Can't sleep due to excessive saliva

[Luciangreuceanu]

Hello,

I'm in the 6th day post op and I have issues with my sleep.

I can't sleep more than 2 hours per night due to the fact that I have to swallow frequently my saliva.

Is this normal? Did you experienced this?
What's shall i do do get a decent sleep?
Many thanks
Lucian

[sakura]

Grats on getting to day 6. Drooling is normal. I think I drooled till about day 10-11. And when I say drool, I mean I drooled more than my baby. We even had matching bibs. Sleeping will be tough especially if you are a side sleeper (like me) but keep in mind it does get better. If it's easier for you to not swallow it, put a towel underneathe your chin and let it come out.

Hang in there you're doing well.

[Luciangreuceanu]

Thanks for your fast reply.

It's good to be reassured.


All the best.

[snapdresser]

Yeah, I drooled like a mofo for the first couple weeks. I concur with sakura's recommendation: put a towel under your chin or next to your face if you're sleeping on your side. It's a pain, but it'll get better for you soon since you're already a week post-op now.

[Luciangreuceanu]

So after 6 days I still can't sleep at night, the reason is not of the drooling, but because have to swallow often and then i feel disconfort in my throat.

Anyone experienced the same?

Thanks.

[missesfood]

Hi Luciangreuceanu,

I had a similar problem as you. After surgery, I couldn't sleep more than 1-3 hours at a time since saliva from my mouth or drainage from my nose would wake me up because I couldn't swallow very well. It was too uncomfortable for me to sleep upright enough for saliva to drip forward out of my mouth, so that was out of the question, and I also was not allowed to sleep on my side AT ALL. I hate to say this, but I couldn't figure out anything to do about it. It wasn't until about 3 weeks after surgery, where I started practicing swallowing regularly (outside of just drinking things), that I stopped drooling and stopped having so many problems sleeping. Being able to finally brush my teeth at 2 weeks post-op helped with the saliva a lot too - when you can't brush your teeth the inside of your mouth gets all gunky and nasty and your saliva definitely gets thicker and grosser. I'm not sure what exact problem you're having with your swallowing, but know that it takes a while for your swallowing to go back to normal. Your muscles are in slightly different positions doing slightly different motions (not to mention all of the inflammation around your jawline, cheeks, and neck), and it's just enough to make them sore and uncomfortable. It'll take a few weeks for them to adapt, even though it seems like, with how much people swallow saliva each day, that it should be faster.

You can definitely ask your surgeon about it, but for now you may just have to live with it until your body adapts to the new position of your jaws and you can finally brush your teeth and clean your mouth out. Definitely keep some books or tv shows or something to do on hand for when you get frustrated from waking up every few hours, and try to take naps and not do anything strenuous to keep from getting too overtired.

[Luciangreuceanu]

Thanks for your support, now I try to take this drooling as part of the recovery, but sleeping is still 1 to 2 hours pwr night.

Mostly because i feel i have to swallow frequently....


I got today sleeping pills from my family doctor so if i will not be able to sleep, i will try them.

All the best to you all.