Mucous

[Maidinkent58]

Towards early evening I have a build up of thick clear mucous in my throat, which causes wheezing and coughing, which then is aggravated by lying down on my side. It’s driving me insane, causing many hours of lost sleep!! Has anyone else had this, or got a remedy? I’m really struggling.........help!!

[matthew55]

Carbocisteine or a suction machine and a quick solution is man-sized tissues. 👍

[Ellie]

Has anyone else had this, or got a remedy?

Yes, unfortunately it's a common symptom, so you're not on your own.

To help thin it and make it easier to drain; keep very well hydrated, pineapple juice can help, use a saline nebuliser, take carbocisteine (prescribed by GP). If you can't cough it up and down, as Matthew said a suction machine is useful for clearing your mouth.

There is also a Cough Assist machine.

Elevating your head in bed might help with draining, once the mucus is thinned out, so use a few pillows or a back raise to see if it makes a difference.

Love Ellie.

[Mary C]

Hi
I get coughing fits often in evening and worse at night when I was using the NIV.The palliative care nurse suggested I use Oramorph and that seems to work for me at the moment.I usually get a good nights sleep too now when Intake Oramorph pre bed time.
Some days I only cough a little and other days it just comes on randomly.I get clear phlegm too after coughing but so far it’s not too troublesome and I sleep well.
However it’s good to hear how others cope for future reference.
Best wishes
Mary

[LindaB]

I'm finding that whenever I eat and whatever I eat I then experience this thick clear mucous...I feel I have to cough to clear it but it often makes me heave/gag....which is awful....streaming eyes the lot!!
Doesnt happen any other time just after eating. Which isn't helpful for eating out😏

I did mention to respiratory consultant she didn't give me much of a reason why or what to do to prevent it...she spoke about thicker saliva but it's not that.

just a thought could it be anything to do with now taking Riluzole?

[matthew55]

Pineapple juice or Carbocisteine or Suction machine, store, GP and community nurses

[Ellie]

I'm finding that whenever I eat and whatever I eat I then experience this thick clear mucous...I
just a thought could it be anything to do with now taking Riluzole?

It's normal for saliva to increase substantially just before, during and just after eating, it's part of the digestive process which, prior to us having an MND, largely went unnoticed because our swallow could keep up with its production but, yep you guessed correctly, we can no longer swallow this extra saliva 😏

If you find than you're normally quite hungry before a meal, which could stimulate more saliva to be produced, maybe eating little and often would be better?

Make sure you drink lots of water to keep secretions thin - that doesn't include the ice in your 🍸🍸 😍😍

I don't Riluzole can take the blame on this one. xx

[LindaB]

Thanks matthew55 & Ellie I'll try juice and maybe getting into the habit of eating little and often.

Are you sure ice in my 🍹🍹🍹doesn't add to my daily water quota😇😈

[Ellie]

There's a balancing act with pineapple juice LindaB - it will thin thick mucus but will probably thin your saliva too, not a major issue issue if your saliva is manageable. xx

[LindaB]

Thanks Ellie...MND the gift that keeps on giving😬🤦🏼♀️🙄