Dry Mouth

i have been experiencing an extremely dry throat for a very long time. Actually for about 3 years. My throat is so so dry and I can not do anything to fix the problem. Drinking water does not help, it feels like there is a dry patch in my throat. It looks like I have little puss pockets in my throat as well but I’m not too sure. Also around this time 3 years ago I started experiencing very severe headaches and heart pain. Those last two peoblems seemed to go away, but I do get the painful headaches every once in awhile. The heart pain comes back too. The heart pain doesn’t seem to feel like it would be acid reflux- it seems to be more in my heart. My room mates have told me I breathe very deeply when I sleep, and for the past 3 months I have been experiencing shortness of breath. This shortness of breath does NOT come when my "heart" hurts. I also recently have experienced burning mouth syndrome that will not go away. About a month ago I started waking up extremely tired and fatigued and I am like this all day long. It’s getting more difficult to function in every day life because I’m always so exhausted. My legs feel very weak. I have swollen armpit glands that itch. I have very dry eyes especially late at night and blurred vision. My nails are weak. I also seem to be experiencing sore joints. These last symptoms have begun about a month ago. I have also had very cold hands and feet my entire life. Does anyone know my problem???? I’m very scared and only 20 years old. Please help! Thanks

As I was reading your questions I found it amazing that you were describing the symptoms of a young coworker, Janet had been experiencing. She was 22 years old and had spent over two years with these symptoms. She went to many different doctors and they all seemed to have different ideas and prescribed several different medications, all with little or no effect. Janet was getting worse, she had started to miss work more and more due to her ailment, she was getting desperate. For the past few months I have been adjusting my own lifestyle and following information found in the book "Your not sick your thirsty." written by Dr. F. Batmanghelidj.You mention that you have tried drinking water to try to overcome your dry throat. The information in this book goes beyond just drinking water. I describes how to totally rehydrate your body but more importantly it gives ways of replenishing depleted salts and minerals that have been washed out of your system. As I said Janet was willing to try anything. So following the advice found in the book she increased her water intake to a bit over a gallon per day. The books tells how to do it at the right times during the day. But it’s not just water, he tells you that you have to find Celtic style unprocessed sea salt. This is filled with many different minerals that help the body repair itself. The hydration doesn’t happen over night, but after 3 weeks she started to see improvement. It has now been about six months and her symptom had all but disappeared. She has not missed work for over four months, she looks healthier she says that she is feeling better than she has in years. Because she has been drinking more water she had stopped drinking sodas and for the most part coffee, which also may have helped her.I drink about 1 1/2 gallons – six liters per day and I know myself since I have seen many changes in my own body. I am in my late 50′s and I have always had patches of eczema that I have tried every know ointment there is with no effect. Within two months of starting the water treatment it has all disappeared. There has been so many positive changes in my body as well as the changes Janet has gone through. We now have six coworkers on the water cure and have all seen major improvements. One of them has always used an inhaler for his asthma since he was a child, he hasn’t had to use it for the last two months.
I hope this information helps you, even if it doesn’t help with all of your symptoms, I am sure it will improve your lifestyle.
You can try this method and it will be a benefit to you over all but I must add that no matter what you try you need to see a Doctor to rule out the possibility of something more serious.
Good Luck.

Hi- I am 20 years old and concerned with my health. Before I consult a doctor, I want to go in having an idea what my problem could be. About 4 years ago, I got a sore on the side of my tongue. It didn’t bother me too bad, and it wasn’t very visible. For the past 4 years this sore comes and goes, (it can be on both sides of my tongue) it really is not too disturbing though.It does not even look like a sore, but I can usually feel it when it comes. I feel it probably about once a month for a couple days. I looked this up and discovered this could be from an auto-immune disorder. At about that time, I started suffering severe headaches. The pain has pretty much gone away. Two years ago, I started experiencing a dry throat- didn’t think it was too much of a problem. However recently, I have very swollen lymph nodes in my armpits. I have very dry mouth- (i actually have burning tongue syndrome). My throat is very dry. My eyes are extremely dry and feel like sand paper! i have been experiencing some blurred vision. My dry eyes actually began about 1 1/2 years ago. I figured this was just from my contacts, but it has been getting progressivley worse and now my dry eyes bothers me every single day. I have had dry hair my entire life. I have some sore throats and heart pains. For the past month, I have felt extremely tired and fatigued. I feel like I can’t get up in the morning and it is very difficult to function throughout the day. The exhaustion I have been experiecing is depressing. I have gone a complete month with no relief of this fatigue. Even if I get 10 hours of sleep in a night, I still wake up tired and fatigued. My joints are starting to get pretty sore- i notice this most at night before bed. I’ve been really worried about all this, I know I need to go to a doctor and I will- but I would like some opinions please!! Also….when I was young I had LOTS of cavities. I had about 8 cavities on my baby teeth. And now I have about 4 cavities. I haven’t had a cavity in about 5 years or so though. I know this could also be a sign on Sjogren’s Syndrome. I have no family memebers who have had Sjogren’s Syndrome that I know of.

