Metallic taste in mouth and geographic tongue

bjwoodzy

Last night I detected a faint metallic taste in my mouth. Normal? I don't even know if I'm in actual ketosis, feel free to check my diary...almost consistently hitting my macros (not always per meal, but per day, for sure). I've lost 16 lbs in 40 days...probably overthinking this.

Then, yesterday, while brushing my teeth, I noticed my tongue looking like it has whitish swirls and patches on it. I did some Googling, but nothing concrete came up. Should I be worried about thyroid/Hashimoto's? I used to have inactive thyroid but that was almost ten years ago.

dasher602014

No sure I would worry if that is your only symptom.

http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/geographic-tongue

bjwoodzy

I've already read that. And other medical sites like Mayo Clinic say it's not a problem, but then another site said it could be food sensitivity issues.

bjwoodzy

That sounded rude. Sorry. I know how to use Google, so if I ask here, it's because the forums' search function is *kitten* and couldn't find anyone else asking about it - figuring folks with a longer history of keto/LCHF experiences might have had a similar issue.

sammyliftsandeats

I don't know about geographic tongue but the metallic taste in your mouth is keto-related. Might be from the protein you are consuming. I think it might be from too much protein.

Try lowering your protein a bit and drinking water to get rid of the taste. Maybe sugar free gum if you desire.

bjwoodzy

Hi @samanthaluangphixay - as of just a couple days ago, I decided to decrease my protein intake from 74% down to 60% or so, to see if that helps to reduce my blood sugar (I read that and overage in protein in diabetics can easily convert to glucose). So the jury is out on that. The tongue and taste issue both started up only yesterday.

bjwoodzy

PS I'm not trying to find a solution as much as trying to find out/start a discussion about what it all means. I have gum

I heard gum is good for getting digestive juices flowing, but I hate the sugar alcohols.

Sunny_Bunny_

Seems like it would've happened sooner if it were a ph change or related to some kind of bacterial die off that happens when we drastically change our diets. But you've been at for a while, so I'd be surprised to see that happen suddenly now.
The only other thing that maybe could trigger some kind of ph or microbiota change might be if upon lowering your protein to prevent hyperinsulinemia from driving GNG, maybe your blood sugar has taken a sudden change. ??? Do you check frequently? Sudden changes in blood sugar that stay constant can really have a major impact on the body in all kinds of crazy ways.
My daughter achieved perfect, non diabetic blood sugars starting her first day of Keto and insulin pump from previously ranging anywhere from 50-500 on any given day and she put on 20 pounds of water weight in 2 days and developed nueropathy in her feet that she previously had no symptoms of. Who would think getting normal blood sugar would be the cause of nueropathy?!?!? But, because of the sudden and consistent change, it happened. It did eventually pretty much go away again. Though, not entirely yet.
Blood sugar and ph both affect microbiota all over the body and we are literally more bacteria than we are anything else.
I suspect, it will go away just as suddenly as it came on if you keep consistent with your recent changes.

bjwoodzy

Thanks for sharing that - certainly when it comes to diabetes, everyone's different. Wow, I WISH I could say that my BG dropped the day I started keto. Unfortunately for me, I am still pretty high with my BG readings. I check only twice a day because I'm very discouraged and I feel upset to look when the numbers are always bad

Anyway, I started my period this week too, but have had no cramps, and that's strange because I always have solid pain the first day and a half or so, to where I have to keep staying on Midol and just not stop taking it the whole day.

I think it could be PH changes, maybe? The protein decrease was only 20%, not sure if that can make a difference so quickly when I did the protein change only the day before. I will say that I have been enjoying more acidic/vinegary and salty foods than ever in my life, so I can only guess it could be that. IDK. That's why I suggested anyone reading this to look at my diary. I've only done LCHF ages ago and it was Atkins and I didn't do it to where I could sustain it (I was all over the map and not planning everything like I do now). I'm new to keto - only week six just finished.

I am thinking I should look into a probiotic or something, because I'm still pretty bloated a lot of the time.

Thanks

Sunny_Bunny_

I swear by pickle juice for bloating. At least when I have that issue, which only happens if I eat too much veg, the juice gets rid of it super fast.
Though it seems to depend on the pickle juice... The typical grocery brands will help but the big jar I bought at the butcher seems to be better. The juice is slightly cloudy and I figure it must be a more natural ferment going on in there.

bjwoodzy

Hmm. I've got a tiny bit of juice from store-bought pickles left, but the rest in jars is all from homemade pickles. I'll have a shot at the commercial stuff and try that.

Sunny_Bunny_

bjwoodzy wrote: »

Hmm. I've got a tiny bit of juice from store-bought pickles left, but the rest in jars is all from homemade pickles. I'll have a shot at the commercial stuff and try that.

I think your homemade juice should be better. I'm thinking the jars I get at the butcher are more similar to homemade but... Not.

bjwoodzy

Thanks! Feeling less solid in the tummy tonight. Drank a half a shot of homemade this morning