Burning tongue syndrome

Maranta, my sense of smell has almost gone as well.

Hello ladies .. well I first put this thread up three years ago ! and it truly helps me to know that there are others of you out there who know how ghastly this complaint is, and understand. I feel that it such a hard thing to admit to anyone ... it sounds so wierd . I am convinced it is a neurological problem , and nerve pain is just about the most difficult pain to treat.

As others have said, I find coffee makes it worse (and I do love coffee) so I just drink decaf tea now, but do have wine (red) and other drinks too. As for toothpaste I find the only one for me is the Corsodyl daily toothpaste.... very much an acquired taste, but the minty ones just make things worse, and make my mouth so dry.

I can't chew the sugar free gum for ditto reasons, nor sweets, and I do find the problem fluctuates daily.

I can go several days and it's not too bad at all, then suddenly for a few days, my tongue burns so badly ..... and why? goodness only knows. But yes, the more stressed I get about it again, the worse it is.

I feel now, as with all chronic conditions, we just have to accept that it is there and try not to let it get us down (not easy ) and just "go with it" as best we can... and like some you I hope and pray that it will eventually just disappear , maybe as suddenly as it appeared.

I do hope you all aren't suffering too badly at the moment. I have just had three days of hell with it, and thankfully today it's calming down.......again, no idea why.

My thoughts are with you all xxxxxxxx

I recently read that this can be connected to Vitamin B deficiency. Maybe worth querying.

hi are there any people suffering from burning mouth syndrome.
mine started in February. I am 57 and the threads i have read said it is common in post menopausal woman.
any tips on how i can reduce the burning would be very welcomed.

There is also this more recent thread you might want to read www.gransnet.com/forums/health/1253925-Burning-Mouth-Syndrome?msgid=27117054
Personally I think it’s neurological.

Hi Sheena
Just joined and cam across your post....yes I have very similar symptoms very annoying and makes me very depressed just don't feel normal...it's mainly on one side of my tongue had it for nearly 12 months...GP now referred me to Maxi Facial to investigate further....but it's really got me down
I sympathise with you.....Jane

It’s one of the symptoms of menopause, very rare, but does happen. Don’t know if it’s applicable to you. Google it for advice.

Hi to all. I had BMS a couple of years ago and it was awful. I felt like my whole mouth and at times my throat were on fire. I had it every day and the only relief I got was eating, chewing sugar chewing gum and ice cubes made into ice lollies.
It was so depressing. I tried medication for oral thrush, pills for acid reflux, special mouth rub from dentist and nothing helped. I saw a consultant who said it was not an uncommon condition and anti depressant could help. I did not take these as by the time I saw consultant my BMS had improved. I would say it took around 5months to go. I occasionally feel a little bit of burning but nothing like before. I did lots of research and my observation is that it is partly menopause and after a period of stress/anxiety.
Finally do hang in there all you sufferers and try any tips given.
I can really sympathise. It is an awful thing.
X

Someone i know who suffered with this was found to be low on B12 and after being treated for this the BMS greatly improved. Just a thought for all you sufferers.

This is not a generalisation .. but .... there appear to be two forms of BMS .. Primary and Secondary.

Primary is a result of some nerve damage and secondary is from an underlying medical condition, and both are extremely difficult to treat. Stress and anxiety and depression only exacerbate the symptoms and sadly it often it becomes a vicious cycle.

Nerve pain/damage can only be treated really by antidepressant also amitriptyline or the drugs such as gabapentine or pregabalin... all have various unwanted side effects, and very often really don't help. I am one of those sufferers, have had this condition for years, and have found that nothing helps.

The secondary cause of bms of course can be from a cause of a multitude of different reasons, and those need to be treated in their own way.. often with little improvement.

We sufferers of this horrid condition spend a lot of time and effort sourcing treatments, and self -help ... there is a wonderful UK facebook group where we all help and support each other .

As it seems to affect mostly women .. and very often in middle age, the menopause gets blamed (very handy ! ) as there is hormonal changes .. but this condition often affects younger women, and men too . Most doctors and dentists are at a loss to know how to treat it (that's if they've even heard of it ! ) .

Frustrating !

Hi there I came across this post while looking for something else, I was diagnosed with a condition called Geographic tongue, it got its name from the map like patterns on the tongue, symptoms are a burning sore tongue, I just have to live with it as seemingly there is no cure, I now know what foods to avoid or pay the price with a tongue that feels on fire, I would appreciate if anyone else has heard of this and can offer any information.

Have sent you a private message Pandagran

I had this years ago and stopped eating nuts this solved tge problem more Recently I couldn’t taste my food properly and lost a good few pounds. This was found to be as a result of a medication I was taking. Once this medication was removed my youngest got back to normal. Hope you soon recognise what’s causing this problem sheena

Hi I had BMS back in 2009 after a tooth extraction. I saw every consultant in Britain before it was diagnosed. I was given antidepressants for the the pain. It settled down for a few years so I stopped the meds! This January it came back again. I am now back on meds but hope it will go again!

Thirty years ago I experienced burning mouth and then it just disappeared. Now I’m 74, it’s returned. Most annoying. I’m am very anxious at the moment, so maybe tied in. I’m hoping it will disappear again.

My friend has got this, and it’s so debilitating for her. Her tongue is shiny and sore looking. She’s been told it’s hormonal, so menopause. No cure unfortunately, just lots of cool things, and she avoids spices....anything hot really. She hopes it’ll go once hormones have stabilised.

Hello Sheena , I have BMS about 4 months now and I have found your posts most helpful.
I had bad oral thrush which lasted 10 Weeks after a wisdom tooth extraction and it started then. I am taking a day at a time and feeling lost and scared. Thank you for posting.