Sjogren’s Syndrome is rare, especially at age 20 (but certainly not impossible). Sjogren’s often does overlap with other autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus so it’s important to get a full autoimmune blood test work-up if you suspect any autoimmune disease.

Although you may think that your symptoms all line up with Sjogren’s, keep in mind that your symptoms could simply be a combination of one or more of the following: (1) normal human stuff, (2) allergies, (3) residual growing pains/overexertion, (4) a virus, (5) poor dental health, (6) needing a new contacts prescription…and most of all (7) stress. Or it could be something else entirely.

Only a qualified medical doctor can tell you if you have Sjogren’s or not. ****No one here on Yahoo Answers is qualified to diagnose you.****

Go ahead & make an appointment for a doc right now. By delaying making an appointment, you’re causing yourself unnecessary grief. You should go to see your primary care doctor in the next few days so you can get some peace about this.

To prepare for your appointment, on a piece of paper, make a nice list of all your symptoms and any questions or concerns you may have. Make two copies: keep one for yourself and give one to your doc.

Here are some blood tests you might want to ask about:
- ANA (anti-nuclear antibody test)
- rheumatoid factor
- anti-SM
- anti-centromere
- anti-dsDNA (double-stranded DNA)
- SS-A
- SS-B
- ESR

These are basic autoimmune/inflammation blood tests that will help clarify RA vs. Sjogren’s vs. Lupus/SLE (not that any of them are possible to diagnose just from a blood test). Your doctor may want to run ANA first, see how that turns out and then use that to decide if he/she runs anything else. If your primary care doc seems oblivious about autoimmune disease and/or these tests, ask for a referral to a rheumatologist.

You should also see your ophthalmologist about your blurred vision, dry eyes and headaches. If you’re concerned about Sjogren’s, ask for a Schirmer’s test. In this test, they put little pieces of paper in your eye and see how wet it gets. Based on how many millimeters of wetness you have, that lets them know if you have Sjogren’s level of dryness or not.

Obviously, you need to see a dentist and get those cavities filled. A qualified dentist can check your saliva output. There are specific Sjogren’s levels of mouth dryness. Sometimes it might feel like you have a dry throat when it’s just irritated from drainage or allergies. Mention your mouth ulcers as well (which can have many causes). Meanwhile, are you brushing regularly and flossing daily? Using cavity-fighting mouthwash? Avoiding sugary foods? Avoiding spicy foods that cause mouth ulcers?

I can tell you one thing for sure: you are stressing yourself out too much (I can tell because I’ve done the same thing!!). Reading about autoimmune diseases will make you far more anxious, nauseated, tired, depressed and focusing on every little symptom. Most autoimmune articles focus on worst-case-scenarios and don’t talk about the fact that many people with autoimmune disorders live happy, reasonably healthy lives. I have a friend who’s 50 who has lupus, fibromyalgia, GERD, bipolar disorder, lactose intolerance, migraines, IBS, TMJ, celiac disease and a bunch of other stuff. She’s living an active life and is doing just fine. I have another friend with MS who’s doing great. And, her mom has had MS since she was in her 20′s and is now in her 60′s and is doing fine. Don’t let the yucky stuff on the web scare you.

Seriously, you’ve got to stop reading stuff on the web about it for now. *If* something comes back positive, then spend time researching.

Any rheumatologist will tell you that stress only makes autoimmune diseases worse. So, if you do have something, you’re making yourself worse by worrying about it. If you don’t have anything, then you’ve caused yourself a lot of grief for nothing and you’ve wasted your time. Take a break from researching. Do something fun. Get your mind off it. Pray & trust God that everything will work out for the best.

