he was on a roll and didn't want to listen to listen to what I had to say. He was a total jerk!

I had the blood test for Sjogren's which was negative. By July I had pretty much had it so went back to the Internist who had a Resident with him at the time. The doctor asked me what I thought it was. I had been on a several antibiotics so I told him it was probably some kind of infection (I thought maybe yeast). I asked for a culture. The Resident's response was that there was normally bacteria in a person's mouth so didn't see where it would help. The Internist was on a role regarding my reflux. He said my throat was really red. I said my reflux was fine but he thought I should take Prilosec for several weeks to see if that helped.

After a week I couldn't stand the pain anymore so went to an Urgent Care
for a throat culture. That was a whole other unpleasant experience but I did a quick strep test which came back positive. After taking an antibiotic for the strep the putrid (bad taste) and bad smell went away. I still have the thick sputum and I am continuing to pursue it. Have given thought to having my saliva analized but don't know how to go about that.

I had to suffer needlessly for 4 months because I couldn't get a simple culture done. I ran into the Resident while at work. She ironically was doing a rotation in Infectious Diseases. When I told her about the strep she had a look of shock on her face. She said usually with adults they don't think about strep. I was like seriously, how many parents get strep from their children. You can also get it by touching your mouth after touching something that was infected with strep..

Honestly, this new generation of doctors scares me. I've been a nurse for over 36 years and sometimes I know mo and it is positive make re then them or because of all my experience I am better able to apply critical thinking or just plain common sense. I truely wish there was a way you could touch a doctor and have him feel your discomfort and continue to feel it (if it was something curable) until he found a solution for what was wrong with you.

Sorry this is so long a response. The whole story is really much longer.

My suggestion is to get a simple culture. Just go to a minute clinic or whatever. Skip the doctors office. However, if you do have a culture and it is positive make sure you inform your doctor or doctors.

Good Luck!