Help! Persistent oily, greasy, waxy feel in mouth!

jshabatu

Hello!
I am having the strangest feeling in my mouth and heading to the doctor soon if I can't get it resolved. The symptoms are a waxy, greasy feeling in my mouth, mostly on the tip of my tounge and the roof of my mouth.

• Sensation started Friday night after eating some sirloin sliders. I have never had them before and I recently started eating beef again after a 27 year break. Last time I ate beef was about 2 weeks ago and this didn't happen.
• I am 40 yo female, 120 lb, who eats healthy but no special diet.
• It seemed worse over the weekend if I ate any fatty food, like cheese.
• Monday morning it is worse. If I eat anything, even just plain oatmeal with no butter or salt, the sensation is so bad that I have to push the food to the back of my tongue--or it feels like I am eating the melty wax of a candle.
• No history of peptic upset (I have a fairly iron stomach)
• No change in saliva rate from usual
• Maybe a very slight metallic/acid taste?
• Also, just to disclose everything-- I went to the dentist the day before the symptoms started and had a filling put in, so some aesthetic and UV light was in my mouth. But my mouth felt totally normal for the rest of Thursday and Friday until the beef.
• I am on no medications except for a 1/3 decongestant tab each night a sleep aid, which I have done for years
• Vitamins: Cal/Magnesium, Vit. D, probiotics, Hyaluronic Acid

Anyone have any thoughts? I have not found hardly anyone describing such a thing online---and usually they are on medications or have GERD.

Thanks! I am pretty worried, but I hate to go in for nothing...
Jes

DebLaBounty

Call your dentist right away and describe your symptoms. Maybe an allergic reaction to something.

jshabatu

Thanks! I will start there in the morning. I did research that and I can't find any other examples. It seems like if it was an allergy it would have started sooner than a day and half later--but there is no harm in calling them. Thanks for your support!

It may be a little better tonight. Or I'm getting used to it!

jgnatca

A day and a half later is just about right for a new allergic reaction.

cmtigger

jshabatu wrote: »

Thanks! I will start there in the morning. I did research that and I can't find any other examples. It seems like if it was an allergy it would have started sooner than a day and half later--but there is no harm in calling them. Thanks for your support!

It may be a little better tonight. Or I'm getting used to it!

That's actually not unusual timing for a new reaction. I've had reactions to new antibiotics after three days on them. Your body has to be exposed and then decide it doesn't like it.

It could be a food reaction too- my mouth goes numb with celery, and you can even develop an allergy after you've eaten something for years. I only developed the celery reaction a few years ago, but I've had an apple reaction since I was a kid.

jshabatu

UPDATE: This morning (Tuesday) it may be a bit better--or I am starting to get used to the sensation. Front of the tongue also tastes a bit acidic or metallic in addition to greasy.

Called the dentist. He said he had never heard of such a thing but would do more research and he wants to see me over lunch today. He thinks it might be salivary, or dietary. He thinks he would have more insight than a GP, but I am not sure...

I am also still curious about diet. The only thing I changed last week is the beef eating component... I was rather surprised that after eating beef for the first time in 27 years I had no detectable effects. Before that, I was strict lacto-ovo vegetarian (eat milk products and eggs, but no meat or fish). I have had beef on 2 other occasions, once about 2-weeks ago and the first time about 2-months ago.

Another OTC I am on right now is D-mannose for a recurrent UTI. I take around 500mg 2x daily. It really cured the UTI after 3 failed rounds of antibiotics. I did research on this as well and could find no one with these same "ways mouth" symptoms.

Anyhow, just tossing it alllll out there so there is a full record of what I am imbibing.

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement! I'll keep you posted!

toxikon

A metallic taste and oily mouthfeel are signs that your body is in ketosis - as a result of consuming 50g net carbs (or fewer).

Have you been eating mostly meats and veggies? If so, you could be in ketosis. There's nothing wrong with that, it's not harmful. But I know my mouth feels oily when it happens.

jshabatu

toxikon wrote: »

A metallic taste and oily mouthfeel are signs that your body is in ketosis - as a result of consuming 50g net carbs (or fewer).

Have you been eating mostly meats and veggies? If so, you could be in ketosis. There's nothing wrong with that, it's not harmful. But I know my mouth feels oily when it happens.

Nope, sorry. I appreciate your thoughts though! I am on no restrictive diet. I ate 2c of oatmeal for breakfast, lasagna last night for dinner and a big bready sandwich today for lunch with 2 pieces of fruit.

jshabatu

Okay! So I am back from the dentist. He asked out on his professional networks and no one has heard of this condition. They did notice that the inside of my lips are dark red, almost like blood has pooled. He said I should do some Benadryl 3x a day in case it is some type of dietary allergy. I've never had any allergy before to food or anything. He was very interested but completely stumped. Saliva looks normal. Tissues (save the inside of the lips) look great.

When I add "red lips" to the google search, I did come up with an article about "burning mouth syndrome" (BMS) which occurs in post-menopausal woman. But I am just 40, and not there yet But one of the symptoms of BMS is a "slimy" feeling mouth, so maybe I am not crazy. I just don't have GER or a burning sensation in my mouth---which are the other hallmarks.

One more fun fact. The dentist gave me a Xylitol spray for folks with dry mouth. He thought it was an off chance, but had the spray as a sample, so why not. I was feeling extra slimy, waxy, soapy when I got out to the car, so I tried a spritz of this spray into my mouth. BOOM! Totally filled my mouth with soapy, slimy feel. Saliva turned instantly super viscous. It was the most instantaneous reaction yet! It was so strong and so sudden that I started laughing and ran back into the dentist to tell them what happened. And they looked perplexed and said "keep us posted."

