Home Remedies for Drooling & Autostatic Hypotension

[ShaliC]

Hi, I'm new here. My husband, 81 years old has had PD for over 7 years. Recently it has got worse. He has developed autostatic hypotension which gives him excessive BP variations during the day resulting in constant instability. He also has excessive drooling and numbness in the right arm. Can anyone give me tried home remedies for his problems?

[silvestrov]

Here is an article about orthostatic hypotension and PD (it has some recommendations that can be done at home):

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

One of their therapies is salt water...it is a long article with many recommendations and descriptions of therapy. From a personal perspective, I had OH because of an adrenal condition and I drank salt water for the first 3 months of the therapy.

It is quite possible your husband has peripheral neuropathy:

healthline.com/health/perip...

There is a strong combination of antioxidants which have been shown to help with PN in diabetes patients. The combination is alpha lipoic acid and acetyl l carnitine and it can be purchased in tandem from vitacost. This combo should be taken between meals, lunch & dinner, and not at night. If stomach discomfort happens, it can be taken with low protein meals, breakfast and lunch. Protein competes with amino acids for entry into the blood brain barrier, both ALA and ALCAR pass the bbb, so protein would destroy their effect.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid – A Viable Treatment For Diabetic Neuropathy

drperlmutter.com/lipoic-aci...

Acetyl-l-Carnitine Improves Pain, Nerve Regeneration, and Vibratory Perception in Patients With Chronic Diabetic Neuropathy

care.diabetesjournals.org/c...

Is this combination good for PD? Yes:

Combined R-alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine exerts efficient preventative effects in a cellular model of Parkinson's disease.

" Most notably, we found that when combined, LA and ALC worked at 100-1000-fold lower concentrations than they did individually. "

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/204...

According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, high dose of alpha lipoic acid can cause thiamine deficiency so it must be taken when taking ALA.

Both ALA and ALCAR can be purchased in a liquid form (if he is having trouble swallowing pills):

ALA: amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo...

ALCAR: luckyvitamin.com/p-884880-m...

Both of these supplements improve cognition so he should be able to think better and both have been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. A note of caution: Both of these 2 supplement lower blood pressure so they should be tried after the hypotension is better controlled.

Ginger… A Natural Cure for Drooling

perisylviansyndrome.com/cbp...

Is ginger good for PD? Yes:

parkinson.org/understanding...

I hope this is helpful.

Rich

[park_bear in reply to silvestrov]

Orthostatic hypotension ("OH") is frequently accompanied by supine hypertension ("SH"), particularly if it is a result of autonomic failure due to PD and/or dopamine agonists("DAs"). Before treating OH it is essential to check for SH lest supine blood pressure get to extremely dangerous levels. Like 264/157. Have photo. Lucky to still be here to talk about it.

Also, PD commonly gets blamed for OH when it is really due to the DAs. See:

archneur.jamanetwork.com/ar...

"29 consecutive patients with Parkinson’s

disease who were starting dopamine agonist

therapy were brought into the clinic for their <b>first</b> dose

of agonist...Results Ten subjects (34%) met the criteria for acute OH."

and: europepmc.org/abstract/med/...

"Ten normotensive patients including 5 parkinsonian and 5 dystonic patients received 3 mg piribedil intravenously over a 15 min period. This dopamine receptor agonist rapidly induced a fall in blood pressure together with a simultaneous reduction in heart rate and temperature. "

Note that the minimum oral dose of pirbedil is 50mg, so this would be like the first 15 minutes of absorption of an oral dose if the GI tract took 4 hours to absorb it.

[silvestrov in reply to park_bear]

My father was on a dopamine agonist and was taken off of them because he became a zombie and lost about 10 pounds. I don't think he had OH but he rarely got up out of his chair to test that hypothesis. When he was taken off of them he returned to 'normal'. This is the reason why I would not even contemplate taking them.

[park_bear in reply to silvestrov]

I suffered severe autonomic failure after 2 weeks of a daily, initial, small dose of a dopamine agonist. By severe I mean unable to stand up without fainting. I stopped taking it immediately once this problem became apparent. Nonetheless I ended up having to crawl to the bathroom. I could stand for a few seconds to get meds or food out of cupboards. This went on for a couple of weeks, after which I slowly recovered. Full recovery took a couple of months.

Here's a case of someone who suffered permanent damage:

thieme-connect.com/products...

and from:

ajh.oxfordjournals.org/cont...

"At times, drug therapy for hypertension or other diseases such as Parkinson’s is temporally associated with the onset of OH."

Not to mention all the previously responsible people who have lost all their assets due to compulsive gambling / impulse control disorder("ICD") triggered by these meds.

Dopamine agonists are dangerous drugs that should only be prescribed in conjunction with careful monitoring. How many physicians test their patients for OH, before and after? How many warn patients and caregivers to be on lookout for ICD? Very few, if any, I expect.

[silvestrov in reply to park_bear]

I researched the behavioral side effects of PD agonists more than physical ones and some of the articles are just shocking. The most notable articles are about the French man who, after taking Requip, had changed his sexual preference....and was raped:

rawstory.com/2012/11/french...

And who can forget about the 2 guys who started taking crack cocaine after dopamine agonist therapy:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

What a mess!

[park_bear]

Orthostatic hypotension ("OH") is commonly blamed on PD but it is commonly a result of taking a Dopamine Agonist("DA"). The solution to this problem may be to lower his dosage of the DA and take more of something else instead. What meds is your husband taking? When did his OH start in relation to the onset of Parkinson's?

[paddyfields]

Drooling comes from having lost the automatic swallowing of the amazing amount of saliva we produce (think of the continuous drain the dentist puts in to our mouth facilitate their work.) My PD nurse says that sucking a sweet helps some people as presumably it stimulates the swallowing reflex.

[Hikoi]

Hello Shalic and welcome. Your husbands PD will probably be more complicated to deal with than a few years ago. Orthostatic hypotension is a common problem and part of the disease. Some of our meds can make it worse but there we are caught because we need them to function. Some things to keep in mind.

Make sure he goes from lying to sitting for a while before he stands. Use a walker, falls mean fractures, not nice. He needs plenty of fluids and Give him a drink if he feels his BP is low.

For drooling atropine eye drops for under the tongue are prescribed by some doctors. Botox injections can help but only last a while.

Best wishes to you.

[ShaliC in reply to Hikoi]

Thanks everyone for your immediate kind replies. Feels good to know that we are not alone and tho we have big problems - there are solutions sitting there and this group is fantastic in sharing them.

I forgot to mention that for his constant drooling he was given a 50 units Botox injection in the cheek on 13th June. So far there is hardly any improvement and our doctor has suggested that he could give another Botox inj after 13th July. Does any body have experience with Effects of Botox injections?

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