I thought it would be worthwhile to share my journey on this side effect.
I would wake up from a deep sleep unable to breathe with a windpipe constriction that was similar to the body reacting from a drowning response. Pretty scary at first and freaked my wife out badly. I
First I tried elevating my head in bed by adding a pillow between the mattress and box spring to help with the drainage what little saliva I produce. That helped a little but the choking continued.
I noticed that the choking occurred mostly when I was sleeping on my back.
I tried to arrange pillows to keep me from rolling over on my back at night. but no luck with the pillows.
Next, I took a small backpack and filled it full of towels and strapped it tight.
Eureka! a full night's sleep with no choking. The backpack worked to keep me from rolling onto my back and having the thick saliva choke me.
Yes, it was annoying at first to sleep with a backpack. It has been 3 weeks now and it has just become part of my new "daily normal" along with everything else, like trying to eat without any normal thin saliva, constant dry mouth, mouth ulcers, hyper teeth cleaning, whacked thyroid that won't let me gain weight and neck swelling.
My doctor also prescribed pilocarpine. but so far I don't see any real results from it.
