Dry mouth

[grahame151]

I searched for dry mouth and found many comments but no way of asking or posting or replying and it really pixxes me of when there seems to be an assumption by so many that us mere mortals know how to navigte these sites. One place asked me if i wanted a banner or an avatar - what the foxtrot are they talking about.

I expect there is a lot of knowledge, help, wisdom and experience here but its no damm use if I cant access it.

Just as a suggestion get somebody who isnt a geek to write these pages, maybe we might find a bit easier.

So I post this, haven't a clue where it will be or how I can find it or any replies

Victor Meldrew

[katieoxo60]

Hi Grahame your post is on COPD freinds, it usually appears on the site you are a member of the next day. Anyone replying should show in your alerts at the top of your membership page on the right. Chat button is to send messages and my hub shows all the sites you are a member on. Best thing if you are having problems is to contact Healthunlocked administration. Hope this helps

[grahame151 in reply to katieoxo60]

Thanks katieoxo60

[katieoxo60 in reply to grahame151]

Looks like you cracked it I can see your message , best wishes for future posts etc.

[grahame151 in reply to katieoxo60]

Merci x

[Welshcatlady]

Hi I suffer with a dry mouth, due to meds I take, my hygienist recommended I chew sugar free gum, or suck sugar free sweets. I believe there are sprays you can buy too. I also carry a bottle of water with me wherever I go.

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

It’s only at night, I wake with my mouth stuck together, my tongue feels like a piece of leather and my mouth resembles a wrestlers armpit!! But I took note and had a bottle of water with me last night and a few sips of that and I was soon asleep again, thank you. Will look into gum and sweets next time in town.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

I totally understand the dry mouth at night, I always keep a glass of water on my bedside cabinet, woke about 3 this morning, had forgotten the water so had to get up to fetch some!

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

I do know that one, I usually remember when I have got to the top of the stairs and I havent the puff to go down again! Got the new humidifier today so thats in place, Best I remember the drink!! Watch this space. Hope you remember tonight.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Luckily I live in a flat, so no stairs for me, good job too as I really get out of breath when climbing stairs or steps. Let me know how the humidifier goes. And thank you, it's not often I forget, thank goodness!

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

I had a good night for me, slept for 3 hrs which is good, dozed off / on and then slept for another 3 hrs in my chair, completely mucks up the day but I'll live with that. The humidifier was less noticeable than I remembered and I did remember my drink, so a good night for me. We're in an old terrace house so stairs are a bit steep, and I get slower and stop more often. Hope you're night was better. Had a bath which I love, and which we will have to lose in the next few months, but very sob afterwards. Its a price worth paying but only just.............

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Glad you had a good night for you, 3 to 4 hours is my norm, even though I take Amitriptyline for Fibromyalgia, which is supposed to help me relax and sleep, and I usually have a brandy as a night cap. I do go to sleep easily, but after the 3 to 4 hours I'm fully awake. Well done for remembering your drink! 😀 We moved nearly 3 years ago, right in the middle of Covid and on my birthday, to a ground floor flat with a shower in a wet room, I do miss my soaks in the bath still, as they helped with my Fibromyalgia. Wishing you a happy and relatively healthy new year. Lesley 🎉🎉🎉

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

Thank you Lesley, every good wish for the year ahead, just one day at a time. After my good night I had a bad one and then a good one! I too have Amitriptilene and they do make me drowsy the next day but not if I taken regularly. I don’t want to get into sleeping pills, it’s all too easy to get hooked. I always liked winter with fresh cold air but this last year have found I can’t cope with it, if it’s too windy I have to turn back whereas years ago I would gulp lungfuls of it. Reading others stories does make me appreciative of my current state, no cough or phlegm, no infections or inpatient stays, no oxygen but feel an increasing need even around home. The breathlessness is a real “pain”, itrestricts me so much after doing so little.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Yes the cold air plays havoc with my breathing, I use a woollen scarf around my neck and pull it up over my mouth. Trouble with that is my glasses get steamed up!

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

Use a white stick, you can get away with hitting anybody!!

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

😂😂😂😂

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

Phew, I think I had my first exacerbation yesterday, got very, very out of breath and was blowing so hard I thought one of them might be my last, however still here and kicking, just waiting for a call from my GP.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Gosh hope you're over it now, and had a positive chat with your GP.

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

How are you? , yes good chat with GP, he didn’t think it was but didn’t venture any opinion on an alternative. Listened to my lungs and said they were good so no change to meds except to be rid of Trimbow inhaler and go back to Trexeo. Humidifier is going better this time, except last night it ran dry so have to dial the humidity down a few notches. I just seemunable to make a plan to go somewhere, meet friends without having a sleepless night beforehand. It doesn’t make sense, whether it’s something nice or bad I just don’t sleep. Perverse or what!

