Hi, I've searched the site and didn't find anything on this, so forgive if its already been asked. HWP was placed on the atropine drops for drooling about 3 weeks ago, and no effect. His neurologist doc said if it didn't work , he could try botox injections. Has anyone done this, how did it work? What are the side effects, etc?
Apparently, the drops can have some major side effects and someone recommended clove oil on the roof of mouth, but what I read today, is that you should not use clove oil constantly , only up to 2 weeks (but it has other great benefits too!).
Any advice is very appreciated. Thank you.
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Kat343
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Ok of course, as soon as I posted this, I found a good post on Botox and Saliva. He does chew gum to help, and luckily does not drool at night possibly because he is a mouth breather so it dries up. However, I'd still appreciate any insights on the botox as well as any other suggestions!! Blessings to each of you, as someone said on the saliva post - we are al in this together!
My husband had severe drooling,wetting his clothes and stopping his ability to speak,making going out socially a real trial for both of us.He started Botox injections almost 2 years ago,and it’s been a great success,with no side effects.The treatment took about 10 days to start noticeably working,but we would really recommend it.
Thank you so much, I think he is leaning towards that. His drooling does not compare to what your husbands was, but it still makes a mess! Thank you again for responding.
My husband started to get botox done for his drooling by his neurologist over a year ago. It starts to work slowly within a couple of weeks and makes it a lot better. He has had it done 3 times so far, about 4-6 months apart with no side effects at all. It doesn't stop the drooling 100%, but makes it much less severe and more manageable. I like the fact that the neurologist does it to this level only, so there are no side effects of dry mouth, which is not good for the oral biome. It's done to only one upper gland on each side, not the lower ones, so there's no risk of it getting close to swallowing muscles. Based on our experience and the skill of the neurologist (in Perth, Australia), we would recommend it and my husband will have it done again when the next appointment comes up.
Yes, it did very much. Thank you for the info and I will request the neurologist to order the procedure. I appreciate your time, best of everything! Colorado, USA
My husband had terrible side effects from the Atropine drops for his saliva. He started on the clove oil about 2 weeks ago with wonderful results, now I read where you say it should be used only up to two weeks. Can you please tell me what you have read about the clove oil and maybe a link to the article? It would be greatly appreciated as I really don’t know what to do now.
HI Jenny, this is where I found the info on not taking clove oil for long periods, but it was not specific as to how much is too much. Please let me know how many times you are using it - I just started and am trying to do 3 times a day. Also, do you use a carrier oil with it or just straight and do you only place one drop of clove oil on the q tip?
Here is the article - draxe.com/essential-oils/cl... I read about 6 plus other articles and none mention this. Dr. Axe recommends using probiotics while on it - nowhere else did I see that either! UGH, navigating this disease is definitely a long road trip, not a short walk in the park.
Clove oil taken by mouth may lower blood sugar levels, so exercise caution if you have diabetes or hypoglycemia. Similarly, if you take drugs, herbs or supplements that affect blood sugar, you should be careful with clove oil, using less than you would or none at all. Monitor serum glucose levels for any change while taking clove oil.
Now I'm wondering if I should try it on his wrists to lower blood pressure... And I just found this - where it says the max internal dosage of clove oil would be 2.5 mg per kg = which is a HUGE amount! Here is the article - mindbodygreen.com/articles/...
Lastly, I'm wondering if it would be good to put in his mouth irrigator at night. It seems like it would be very good overall for his oral health. Let me know if you find out more and please answer my first questions. Good luck to us all!
Hi Kat. Thanks for the link to Dr Axe, very informative! Ever since reading your post 10 days ago, we were frightened to use too much of the clove oil as I did further research and thought I’d check with our GP at next appointment in another 9 days. One of the things I read was a warning of cancer, yikes!! I’ve looked for the link to send but can’t find it, sorry. Hubby was using it 2 to 3 times a day, and as it didn’t come out of the bottle easily, I was putting the cotton bud against the bottle and it absorbed the oil onto it, so unsure how much was coming out.
He stopped using the clove oil approx 5 days ago after using it for 3 (?) weeks and surprisingly, at this stage, the saliva hasn’t been anywhere as bad. Doesn’t make sense. When he feels it coming on he either chews gum, sips on the thickened water or nibbles on some food. We weren’t using a carrier oil as I didn’t know to, but he did say the clove oil would sting his tongue.
