dry mouth but excess saliva at the same time

[keelton]

i know this is such a strange problem,  i have posted before about this,   i would love to know how many of you have every experienced this problem,   for the last 3 years i have been complaining to the ENT and gastrointerologist about a feeling of to much saliva!  i can literally feel it come on and start pooling,  it almost has a salty taste.   noone ever has any answers for me,   well now in the last 4 months i have started to get horrible dry mouth.  i will feel the dry mouth and at the same time have a strange sensation of to much saliva at the same time!   i even spoke with the so call world expert on salivary gland disorders here in NYC, and he almost hung up on me and told me he cannot help me because this is impossible!  thinks i am crazy,  someone posted on here before a link to an article from oxford about a study explaining this same thing.  it showed that people were complaining about this and it turned out that they had sjogrens .     I also have very dry eyes, diagnosed by opthalmologist.  I am sero negative for sjogrens and have not had the biopsy yet.    this  is so frustrating and really is uncomfortable,  i am constantly feeling like i have to swallow, but also so dry,    i am wondering if this is the begining stages of sjogrens and my glands are just going crazy?  or if it something else.   i would love to hear if any of you ever experienced this strange phenomenon.  its interested that not a single doctor that i have come across has any answers for me. 

[SjoGirl]

Is there any chance that it is not saliva, but rather post nasal drip?

[keelton]

Saliva for sure! I can feel it come from under my tongue and cheeks.  It's very distressing!  I cannot concentrate on anything else because it is so annoying.  But I am so dry at the same time!  I wish more people presented this way .  I haven't come across anyone. Doctors don't believe me

[Kathy57]

Keelton,

I wonder if the saliva you are producing is very abnormal and not lubricating your mouth the way it should be?  Have you been to an Oralmaxilifacial Surgeon or specialist? 

My saliva was was thick, dry, and abnormal.  I know that people can produce abnormal tears that do not sufficiently lubricate the eye but in normal amounts. 

Just a thought

Kathy

[keelton]

kathy, i think you are right!  this is what i have been thinking,  it seems thin and watery, and has a taste to it, almost salty,  i can feel my mouth fill up with it,  i have been to ENT and oral surgeon and all they say, is that they see saliva,  noone has metioned anything else,  i wish they would test it .   is there any test for this besides lip biopsy??  i am at a loss.

[nannysbaby]

What tests have your drs. ran to investigate autoimmune?

[Sooki]

I had that situation for several years.  I had saliva coming from the glands under my tongue, but none from the glands in my cheeks (parotid). 

According to a wikipedia article on salivary glands (i know wiki isn't the best source to quote, but this article seems well written), each type of gland produces certain components of the saliva.  The components appear to be (see wikipedia on salivary glands) serous, mucous, and the enzyme fraction.  The parotids, as far as I can find, are the main ones that produce the enzymes like amylase that help digest foods and protect teeth. 

I would go to the dentist and produce lots of saliva, but also have those nasty gumline cavities typical of Sjogrens. 

The lip biopsy of salivary glands inside my lower lip clearly had lyphocytes in them.

The components appear to be (see wikipedia on salivary glands) serous, mucous, and the enzyme fraction.  Perhaps you're not producing the component which coats the mouth.  The wikipedia article says that the minor salivary glands "have many functions such as coating the oral cavity with saliva". 

Maybe it's just some of your salivary glands which are under attack by autoantibodies.

Aside - my parotid glands regained function about 4 months ago.  I'm not asking why, but I'm happy.  My teeth are happier too.

[keelton]

Snooki.  Thanks for the response. Did it feel like you had to much saliva ? As in you could feel it producing and swallowing all the time?   Did you ever get clarification about this from a doctor?   No one will take me seriously!   

[bartolo]

Keelton, a common cause of salty taste is acid reflux. It can be silent reflux without heartburn. I imagine that the acid can trigger excessive saliva production as well.

Check here for more causes of metallic taste; there is one section that specifically lists the causes of salty taste (medications, supplements, bleeding, phlegm from the chest, postnasal drip)

[Sooki]

I never spoke with a doctor about it because it never bothered me.  Except at the dentist, who mentioned it each time!  Does your rheumy have anything to say about it - good chance its autoimmune in some way? 

[Orcas55]

I experience a lot of excess saliva and also have dry tongue and throat. Did anything ever get resolved with your saliva and how?

[snoweye]

Here is my experience:

I started drooling at the time when I had my initial onset of symptoms. I was complaining to my GP about dry mouth and he said he can see moisture. Also at time of onset, my eyes started to overproduce tears and have since dried out.

Since then I have been drooling very slightly from time to time which is strange because there is hardly any saliva in my mouth. With the exception of one single morning when my saliva glands sprung into action and I had to keep spitting it out.

Unfortunately recently I had my first flare (after initial flare) and again I started to drool again despite having minimal saliva.

Nothing makes sense!