Burn Baby Burn
In my last post, I mentioned that menopause has been linked to altered sensitivity in the roof of the mouth and a decreased ability to detect sweet taste. Interestingly, I heard from a friend that she recently started experiencing a burning sensation in her mouth and that her doctors have been attributing it to menopause. Say what?!
Seems that the Queen Bee of Menopause, the Sister of Love and Destruction, the Lady of Light and Dark, estrogen herself, is wreaking havoc on more than the tastebuds.
I was intrigued so I did a search. I found over 500 articles in the National Library of Medicine Database, PubMed, and also located this article in the journal American Family Physician.
Although burning mouth syndrome primarily appears to primarily affect women after menopause, some 10% to 40% of women in menopause can suffer from its effects. These may may include burning in the tongue or oral mucus membranes, dry mouth and taste alterations.
The causes of burning mouth syndrome range from depression and anxiety to underlying illness, high glucose levels and of course, hormones. Researchers have also identified alterations in the cranial sacral nerves that serve taste and pain sensations as possible culprits.
Currently, unproven treatments include benzodiazapines, antidepressants, anticonvulsants and capsaicin. However, I’m wondering whether or not craniosacral therapy might offer an alternative to women who don’t want to go the drug route. Mind you, there are lots of naysayers out there who claim that CST is quakery but having used it successfully for pain, I am a huge fan.
A fellow blogger also directed me to this extensive site on burning mouth syndrome. I can’t vouch for its content but it is definitely worth checking out for backgrounding purposes. Do you suffer from Burning Mouth Syndrome? What are you doing to treat your symptoms? Inquiring minds want to know!
Posted by Liz
After a two-year odyssey, when I went to multiple dentists and doctors, it was suggested by an orofacial pain specialist that I had burning mouth syndrome. I wasted time and money going to a pain specialist who had me up to 250 mg. of Lyrica and 30 mg. of Cymbalta each day. I left them and started on Klonopin, suggested as targeting the cranial nerves better. That took away the occasional burning sensation I had felt in my tongue. One common denominator was long-term use of ace inhibitors, and I had been on them about 11 years. I believe the culprit was Lisinopril, not the Captopril, the previous generation of this drug. I know use Klonopin lozenges every 12 hours, although I still have to take something in between (oral Klonopin, ice water, gum, etc). I found out about the Klonopin lozenges on the Mayo Clinic web site about burning mouth. Earlier this year I got 100% relief when I had Tooth #18 pulled, and the Novocain hadn’t worn off. This conclusively proved to my dentist that what I had was a nerve problem. Later I may try Botox injections to the area since the the Novocain doesn’t last that long. Any suggestions or feedback from someone who has used Botox for mouth pain or dysesthesia?
Ginny
Ginny
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