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

I'm pretty good thanks, except the Fibromyalgia is playing up, had to take more pain killers today. Glad you had a good chat with your GP, hope you'll find the Trexeo ok. It seems as though you are worrying about going out, I wonder why, I know that once you've got something on your mind it's difficult to let go. Did you have a bad experience in the past and that's why you're not sleeping? I really don't know what you can do about it, I usually go to sleep straight away, my problem is that I don't sleep long enough, always waking after 3 to 4 hours, then I'm falling asleep in the evenings watching TV, I'm really annoyed with myself then! Tomorrow I'm going to buy a new mattress, the one I have is 15 years old, I was loathe to part with it, as it's so comfy, but recently I've been waking with a sore back, so it's time for a change. Just hope I can find what I want, don't want to be going from shop to shop. Take care hope you get your humidifier on the right setting and you can manage to overcome that sleeplessness when you are planning to go out the next day.

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

I'm going to show my ignorance and confess to looking up fibromyalgia, I had heard the term but didnt know what it was. It sounds really unpleasant and difficult to live with. Do the amitriptyline help? Buying a mattress with such a condition must present with a whole load of problems not facing many other buyers. I do wish you well, I bought a new one a few years back when I switched to a single bed nd it was a nightmare, mainly because we had a mattress manufacturer nearby and I thought it would be quicker - wrong. The salesman kept hovering and even though I politely asked him to go away and leave me be, he couldnt - I'm sure he thought I was gonna walk out with it!! I did eventually splash out on this mattress and bought a frame separately. but I have had great difficulty adjusting, to the mattress and more to a single bed. So take your time, be rude to the salesman if you need time to just lie there and tell him to take his lunch / coffee. It just isnt a purchase that can or should be hurried. Can you narrow your field by looking online and then go to a shop to try?

I had to turn my humidifier down, it ran dry and woke me up!!! Strange noises.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Yes Fibromyalgia can be a real swine! But I get goodish days and bad days and then really bad days. I just pace my self and have had to learn that I can't do what I used to be able to do, what used to take an hour now takes maybe 2 or 3, and I just can't pack into a day what I used to. Some of that could be down to my age too! I just take 50mg of Amitriptyline at night, it helps me sleep, and I did think that it wasn't doing anything for the pain, but I missed taking it one night, and boy next morning I knew all about it. My GP told me that 50mg is the max I can have for Fibromyalgia.

Well I've ordered a mattress, it wasn't too bad, I've had a pretty good day pain wise, and I took some co-codamol before I went out. The most painful bit was paying for it! So now fingers crossed when I get it, it'll be what I need! I did have a quick look online but it's so difficult to pick out one or two that seem ok.

I can imagine it is difficult changing to a single bed, my husband had an infection in his spine about 10 years ago and he decided to buy himself an adjustable bed, so he sleeps on that in the other bedroom, so for over 10 years I've had a double bed to myself, and tend to spread myself about! Hope you get used to your bed and mattress soon, the mattress I've bought can be returned up to 100 days after delivery if it doesn't suit, but the salesman said that I should give it 30 days to get used to it, so hopefully you'll get used to yours.

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

Hi, well how’s the new mattress or are you waiting delivery? My GP has switched my tabs and this new one has made such a change to my sleep. I also talked with Lung centre re my CPAP and big leakage each night and was told to lie down first then fit it instead of fitting it when sat up and instantly got full marks and no leaks. Feeling the cold today, I always liked the dry cold days when you could take a lungful of cold crisp winter air but now it’s harder and makes breathing harder, turning into a wimp! Just getting quotes to take out the bath and re arrange bathroom, I love the bath but practically it has to go. Gonna miss it.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Good morning, I'm still waiting delivery - 12 Feb 😓- hope it's worth the wait! 🤞 Glad your CPAP sorted. I miss my bath too, but needs must! I have a wetroom with a shower seat, and that's a godsend some days when my Fibromyalgia is playing up! 😓 Same with me regarding the cold weather, I have to wear a scarf over my mouth to try and stop the cold air getting onto my lungs! And yes it's been really cold lately, Thursday morning at 7.30 it was -6C here. But I still prefer the cold weather to the rain ☔ and we have a weather warning tomorrow for the rain, so I won't be going out tomorrow at all! Have a good weekend.

[grahame151 in reply to Welshcatlady]

Hi - we just had a visit from a plumber who is going to take our bath out so have lots of baths to use up some Badedas I had for Xmas. I have swelling on my feet and legs which my Dr has just doubled dose of Furosemide but both legs are sort of marbled on the front, lots of bumps which I'm told I must not scratch or break as that could lead to infection and a whole load of probs. In the meantime I have to keep them raised as much as possible, so not much time on my computer. Keep smiling, at least we can laugh at the politicians for their uselessness, impotence and ego deflating that goes on. Finally it seems that later this year we can have our say, although the choice for Govt is very uninspiring.

[Welshcatlady in reply to grahame151]

Hi I've just sent you a message on chat, as I think this thread is getting a bit long, and anyway it's more private on chat.

[Trevor6 in reply to grahame151]

I find Trevor mints , helpful

[ilos]

Fisherman's Friend is my go to.

[H2o1511]

Hi! Glad to see you worked this out. I understand the dry mouth, I've even put a tiny strip of medical tape across my lips to keep my mouth shut! There is a product called Xyllmelts and they work great. Kind of wierd, little round disks that when moistened sticks to your teeth and causes saliva production. You can find large 100 count sizes on Amazon. Also helps to drink lots of water, maybe an herb tea with Ginger & Thyme before bed. Hope this helps have a great day

[grahame151 in reply to H2o1511]

Thank you, have them on order.