anyone using salagen?

Buschmann
Buschmann Member Posts: 8
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My rad-onc has offered me salagn to preserve salivary gland functioning during/after rad therapy, but his experience with it is mixed. Has anyone tried it?

Comments

  • nckaren
    nckaren Member Posts: 18
    #2
    Yes, my doctor also suggested I use salagen. The bland taste and consistancy made me even more nauseated, and it didn't last very long before it was needed again. (Of course, everything made me nauseated during that time!) A year later I still have almost a full can since it was only used twice. What a waste of $10.00
  • Buschmann
    Buschmann Member Posts: 8
    #3
    nckaren said:

    Yes, my doctor also suggested I use salagen. The bland taste and consistancy made me even more nauseated, and it didn't last very long before it was needed again. (Of course, everything made me nauseated during that time!) A year later I still have almost a full can since it was only used twice. What a waste of $10.00

    hmm..doesn't sound like the same stuff. Mine was a small pill that I took three times a day. Made me terribly nauseous, and I stopped taking it. Thanks for the reply, though.
  • LostinVA
    LostinVA Member Posts: 5 Member
    #4
    Buschmann said:

    hmm..doesn't sound like the same stuff. Mine was a small pill that I took three times a day. Made me terribly nauseous, and I stopped taking it. Thanks for the reply, though.

    Hi Buschman..yes I take salagen every day and it is a small pill:) I had my last rad treatment end of 6/04 and have been taking Salagen from 11/04 to today. I did not take it during treatment. I had enough things to make me sick and nauseous and wasn't about to add to the list, but the dry mouth became unbearable months after the treatment stopped, so the ENT suggested it and I went for it. The medication meade me kinda sick for the first month, but I toughed it out and now I take 4 pills a day and actually have saliva in my mouth. It was worth the break in period, but I could never have done it during or immediately after treatment. Iwish you the best in your journey to wellness. Its a struggle, but there is life after cancer. Linda
  • tgoins
    tgoins Member Posts: 7
    #5
    I am presently using salagen, mine was offered to me post radiation. So far it has been helpful, I think had it been offered to me as I was going thru my radiation treatments, my saliva glands would have faired better.
  • rogerbfi
    rogerbfi Member Posts: 16
    #6
    Hi, My husband takes Salagen, for the past 2 years, after radical radiation for nasopharyngeal cancer. Sometimes it makes him drip moisture from his face, other times it does not change anything.Sometimes he thinks it helps with eating other times does not. There are other chemicals (I call them that) to try to produce saliva. There is Bioteen products, if you really are not as radiation damaged as my husband, hey, they may work. One Biggy! Keep an eye on your teeth. If you have had this radiation, my husband has special toothpaste, treatment from the dentist. He still has his own teeth, but did have his first cavity in the 27 years we have been married. We are in our early 40's

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