So sick of mouth ulcers

[giddykipper3]

I get one maybe once a month or every other month. Sometimes mild, sometimes severe like the one I’ve got now. It’s not just the localised pain it’s the headache, fatigue and raised glands - my body is clearly fighting it and that takes its toll. I’ve tried everything - only use sensodyne toothpaste, use anti bac mouthwash, all the topical treatments you can buy. I had a full blood count done 6 months ago for something else and they all came back normal.

My dentist referred me to the hospital last year and they were very dismissive. Basically just said some people are susceptible to them and I should work on my stress levels 🙄

When I don’t have one I kind of forget how bad they are. But then I get a nasty one like I have on my inside cheek at the moment and I feel rotten for a week and think I can’t carry on with this. It’s been happening on/off for years.

when’s the last time you had bloods done? It sounds like you are really run down.

if you get bloods taken, something easily treatable could be picked up and sorted, like iron or folate or somwthimg. i’d defo look into it.

Maybe you could get the gp to swab the ulcer when it’s bad in case it’s a kind of herpes that keeps coming back. (There’s quite a number of types of herpes I understand). They could send the swab off for testing.

I used to get them terribly, like 15 at a time, and they would take 10+ days to go away. They always seemed to come and go in time with my menstrual cycle too. Turned out my folate levels were very low and I was given tablets. Now I only get one very occasionally and usually when I've managed to bite the inside of my cheek or banged my lip against my teeth.

It’s not iron or ferritin, I have been tested for that. I’m starting to think it is just one of those things. Possibly related to my cycle too. It’s bloody miserable.

At the first hint of a mouth ulcer, I take two Lysine tablets and within hours it has gone.
I buy mine from Amazon, but be warned the tablets are big! Nothing is as effective for me, I swear by them.
Also good for stopping cold sores, if caught early enough.

folate or b12 deficiency?

They are awful. You have my sympathy OP. Get some bonjela on them as soon as you possibly can when they still in their early phase.
I see you are already using Sensodyne (many other toothpastes trigger ulcers for me).
i’m assuming you’ve been checked for Coeliac disease?

https://www.coeliac.org.uk/about-coeliac-disease/symptoms/

Have they checked for
Coeliac ?

I was literally just sat thinking how much I I hate being prone to mouth ulcers when I saw this thread. Every single time I break the skin in my mouth, no matter how slightly, I get a huge and very painful mouth ulcer. I’ve had this ever since I was a child. I’ve had bloods done, been tested for coeliac and IBD, nothing has ever come up. It’s so frustrating, I hate them

Another vote for coeliac testing!

The SLS in some toothpastes can give people mouth ulcers. Might be worth chucking a multivitamin into the mix as well. It is really annoying though, I used to sometimes get 10-15 at a time during my worst phases. I took to painting them directly with medicated mouthwash on the end of a cotton bud.

I used to get major apthous ulcers, easily get to a cm across and last for several weeks at a time. Horrendous pain that no-one can understand these are not regular ulcers. You used to be able to get a steroid ointment from your dentist but they stopped making it. Only thing that worked for me until I found out I had dairy, yeast and benzoates allergies and gave all that up. Only used to be able to use McLeans toothpaste but can use some colgate versions nowadays due to the benzoates. I only get the odd one now from trauma like you say but not always. I could add a picture but nobody wants to see that! You can buy Orabase ointment online and crush up a tiny bit of steroid pill if you have any lying around, but I didn't say that.

This is going to sound out there, but desperate times and it'll cost nothing to try...
A girl I used to work with got them terribly, she started putting her toothbrush away in a cupboard after use. She stopped getting them.

I take lysine every day and mine have reduced massively since I started, I still get them
nut far less regularly and they tend to be less intense

Double check that the Sensodyne you use is SLS free. Not all are.

I get them related to my cycle as well, literally nearly in tears with them right now, feels like my full mouth is covered in them.

Gentle whitening is one of the few that is sls free. I suffered with weekly ulcers from a pre teen until my mid 30s. Found out about sls and initially turned to welleda salt based toothpaste and then gentle whitening about 10 years ago, I now get one or two a year when I used to have 3 or four constantly (including regular tongue ulcers which were agony!) it's not a fix for everyone but should be one of the first courses of action for people prone to them is an easy first attempt to fix.

I feel for you OP I get them fairly regularly usually when my folate levels are low (I have regular bloods done due to meds I’m on) once I restart the folate very rarely get them, I find ambesol more effective than Bonjela.

You’ve clearly checked the nutrition side but when I used to get them I would have marmite on granary toast for a few days in a row and that seemed to help.

I found multivitamins with zinc worked for me. I had about 10 after my wedding. I'd been dieting and got run down.

How old are you? I used to get them a lot when I was younger but much less at 39. I think sometimes it hormones and period but also genetic.

I used to get a steriod cream from the doctors.

Found a few things saying low zinc was linked to mouth ulcers online

A lack of zinc in your diet can also cause recurring mouth ulcers. Several studies have shown that low zinc levels can increase the risk of mouth ulcers and patients with low zinc levels in their system often suffer from recurring mouth ulcers.

Have you had your thyroid and b12 checked? Vitamin D too. I had constant mouth ulcers and scabs in the corners of my mouth when I was low on b12/vit D and my thyroid was hypo.

It's really easy to check and fix but makes you feel so awful.

I’m not sure if I’ve had thyroid checked. I’ve lost track to be honest. Probably not though. I kind of thought when I got the hospital referral they would cover all of this but they were so blasé about it. Not helpful at all.

Im just sick of losing weeks of my life to it. That’s dramatic, I can still function and go to work etc. But just know as soon as I get a bad one that it’ll be at least a week of feeling below par, generally unwell and knackered while my body fights it off. I manage it with paracetamol until I wake up one day and it feels like the headache has lifted and the pains reduced bit and from then on it gradually heals. But god it’s vile at the height of it. Right now it’s a huge cheek ulcer that is also radiating pain to my throat and ear along with headache and fatigue.

Could it be food related? My son has orofacialgranulomatosis and gets mouth ulcers from benzoates.

I hope you find the cause and can prevent them...they can be really nasty.