really annoying dry mouth.

[beansmum]

I'm going to see my GP soon because I have a million things wrong with me but this is really bugging me and I need to fix it NOW! My teeth are constantly sticking to my lips and I can't talk properly. My lips are getting sore and I can't swallow properly. Sipping water helps while I'm actually doing it but is there anything else that might have a longer term effect?

I think you need to find the root cause as this sounds quite unusual.

Where I work we often provide patients with artificial saliva spray (Glandosane) for dry mouth folowing chemo.I think it is only available on px though.

My very helpful GP father thinks I have rheumatoid arthritis (did I spell that right?), but I'm not convinced.

Hope you get some answers soon.

Am not a doctor so would have no idea what it could be,I'm afraid.Have you got an appt for your gp??

No, I've been putting it off in the hope that I would just feel better but I'm going to call tomorrow.

Lots of things can cause a dry mouth; the commonest is dehydration, so make ure you are drinking 2 litres of water a day. A less common cause could be sjorgrens syndrome (an autoimmune condition related to rheumatiod arthritis) this is easily diagnosed with a blood test+- a saliva gland biopsy (very straight forward and not as scary as it sounds). Ask for a referral to an oral medicine specialist, you could also try some saliva substitutes in the meantime. Also be absolutely anal about keeping your teeth clean, as decreased saliva makes your teeth very vunerable to decay. Hope this helps.

Hi beansmum, I'm currently waiting for blood test results back to see if I have sjrogens. my symptoms are v dry mouth but also dry eyes and (at the minute) fatigue/ aching pains. It is related to rheumatoid arthritis (doesn't mean you have arthritis, just a similar condition I think).... I have bought some artificial saliva from the chemist on dr's advice, its not a great help though and a bit revolting (feels like I've sprayed someone else's saliva into my mouth!) ... not sure if its just because I'm using it wrong though (any advice from anyone who uses it is welcome)

also, the other thing my dr thought when I complained of dry mouth is that it could be diabetes.

The dry mouth/dry eyes is something that I suffer from periodically and may be an auto-immune condition as Ispyamincepie just mentioned (have had a series of auto-immune problems). There is a saliva test they can run. Worth investigating since it has implications for oral/dental health too.

can I ask, if it is srojens, is there anything they can do to treat it?? or do you just have to grin and bear it with the help of eye drops and fake saliva to alleviate the symptoms

Sorry, I don't know! You are further down the testing route than I am I think. I haven't read about any magic answer when looking it up online. At the moment they are mucking about with my meds to see if that is the cause and then may pursue the strange Swedish sounding ailment I can't spell or pn.

This has some good info on Sjogren's if you're interested...

You can get the synthtic saliva at the chemist without perscription.
Warning though it does taste a bit like someone has gobbed in a can! so if needed go for one of the flavoured ones.

Thank you Rockingaroundthechristmastree, very interesting and 'fits' with many of my symptoms. Will pursue it with the doctors.

treatment

great description Flynnie, and thank you for the links rocking and heated

good luck Heated and beansmum hope you both feels better soon