Acupuncture to stimulate saliva

Hi John I had acupuncture to kick start mine i am also quite sceptical but after 6 sessions I noticed improvements I had to find and pay for my own acupuncture has head and neck cancers didn’t qualify don’t ask. Yiu need an acupuncturist who is qualified in auricular acupuncture. I am now 3.5 years post treatment lockdown stopped my sessions but I’m still noticing slight improvements. I had dental appointment yesterday and dentist commented that I was producing more 

good luck it’s worth a try. Plus sugar free gum during the day 

Hi John. Scientist here too, retired vet. I went in open minded and it worked for me. 
You need a particular kind called Auricular Acupuncture. I googled all the practitioners I could find and emailed them. I live in rural Wales so they are thin in the ground but I managed to find one close by. 
My blog has a couple of entries 

https://todaymycoffeetasteslikechristmasincostarica.com/2019/12/21/acupuncture-the-experiment-has-started/

and here 

https://todaymycoffeetasteslikechristmasincostarica.com/2020/02/13/acupuncture/

I had maintenance therapy for over a year and I was very pleased with it 

The upside is that it is a very simple needle placement procedure and my therapist says it is easily taught. She thinks it would be simple to teach dieticians to do it 

Its something my oncologist and I have discussed. What I mean is that I batter him with suggestions every time I see him. I’m wearing him down 

I also had acupuncture, was fortunate the cancer charity attached to my hospital (FORCE, Friends of the Oncology and Radiotherapy Centre, Exeter) provided it free of charge. It's difficult to say how effective it was really, for me, because I don't how things would've progressed without it, but it was a group thing and the overwhelming concensus was that it helped, though some more than others. Definitely worth a try in any case.

Also, as it was in a group, it was brilliant peer support, and I made lifelong friends.

Hi. I also had accupuncture provided free at my local Royal Marsden. I noticed a difference which could have been co-incidental. I only had 8 of the 10 sessions due to Covid. Perhaps give it a go, but like others have said, make sure it is with someone who is familiar with auricular accupuncture.. Good luck. Tricia

Hi

I had acupuncture all through my treatment and now 16 weeks later I continue to have it monthly. It certainly helped me and although my saliva production is not as it was it has really improved. It’s so worth giving it a go. All the best

Julie 

I am 19 months post treatment and was also interested in the effectiveness of acupuncture.  I was extremely dry as I have Sjogrens which also causes dryness in addition to the after effects of radiotherapy. Neither my Macmillan nurse nor ENT consultant knew about acupuncture as a solution but said it was worth a try.  I had 6 sessions a couple of months ago at my regional cancer centre which were free.  The saliva in my mouth has definitely improved a bit during the day although I dry up completely after a couple of mouthfuls of food. I use Xylimelts at night.  Unfortunately my throat is still extremely dry but the improvements in my mouth are welcome.  I no longer need to use Glandosane spray every 30 minutes as before.  You have nothing to lose so I would recommend giving it a go.

Hi John

i have had my first auricular acupuncture today!   I will report back after a few sessions. 
lizzie

Hi John,

I am currently trying acupuncture. When I reached a year post radiotherapy without much improvement in my dry mouth And fed up with having to carry a water bottle everywhere I asked my consultant if he thought it would help. I was referred to a palliative cancer consultant who used acupuncture. I

I had auricular and some on my face, plus some for a frozen shoulder. I noticed after the first treatment I had a runny nose on the non radiated side and definitely felt my mouth was less dry overnight. At the second treatment the consultant was more  enthusiastic as she found a recent published review which showed better results than she remembered. She added in a dry mouth position on my hand this time. I not sure where she read it, all I could find was found this which shows a subjective improvement in dry mouth but no actual measurable improvement in saliva flow.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1534735420980825 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1534735420980825

I can only have 4 treatments on the NHS but I definitely think I’ll continue. Also she recommended trying this acupressure technique.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kIIB7Fl5tsg&feature=share

i have tried it and again it does seem to have an effect. 

I would definitely recommend trying it, my should is also less painful but still having to work on improving range of movement very frustrating.

That’s really good news Flowerhen. Im a great fan of acupuncture. If I’d have known about it I would have started it right from the beginning of treatment 

Hi I am sure auricular acupuncture helped to kick start my saliva. I too had needles in the hands on every occasion. Even now atb3.5 years post treatment my saliva is still  improving m  still use /2 and xyimelt an night but no longer carry water everywhere with me.Sugar free gum I still use to keep my mouth moist 

I started at 6  month post treatment I would have started much earlier if I had been able to locate an acupuncturist. My trust don’t pay so I had to pay for each session.

Good luck Hazel