Excess Saliva Production Annoyance

Hi all, for the last 2 weeks I have a lot of saliva production. After swallowing my mouth runs immediately full again, it feels like my mouth is being filled with some kind of liquid over and over again. Because of this swallowing is sometimes difficult. I know it's somehow bfs related but my question is if there is something I can do about it because it's really annoying. Thanks for any advise or tips

I have had that too and it's not really excess saliva, what it is is your tongue sensing things that aren't there. It can drive you nuts for a while, I know. I am pretty sure it is just irritated nerves in your tongue (ie, you usually have burning tongue along with this).I have found that treatments for dry mouth help. Like Biotene dry mouth spray. See if that calms your mouth down.

I have the same problem for last 2 months and I am really nervous about that. My saliva production has nearly doubled (out of curiosity I did the test and it is about 4 ml /minute!). After a sweet snack, when I bend down my head, it flows out for a while, clear like water which means it is caused by cranial parasymphatetic nerves activation. There are only few disorders that can cause (like GERD) which I do not have. And my meds do not cause it either, no case reported.So I am worried about that but as long as I can swallow properly, I still hope it is some kind of coincidental strange nerve issue.

I dont see why you are worried about this, at least it can't be about ALS I guess, because in ALS saliva production is normal.

You have company !!! I am going through the exact same thing right now. It started about a week ago when I had canker sores, and I initially chalked it up to that. However, it didn't go away after the canker sores healed. I've had GERD most of my adult life, but it never caused that before. I completely freaked out and started worrying about bulbar symptoms, trouble swallowing, etc. I am still worried about it today. I've also been searching all of the websites to see if it's an early indicator of something worse. Many websites say it can be an early indicator ot trouble swallowing, and that sent my anxiety into high gear. I have not had any trouble swallowing or speaking, which I have heard would defintely accompany this if it were due to any serious causes. I've tried experimenting to see if taking Prilosec for GERD helps, which doesn't seem to have an effect. One thing I did yesterday - I took an Ativan (anti-anxiety med) and it went completely away. My mouth actually seemed dry. Not sure if dry-mouth is a side effect of Ativan, or if it's just taking the anxiety away (and the excess saliva along with it). This morning I woke up with it and I am going to take another Ativan later today to see if it goes away again. I have read in several places that excess saliva can be induced by stress and anxiety, even though most sites list dry mouth as the more common symptom. My wife tells me that every time I mention it to her she starts feeling it too because her mind is focused on it.

Thanks for the replies, I want to mention again that I am not worried by this but that it's quite annoying (which bfs symptom isn't ?) so you guys should also not worry about this. We will be fine (one day) !!

ftheatre, let me correct you (I know people hate me for this but let stick to facts and please read to the end) - in ALS, it has been proven recently that autonomic system is affected as well (more symphatetic than parasymphatetic) and that sweating and saliva production (remember, there are motor fibers..) actually is often increased but that was rather later in the disease, so do not worry. I worry because of tongue fasciculations + saliva + jaw stiffnes combination.In bulbar, actually I remember many people talking about very dry mouth in the beginning, following with speech issues.

oh, and ps-my husband (who was dx'ed with BFS more than 10 years ago, but no longer suffers any symptoms), said that he experiences excess salivation on occasion, even still. He attributes it to hyperfocus; says when he thinks about it too much, he notices his mouth filling up and needing to swallow a lot more. Anything that we fixate on is going to naturally seem more pronounced. So distraction is also a great technique for overcoming this symptom, just like all the other crazy BFS annoyances. Blessings, Sue

Hi all, i'm back again with this saliva issue it seemed to be gone for a couple of weeks but it's back again in a different way and difficult to explain. When I take a breath it's like my throat or lungs are filled with saliva. Therefore I have to swallow before I take my next breath. Otherwise it feels like i'm choking. Very annoying when I'm lying on my back. Again, I am not scared of anything sinister but was just wondering if anyone else experience the same.

It sounds like you might have an upper respiratory infection, or perhaps allergies. It doesn't make sense that your lungs would be filled with "saliva." Did you ever say whether you've been checked/treated for GERD? That could be your culprit, too. Blessings, Sue

Hi Sue, yeah it could be a respiratory infection. I don't cough but I am a little bit short of breath.I don't think my lungs are filled but it feels that way. I never have been checked for GERD, before all of this I didn't even know what GERD was