Salivary glands pain

Hi, My salivary glands are very painful on and off and tonight they are misbehaving and very painful. It is 2.30am and would love to calm down the pain and get some sleep. I wondered if anyone has found anything that soothes the pain a little.
Have a good day all x

Try Marshmallow Root and Licorice Extract. Have helped me tremendously.

Take two paracetamol and two ibuprofen, it should ease the pain enough to get some sleep.

AUjewel thanks so much. I will definately get them to try.

Thanks Bones, I have taken paracetamol but unfortunately can’t take ibuprofen.

Hi Mirrie,

I can’t remember ever having pain with my salivary glands, but because of their dysfunction and severe dry mouth issues (caries, canker sores, thrush, burning/peeling lips +++) I am now taking 6 (six) 5 mg Salagen tablets daily. I also keep a supply of Xylimelts close at hand to moisten my mouth if needed in between and I drink LOTS of water. Something that has really helped to reduce all the other pain I experience because of other SD symptoms is a daily capsule of Life Extension’s SUPER BIO-CURCUMIN (not just run of the mill tumeric). That in conjunction with nearly eliminating all sugars from my diet has vastly reduced all pain. And I eat fresh unprocessed foods. This can be a little challenging during the holidays. I will indulge in just a couple of favorites.

Just thought of something. Awhile ago I read about massaging the salivery glands. Maybe that might help. I believe I read that in materials from the Sjögren’s Foundation. They have a website online. Also, you might find their ‘Sjögren’s Book’ at your library. I have given copies of it to three of my doctors. I think just getting those glands to secrete more moisture would help. I hope you find some relief soon so that you can enjoy this most wonderful season! Hugs!

Try a heating pad.

Thanks FirstMuv, I found that I was better for cutting out sugar and alot of other things from my diet helped.
I have always had to drink alot of water and was forever being checked for diabetes as a kid. Even extra water still, can help so much if I am having alot of pain. I will have a look into the curcumin and the salivary gland massage.
Thankyou, we all deserve a great festive season.
I am lucky to have people on here up and about. It is 4.30am and I may have pain but I’m not lonely… X

Thanks bos, I have been sharing a heating pad between my joints and salivary glands and it has helped a bit.

I gently messaged my salivary glands (the ones at the base of my tongue) with my tongue one time when the were very painful and swollen. They were clogged with some small crystal-like hard things. Didn't solve any dry issues, but after there was no pain. I've never had pain in my parotids (major salivary gland behind the ear and lower jaw).

You got to hold on.

Here is a link to a massage and treatment resource:

http://www.sjogrens.org/files/brochures/Salivary_Glands_Massage.pdf

Hi Mirrie, I too have glands that are very painful. One side, I have that gland that you feel when your getting ready to get a cold and sore throat ,the other side is in front of my ear, jaw and teeth. I thought the teeth issue was from the dry mouth dental issues. This hit me real bad this weekend. I went to primary doc today, she said glands are very swollen and that the misbehaving glands are causing infection. The infection is effecting the nerves of my jaw,etc .She started me on antibiotics and pain meds. For this I normally rinse alot during the day with Listerine and warm water, and bioteen in between to moisturize the dry mouth. The other side, the cold is coming side, I find that being out in the cold makes it worse, so I now use a scarf (ALWAYS) to keep that area from getting cold. When really bad and couldn't sleep I used a warm water bottle , that seems to settle things down a bit ..Good luck, and I sure hope you can sleep tonight

The toothache/ upset nerves you've described bluesheeler would probably be helped with pain medication like amitryptiline- I've just started that as get a lot of neuralgia pain in my jaw/ salivary gland/ teeth and it's really helping, plus at last I'm getting some sleep!

Jules

bluesheeler said:

Hi Mirrie, I too have glands that are very painful. One side, I have that gland that you feel when your getting ready to get a cold and sore throat ,the other side is in front of my ear, jaw and teeth. I thought the teeth issue was from the dry mouth dental issues. This hit me real bad this weekend. I went to primary doc today, she said glands are very swollen and that the misbehaving glands are causing infection. The infection is effecting the nerves of my jaw,etc .She started me on antibiotics and pain meds. For this I normally rinse alot during the day with Listerine and warm water, and bioteen in between to moisturize the dry mouth. The other side, the cold is coming side, I find that being out in the cold makes it worse, so I now use a scarf (ALWAYS) to keep that area from getting cold. When really bad and couldn't sleep I used a warm water bottle , that seems to settle things down a bit ..Good luck, and I sure hope you can sleep tonight

Thanks so much for all your replies.
Last time the pain was this bad I did have an infection. I will make an app. to see my doctor.
I am getting alot of nerve pain in my face , I was wondering yesterday about increasing the dose of amitryptiline and see if it helps. I have had some brilliant advice here.
Thankyou and hope anyone with the same problem gets some relief.

Wow, I just learned a lot reading these posts. I have yet to have any doctor tell me anything more about Sjorgrens other then it is "only dry eyes and dry mouth", Some of the symptoms that you all are talking about I have. Thank you for sharing!

I have this problem also. I take mucus relief tablets and massage what I call a sludge out of the opening of my parotid salivary gland which is in the mouth on the cheeks. Once I get this worked out I usually have no more pain. I had my left parotid gland removed a few years ago but still have problems with the right side. My ear nose and throat doctor showed me how to work the sludge out. If the pain continues you may need it looked at to make sure you don't have a stone in the ducts. Hope this helps.

Mirrie, sorry to hear you are dealing with that. I know how painful it can get. As with the others, I have found that Advil or Aleve are the only things that work. I am weird, I guess, in that I prefer cold to heat. One of the thing that my rheumy also mentioned was that when this is happening, avoid things like citrus, etc that make the salivary glands work harder. It just irritates them more. He has said that its something that will come and to with SS but that if it isn't going away within a reasonable time to come in as it may be a sign of infection, etc. Good luck and keep us posted on how your are doing.

Thanks, the pain has got worse but have an appointment with the doctor on Monday. Eating anything makes the pain much worse and my saliva tastes really sour. Hopefully it will get sorted on monday.