My rheumy has increased my dose of ami from 10mg ad hoc to 20mg every night on account of my fibro diagosis. I've noticed that my mouth is very dry during the day, no doubt not helped by my hypertension meds either - atenolol (beta blocker) and bendroflumethazide (diuretic).
Has anyone tried Biotene or have any other suggestions for managing a dry mouth? Gum chewing isn't an option for me due to TMJ pain.
Thanks for any suggestions or thoughts about what I can try.
Hi, J.
Sorry you’re getting dry mouth. I can’t sleep without my Ami, so I’ve employed a few tricks to ease my dry mouth side effect. I didn’t like Biotene. It left my mouth feeling sticky and artificial, but give it a try to see if you might like it. We’ve all different tastes. Sorry I couldn’t resist. Lol. Something I do is to be sure to keep well hydrated during day and use sugar free throat drops to help stimulate saliva. When I’m at home, I just eat a citrusy fruit like a tangerine. I also run a humidifier at night to moisten air as I sleep to keep me from waking up with dry cough.
Good luck, hon. I’m sure others will share experiences and tips.
Hugs,
Laurie
Thank you Laurie, some good suggestions there. I guess the Biotene may be worth a try to see how I find the taste, I see there are toothpaste, mouthwash and gel options. I have to keep away from "sugar free" as even the smallest quantity of the artifical sweeteners cause me unpleasant stomach side-effects but it's made me think what might be other options to reach for when I'm at home (which is most of the time). Crazy isn't it that lubricating (rinsing) your mouth with water just isn't enough! Guess as well it's still early days with the increased ami so maybe the dryness will lessen with time.
I don't have the other issues but I find it helps if I take the ampitriptylene a couple of hours before bed, and drink a bit of water before bed.
I try to remember to take my ami by 7:30pm ... last night I forgot, got distracted chatting and suddenly it was 9:00pm and way too late to take it and still be able to get up this morning ;-). I probably need to set the alarm on my phone as a reminder.
What I suspect may be happening is that the ami is drying me out overnight and then in the morning I take a diuretic and beta blocker for my blood pressure both of which can cause a dry mouth ... and it's the combination that has made me noticeably symptomatic during the day. I'll try some extra water tonight, thank you Northernelf.
Hopefully it will settle but if not, I guess, it's a small price to pay for better sleep.
Hello Jay,
I ended up on quite a high dose of Ami, 50mg. It was great for sleep, but I had to take it by 5pm or I slept in too long! What finally put me off it tho' was I would wake up every morning with really sticky closed together eyes...weird! Also I gained a lot of weight quickly, so just beware of that! Ultimately, as we all know different meds react differently for each of us.
Take care, Anne