Oy. I'll post back if I come to any conclusions.

CindyWard2

Could it be a reaction to Xylitol? Did they use it the first time you went to the dentist?

jshabatu

CindyWard2 wrote: »

Could it be a reaction to Xylitol? Did they use it the first time you went to the dentist?

Good guess, but I have been using Xylitol for more than 15 years, nearly daily. I even use a Xylitol tooth paste!

estherdragonbat

Sometimes allergies happen spontaneously. My dad went from eating a half a jar of peanut butter at one sitting to being in the emergency room with anaphylactic shock. He'd been eating peanuts for years and then, just about overnight, it changed.

jshabatu

Feels like little change today

Maybe slightly better, but then I think I am just getting used to the sensation. I have been on the Benadryl for 14hrs and it does not seem to help with the waxy feel, but now my lips are not red at all. My throat seemed a little scratchy last night but this morning it is fine.

I have talked with two dentists, a GP and a pharmacist. And no one has suggestions beyond the Benadryl...

I am going to stop taking all my supplements just to remove them from the equation.

I am trying to look for correlations in what triggers it. Here is a list of foods and how my mouth reacts. And by reacts, I mean that it feels like my mouth fills up with glycerin or flavorless soap. Or fluid candle wax. It's hard to put words on. It feels waxy all the time, but when I eat it intensifies. I would say it certainly affects the taste of food because you can't really taste much when your mouth is filled with "glycerin-wax-slime."

Waxy Reaction Amount:

• Plain thick rolled oatmeal: Huge
• Xylitol "moisture spray": Huge
• Cheese pizza: large
• Sirloin sliders (beef, caramelized onions, cream cheese, pepper jelly, bun): large
• Fruit (pear, plum, apple): large
• Toast with butter: medium
• Peanut butter: small
• Pancakes (whole wheat + added oatmeal) with butter: small
• Coffee with skim milk and stevia: small
• Lettuce: small
• Amy's bean and cheese burrito: small
• Raw almonds: small
• White wine: small:
• Carbonated water: none (helps)
• Sugar-free Halls citrus cough-drops: none (helps)
• Plain water: none

Thanks for your help everyone!

tabletop_joe

Could it be bacterial?

cmtigger

Nerve damage?

snickerscharlie

jshabatu wrote: »

Feels like little change today

Maybe slightly better, but then I think I am just getting used to the sensation. I have been on the Benadryl for 14hrs and it does not seem to help with the waxy feel, but now my lips are not red at all. My throat seemed a little scratchy last night but this morning it is fine.

I have talked with two dentists, a GP and a pharmacist. And no one has suggestions beyond the Benadryl...

I am going to stop taking all my supplements just to remove them from the equation.

I am trying to look for correlations in what triggers it. Here is a list of foods and how my mouth reacts. And by reacts, I mean that it feels like my mouth fills up with glycerin or flavorless soap. Or fluid candle wax. It's hard to put words on. It feels waxy all the time, but when I eat it intensifies. I would say it certainly affects the taste of food because you can't really taste much when your mouth is filled with "glycerin-wax-slime."

Waxy Reaction Amount:

• Plain thick rolled oatmeal: Huge
• Xylitol "moisture spray": Huge
• Cheese pizza: large
• Sirloin sliders (beef, caramelized onions, cream cheese, pepper jelly, bun): large
• Fruit (pear, plum, apple): large
• Toast with butter: medium
• Peanut butter: small
• Pancakes (whole wheat + added oatmeal) with butter: small
• Coffee with skim milk and stevia: small
• Lettuce: small
• Amy's bean and cheese burrito: small
• Raw almonds: small
• White wine: small:
• Carbonated water: none (helps)
• Sugar-free Halls citrus cough-drops: none (helps)
• Plain water: none

Thanks for your help everyone!

What supplements do you take?

Have you added anything new lately? Even a different brand?

jeanstudies

When I've had fried foods at some fast food (or fast sit-down) restaurants in the past, sometimes I've gotten get a weird greasy sensation on my tongue as well. I think there is some sort of chemical that they put in the frying grease, so that it wont absorb the taste of the food. Did you eat anything that could have been deep fried? Or, there could have been some chemical added to the beef.

In the past I have also had some mouth problems, following some dental work, that were resolved by taking high doses of B-complex vitamins. Could be similar to scurvy. You may want to consider taking B-complex and maybe L-lysine. I'm not a doctor so of course consult your physician or dentist first. My dentist was able to compare pictures in one of his textbooks to what my mouth looked like...I hope you feel better soon!

tabletop_joe

Do you drink enough water? It might be dehydration.

jgnatca

My dad, a veteran of several chronic conditions, tells me that all pills come with the symptom of "dry mouth".

savithny

Have you eaten pine nuts recently? There's a wierd condition where some crops of pine nuts cause wierd taste/mouthfeel after eating....

nowine4me

This might sound ridiculous, but I had something similar last month. Everything I ate tasted like dish soap. Everything. Google said potassium, fluoride -- all sorts of things. What was it? Dish soap.

I changed the soap I was using in the dishwasher to one without any scent (7th Generation) and same with the dish liquid I use to hand wash dishes. Problem solved.

Maybe the waxy grease is just waxy grease, especially from meat that you're not used to.