I have MANY symptoms pointing to something systemic, connective tissue involved or auto immune… especially similar to lupus, mixed connective tissue disease, scleroderma, dermomysotitis, sarcoidosis, lyme disease,lymphoma, skin cancer etc………all blood tests normal so far accept slightly low blood sugar and 1positive towards lyme 9but you need a few positive to go in that direction according to dr’s…. so does this not make any sense? shouldn’t blood work show some markers of disease especially if i have symptoms of this severity??? or are there somethings you can just never know!?? ……………….so confused!!!!
symptoms vary greatly and im getting no def answers after switching dr’s time and again seeing specialists and researching ,myself(which is relentless)
i have symptoms of:
Renaud’s syndrome, alopecea, circulatory problems(painfull swollen vessels causing hives!broken blood vessels), skin problems(acne, wounds wont heal, blood vessels leaving marks, hives), hard lymph nodes in groin as well as swollen tender lymph nodes EVERYWHERE!, weird lump type feeling inside throat(went to ENT saw rawness w/ scope but no answers) itchyness(especially scalp), DRY SKIN, W/ PURPLE ROUGH PATCHES OVER KNUCKLES THAT SOMETIMES ULCERATE, shiny tight skin on hands, many oral changes (pale coloring in several areas, red sore like marks,white lines that come and go, inflammation under tongue and on the sides in the back of tongue and inside cheeks, bumpy lining of cheeks and where my gums connect to my bottom lip w/ pronounced veins, extremely dry mouth w/ white coating–not Candida’s and its almost like my tongue and cheeks are bigger or my mouth is smaller bc i get teeth marks on my tongue and have been noticing the inside of my cheeks are in the way and i bite them more often) also: swollen pain full knees and ankles(tested neg forRA), GASTRITIS(after endoscopy), heavy periods w/ blood clots, swollen vulva and cervix(cervix has cysts that have grown rapidly)
Also ive noticed that the structures of my face have changed___ALL OF A SUDDEN !! i cant smile the way i used to my eyes are more buldging like and the creases in my face are diminishing!! its starting to cause depression and anxiety about leaving the house… please help
~~~tested neg for :LYME, RA, CELIAC, HIV, CLAMYDEA, GONORRHEA, STREP, O AND P(STOOLS), ALL BASIC CBC AND BLOOD WORK NORMAL!
I DO HAVE HYPOTHYROID AND IN 1995 I HAD A LARGE BENIGN TUMOR REMOVED FROM THE CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN MY CHEST

demand cat scan for poss sarcoidosis in lymph nodes

For years, my PCP said I had alot of allergies, but now, My eye doctor says I have all the symptom of Sjogren’s.. What are some treatments for the dry skin & dry mouth? He suggested Restasis for the dry eye. I’ve done soooo many creams & lotions, both my Rx & OTC….
what do you do for the dry mouth, no saliva?

Here’s a good website about Sjogren’s:

http://www.medicinenet.com/sjogrens_syndrome/article.htm

in comparison, here’s a list of possible marijuana side-effects I found online, along with possible side-effects of a variety of popular pharmaceuticals

four questions follow:

1.
without looking at the answers, which side-effects do you think are attributable to marijuana?

2.
which side-effects do you think sound worst?

side-effects:

A.
serious cardiovascular thrombotic events, myocardial infarction, and stroke, which can be fatal, increased risk of serious gastrointestinal adverse events including bleeding, ulceration, and perforation of the stomach or intestines, which can be fatal. These events can occur at any time during use and without warning symptoms. Elderly patients are at greater risk for serious gastrointestinal events. Abdominal pain, Diarrhea, Dispepsia, Flatulence, Nausea, Back pain, Peripheral, edema, Injury-accidental, Dizziness, Headache, Insomnia, Respiratory Pharyngitis, Rhinitis, Sinusitis, Upper respiratory tract infection, Rash.

B.
anaphylactic reaction (including laryngeal edema), asthenia, face edema, pain
AUDITORY: sudden decrease or loss of hearing, tinnitus
CARDIOVASCULAR: angina pectoris, chest pain, hypertension, hypotension, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, palpitation, postural hypotension, syncope, tachycardia
DIGESTIVE: abdominal pain, abnormal liver function tests, diarrhea, dry mouth, dysphagia, esophagitis, gastritis, gastroesophageal reflux, GGTP increased, vomiting
MUSCULOSKELETAL: arthralgia, back pain, myalgia, neck pain
NERVOUS: hypertonia, hypesthesia, insomnia, paresthesia, somnolence, vertigo
RESPIRATORY: dyspnea, epistaxis, pharyngitis
SKIN AND APPENDAGES:photosensitivity reaction, pruritus, rash, sweating
OPHTHALMOLOGIC: abnormal vision, blurred vision, chromatopsia, changes in color vision, conjunctivitis (increased redness of the eye), dim vision, eye pain, glaucoma, photophobia, watery eyes
UROGENITAL: abnormal ejaculation, priapism (including prolonged or painful erections)

C.
