Hi @caruppaiya, and welcome to the Sjogren’s Syndrome patient support group! How have you been lately? Sorry to hear about the swelling, have you been able to try anything to reduce it when it happens? While I’m just an intern here, there are many other members who have experience with Sjogren’s and possibly gone through a similar experience. If you’d like to search through previous discussions for anything specific, I think the best thing for you to try here first is clicking that magnifying glass at the top of the website and typing in some key words like ‘gland swelling’, ‘diabetes’, or ‘high blood pressure’, or you can also start a topic of your own if you have any questions by clicking ‘+New Topic’ at the top of the page.
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Hope things are doing okay in Malaysia, and welcome again to the Sjogren’s Syndrome support group!
Thank you Julie for your concern and welcoming me to the group. I have been experiencing recurring Parotid Gland Swelling either on the left or on the right ever since 20 years back. It used to incur every two years initially and became more frequent a at much more shorter period with now occurring every three months time. I would take antibiotic Augmentin to subside the swelling which responded well initially and as it occurred more frequently the recovey process has become slower and longer. I was diagnosed Sjogren Syndrome recently and was put on immune suppressant pill IMURAN lately but ever since the COVID19 pandemic, my doctor has stopped me from IMURAN and the swelling happened again. He told me to practise good oral hygiene and eat good food that helps which I am sure what? It would help if others can share the same experience I have and how to manage and what to avoid. For your info my mother had this problem and all I knew she used to take lime with salt in her mouth all the time. I ve diabetes and HBP.
I haven’t had problems with parotid gland swelling. But I have heard of people sucking on a tart candy, for the same reason. It forces a sudden release of saliva, which can open up the blockage that can occur, hence the swelling. I understand why you were taken off the imuran, but now it’s problematic.
What about one of the meds that increase saliva? It wouldn’t lower your immune system, and it might be enough to keep you from getting blockages in your salivary glands. The meds that I’m aware of are pilocarpine and evoxac.