I believe the atropine is a red flag for PD patients as under the RARE side effects listed, it states ‘confusion and unable to think clearly’, and he was deteriorating over the months and I thought it was dementia! The pharmacist informed me that the atropine blocks the chemical acetylcholine (neurotransmitter) in the brain! If this is what it does, wouldn’t it happen to everyone, not just a few? Doesn’t sound like a rare side effect to me.
Thanks for the other link also re ‘effects on blood sugar’. Luckily no problem there!
Just a thought, does your husband’s saliva get worse when he’s more anxious? I’ve been wondering if that’s the case with my husband. I try and get his thoughts on absolutely anything when his saliva is bad and maybe it’s just coincidental, but it appears to help.
We must get a mouth irrigator! Thanks for the reminder!!
And yes, good luck to us all as we navigate another hurdle on this Parkinson’s journey.
Take care and I’ll let you know what the GP says about the clove oil.
Follow up after GP appointment. All I got out of the appointment was a dressing-down from the doctor! He ranted and raved on about where does it come from that I question things!?! Obviously my husband’s bad reaction to drugs.
Regarding asking him about the clove oil, he googled and said a side effect is that it creates saliva. Hello?!? I’d just finished telling him that it helped tremendously, so then he had to repeat himself again saying it creates saliva. He clearly doesn’t listen, just likes talking! So then he proceeded to write a prescription for another drug that is another anticholinergic drug! Time for a new GP!
As for the clove oil, my husband has restarted as needed… some days once , other days two or three times. I still have a sense the saliva gets worse with anxiety.
Thanks for checking in. I have not given it to him for a couple of weeks cause he hated the taste . I had not thought of a carrier oil however. I completely stopped the atropine drops after maybe 10 days because he said they did not help and after what I had researched. He does have a botox appt in October, and I may ask them to give only a half dose.... he walks around with a paper towel in his mouth! And when he chews gum, I can't trust him cause he will have it in his mouth for 2 hours sometimes and it disintegrates into mush. I am glad clove oil has helped your hubby, I am going to try it again for another week or so in coconut oil and see if it helps.
Doctors! Its so hit and miss and they are mis-trained and seemingly brainwashed. Perhaps its best we trust our guts, do muscle testing, ask for the Lord's guidance... etc. At least our PCP trusts me, we do a lot of alternative stuff, and I just don't tell the nero doc much cause he is completely one sided. Husband is declining fairly rapidly these days so my goals are to keep fighting/researching and keep him comfortable and happy. Oh, and he never gets anxious. He's always been very calm and I am so lucky that he is sweet as can be and very patient and kind with me. I can tend to get crazy now and then! If I see any changes with the clove, I will report back. BTW, he has been complaining of mucus buildup in the back of his throat. I have a natural product called mucus clear, but it has not helped yet. Best to you!
Thanks for getting back to me. So sad your husband is declining fairly rapidly. Everything is so sad. I am so lucky also that hubby is calm and takes it in his stride, except for times when this rotten anxiety creeps in! I would love to hear if you have success with the clove oil and using the coconut oil as the carrier. I will look into mucus clear also, thanks.
On a previous post ‘Redginger’ had written that her husband’s neurologist had suggested phosphatidyl choline by Source Naturals, but I can’t find where it was written and if there were any further replies. Do you know anything about this?
No, I do not anything about it. I'll try and research it as well, but these next 2 weeks are extremely busy! If you think it has merit, please reply back and so will I.
Hello Gcf51. I’m interested if you’ve managed to find something that helps with your saliva yet? My husband is not interested in having the Botox injections. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I should add, as I understand drooling is more a factor of not swallowing often enough than over active glands (with PD you don't sense mouth is full quick enough ). Need to keep mouth shut and practice swallowing more often. Seems there is a device that vibrates to remind you to swallow.
Dear 51, I am SO sorry, and we will take your experience very much into consideration. Thank you for sharing that - we have learned the very hard way to do better research on ANY medical recommendation due to such complications. Am wondering if you may be considering trying clove oil? We just started, and with recent travel, its been difficult to get on a schedule with, but we are going to try it and will post back if we think its working. If you do try it, please post back as well. We are so grateful for all our HU people who share their good practices and appreciate YOU! Thank you.
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Thank you again for responding.
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