Trouble remembering things, Sleepiness, Anxiety, Paranoia, Altered time perception, Dry mouth, Nausea, Headache, Tremor, Decreased coordination, Increased heart rate, Altered pulmonary status, Altered body temperature, Reduced muscle strength, Decreased cerebral blood flow, Increased food consumption, Anxiety and panic, Paranoia, Confusion, Aggressiveness, Hallucinations, Sedation, Altered libido, Possible suicidal ideation, Depersonalization, Derealization, Poor sense of time, Worsened short-term memory, Addictive behaviors, Amotivational syndrome

D.
arrhythmias, sinus tachycardia, prolongation of the conduction time leading to myocardial infarction and stroke, drowsiness, dry mouth, fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, acid regurgitation, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, nausea, irritability, mental acuity decreased, nervousness, upper respiratory infection, and pharyngitis. Syncope; malaise.

Cardiovascular: Tachycardia; arrhythmia; vasodilatation; palpitation; hypotension.

Digestive: Vomiting; anorexia; diarrhea; gastrointestinal pain; gastritis; thirst; flatulence; edema of the tongue; abnormal liver function and rare reports of hepatitis, jaundice and cholestasis.

Hypersensitivity: Anaphylaxis; angioedema; pruritus; facial edema; urticaria; rash.

Musculoskeletal: Local weakness.

Nervous System and Psychiatric: Seizures, ataxia; vertigo; dysarthria; tremors; hypertonia; convulsions; muscle twitching; disorientation; insomnia; depressed mood; abnormal sensations; anxiety; agitation; psychosis, abnormal thinking and dreaming; hallucinations; excitement; paresthesia; diplopia. Sweating, ageusia; tinnitus, urinary frequency and/or retention. Chest pain; edema. Hypertension; myocardial infarction; heart block; stroke. Paralytic ileus, tongue discoloration; stomatitis; parotid swelling. Inappropriate ADH syndrome. Purpura; bone marrow depression; leukopenia; eosinophilia; thrombocytopenia. Elevation and lowering of blood sugar levels; weight gain or loss. Myalgia. Decreased or increased libido; abnormal gait; delusions; aggressive behavior; paranoia; peripheral neuropathy; Bell’s palsy; alteration in EEG patterns; extrapyramidal symptoms. Dyspnea. Photosensitization; alopecia. Impaired urination; dilatation of urinary tract; impotence; testicular swelling; gynecomastia; breast enlargement; galactorrhea.

E.
Drowsiness; dry mouth; stomach pain ; tiredness; trouble sleeping. Severe allergic reactions (rash; hives; itching; difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue; unusual hoarseness); dark urine; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; mental or mood changes; persistent fatigue; seizures; severe dizziness; unusual bruising or bleeding; yellowing of eyes or skin. headache, fatigue, and somnolence. dry mouth and nausea or vomiting. Pharyngitis, dyspepsia, and increased appetite. liver function abnormalities, acute hepatitis. wheezing, coughi

The initial side affects include feeling awesome followed by some blissful munching.

Hi. I’m 16 years old and I feel that the past 6 months have been hard for me. Constant tiredness, decrease in concentration, depression. I am currently studying for my A Levels and finding it extremely hard to take anything in. I am finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate and focus. I have fallen asleep in class on a few occasions and I just feel like I need to sleep all of the time. On a school night I have 10 hours sleep and at the weekend I have 12-14 hours sleep and when I wake I am still exhausted. The other day I felt particularly tired and was asleep for 16 hours, even still when I woke up I was still tired and even yawning. I suffer from bad heads which I believe i am getting from straining to concentrate. I am suffering academically as a result. My neck and some of my joints sometimes pain and I have had a constant sore throat for months. Once I get home from school I sleep for a couple of hours. I think I’m also depressed because of the constant tiredness.

I have been to the doctors, had blood tests for many things (thyroid etc.) and had my throat checked but the doctor couldn’t find a solution. I never mentioned CFS to him because I have just recently found out about it.

I have also lost weight but my diet hasn’t changed at all. I don’t smoke and use to play football occasionally. I also get a dry mouth often and sometimes a shortness of breath.

I don’t know what to do or whats wrong with me?
Can anyone help?

Your depressed…..its a lot like CFS but not exactly the same thing.

Also how do i cope with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (aka POTS)?
I take a beta blocker. Which seems to help with my 150 pulse rate when i stand. I get hot flashes quite often. They really bug me, anything that helps with that?

I am 18 years old female, 5,6 tall, 126 pounds.
I did a million blood tests; everything is normal. Had an MRI done > normal. Echocardiogram > normal. Back to my point, i get dry mouth quite often. Is that a symptoms of POTS?

Thank you.

No dry mouth can also mean you are just thirsty.

where your mouth feels dry all the time and you constantly need a drink.

Generally it is from different medications. I am not sure what causes it when it is not medication related.

* Frequent and or blocked urination
* Muscle spasms & weakness
* Muscle tingling/pins & needles
* Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
* Loss of coordination & sensation (starting with feet and then hands)
* Numbness/tingling in neck
* Shakiness
* Loss/less of sweating in hands & feet
* Eye floaters/eye flashers & pressure and blurry spots/dimness in eyes
*Headaches w/ some mood changes & trouble focusing

I am 17 and a half y/o, and almost positive that I have SLE. I was just diagnosed with Raynauds. I get symmetrical joint pains & have the malar rash. My eyes and mouth get dry frequently. My grandfather had type 1 diabetes, and my aunt (on the other side of the family) has sclederma and hypothyroidsm.

* Out of those list of symptoms the first were the eye changes and carpal tunnel w/ numbness in hands/feet. This seems to be progessing & i am verry VERY frightened. (i am going to the eye doctor tomorrow & am seeing a neurologist VERY soon.)

Yes some of those symptoms do relate to lupus. You should see a doctor ASAP! Go now.

So, for a while now, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night, thirsty. Not like, "Gee, my mouth is dry" but like, "I’m really thirsty. I feel like I haven’t had anything to drink in days." I decided to do some research online, to see if I could figure out why I was so thirsty. I don’t know how I came upon it, but I started to look at the symptoms of diabetes. I’m not sure which type I would be more likely to have, but I’m slightly concerned.
___________________________________________

Type 1 Diabetes
The symptoms of type1 diabetes are:
* Frequent Urination
* Unusual thirst
* Extreme hunger
* Usual weight loss or gain
* Extreme fatigue
* Irritability

-I haven’t noticed that I pee all that often, but I don’t really pay attention. I’ve been experiencing a lot of thirst. My hunger goes up and down, sometimes I’m really hungry, sometimes I can’t be bothered to eat at all. My weight never changes within five pounds from the usual. As for fatigue, I am tired. All the time. Even when I get a full night of sleep, I still find myself dozing off during the day. I usually end up taking an involuntary nap 5/7 days a week. My parents always tell me that I’m a grump.
__________________________________________

Type 2 Diabetes
In addition to all the symptoms for type 1 diabetes, symptoms for type 2 diabetes include:
* Frequent infections
* Blurred vision
* Slow to heal cuts or bruises
* Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
* Recurring skin, gum or bladder infections

-I rarely get infections. My vision is terrible, I’ve always assumed it was because I needed glasses. It’s very blurry, and people are always surprised at the short distance it takes for me to not be able to read something. My cuts and bruises take forever to heal, my mother is inclined to think that it may be anemia or some other kind of blood problem, because I bruise and get cut so easily. Sometimes my extremities go tingly. There’s a history of bad circulation in my family. My dad’s hands go numb sometimes, and so do my aunts. There’s also a history of restless leg syndrome in my family and I experience that from time to time. I believe I have bad circulation, because my fingers and feet are always so cold. Many times, people have been shocked at how cold my hands are. My arm/leg/hand/foot falls asleep somewhat frequently, especially if I’m laying sideways with my arm and elbow bent to prop me up or support my head. I don’t get skin, gum, or bladder infections though.
___________________________________________

I’m not sure if I am at a potential risk for either, because I’m still on the young side. Or maybe I’m just imagining it. I do know that diabetes is definitely in my gene pool though. Three out of four of my grandparents have it, though my mother, father, and brother do not. (yet?)
I’d say my weight is about normal. I’m five foot three and weight approximately 125 pounds.
I don’t think I eat excessive amounts of salt, no pizza, chips, pretzels, or even all that much junk food. When I eat junk food, it’s usually sugary, not salty. I don’t add salt to my food either.
I’ll admit, I haven’t been to the doctor in a while.
But I was wondering if I could have ‘gotten’ diabetes since I was younger?
I don’t know if I was ever tested for it, but if I was, then it obviously came out negative. Is it possible to develop over time, even though I’m not an adult yet, much less middle aged?

It’s worth the effort to find out. There are some blood tests your doctor can run to find out – I would recommend asking for a ‘glucose intolerance test’ – which would check not only your fasting blood sugar, but how your body responds to sugar. This would help to determine both types of diabetes and hypoglycemia. You might also have your thyroid checked at the same time. Good luck!