Constant dry mouth- help

Femmigirlz
Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
edited November 12 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been on here for a week and a half. I drink 9 to 11 glasses of water a day. Does anyone else experience constant dry mouth and know how to get rid of it? I even bought a mouthwash for dry mouth and that's not helping either.

Replies

  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Peeing a lot too? Thirsty? Might get your blood sugar checked.

    Are you taking any meds that might cause dry mouth?

    The dentist sells samples of a moisturizing gel but it is expensive.
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    I'm peeing a lot because I'm drinking a lot. None of my meds ever caused dry mouth before. I will have Doc check my blood sugar. Last month it was checked and was ok.

    Thank you. Jgnatca.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
    I have the same problem and suck on cheap sugar-free cough drops. Helps a LOT!
  • kramrn77
    kramrn77 Posts: 375 Member
    Ice chips and hard candies of some sort. Have your doc do a run down of meds, blood sugars and thyroid. Keep using the mouthwash- it should have some glycerin in it and it does help.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I would make an appointment with my doctor.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
    I'm on a medication that causes dry mouth. I chew gum to help and drink a lot of water.

    In your case, I'd check with your doctor to rule out any underlying medical problem. A sudden onset of dry mouth could indicate a problem.
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    I too am on medication that causes dry mouth and dehydration. It sucks (but thankfully being weened off of them). What I have found helps for me is chewing gum. It seems to stimulate my saliva glands. I also have to drink a lot of fluid.
  • SwankyTomato
    SwankyTomato Posts: 442 Member
    edited February 2015
    I would buy a glucose meter (not cheap but not a bad thing to own) and make an appt. with my doctor. I have a meter since DH is borderline diabetic, he has metabolic syndrome.

    You do not have any pain in your cheeks/ears when you take that first bite of food do you? That would point to salivary glands.

    Do you take an allergy meds? That will dry you out.
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    No pain in cheeks or ears.

    I've never had a problem with my meds before, this is sudden since dieting.

    I had a friend say it could be a lack of minerals in my diet. I'm upping my potassium today and calcium and magnesium and zinc and see what happens.

    I may see my Doc about this in a few days to see if he can figure it out.

    Thanks everyone. I'm going to go suck on a cough drop or something lol
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    mine has started since it became colder and drier. do you live where its cold? could be it especially if you are inside a lot. we have electric heat and since we started using it my mouth is dry. when we used wood heat I had no issues. But I chew gum too. but it can be caused by many things.
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    Charlie. No I live in sunny Southern California. Like I've said this is only since I started dieting the last few weeks. It's uncomfortable. I hate the feeling.
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
    I too suddenly started to suffer with this and like others have said it can be from a wide variety of causes.

    Not too frighten you or anything but after long and fruitless testing it was finally discovered that I had a blockage in my salivary gland on the left hand side, this had developed through undiagnosed Lupus with multiple assoc. conditions including one called sjogren's syndrome which had been the culprit in causing the blockage in the first place.

    If your Doctor is lost......try going to your Dentist on this problem. Hopefully there are no underlying problems like mine, but they will have more ideas on how to deal with this problem than a Doctor. There are gels, sprays that can be used to help a dry mouth and word of warning ..... no spit means you need to be extra careful with cleaning and hygiene as saliva helps protect your gnashers from decay.

    Wish you all the best and a speedy improvement.
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    Spreyton. I've read about sjogrens and I have been tested for Lupus. Lupus runs in my family and I was just tested last year and don't have it. Although like you said it can go undiagnosed for years.

    How did they find the blockage?
  • kyta32
    kyta32 Posts: 670 Member
    I went into ketosis when I started taking whey powder, despite eating over 130 g carbs/day. Ketosis makes me very thirsty, and gives me a slight headache. It also makes me less hungry...
  • Spreyton22K
    Spreyton22K Posts: 323 Member
    Sorry for the long wait....just got back home.

    Um....by ultrasound. However, that said I had a lump under the left side of my jaw for ages and the 1st ultrasound missed the calcification so it was "allowed" to continue to grow.....Dr's relied on an incorrect result so by the time I got the help I needed .....I needed surgery to remove the 'stone', bloody awful.

    If you know you have Lupus in the family, then at least you have that foreknowledge. With that in mind I would seriously get a Dentist's advice.....they are much more skilled in this area.

    Again, I wish you all the best.
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    Sprey thank you very much. I'm sorry for all you had to go through and that surgery sounded painful.

    I will update here if I find out what it is. Thanks again.
  • Annie_M_
    Annie_M_ Posts: 1
    I hope you get to the bottom of the problem. I have trouble with a dry mouth and it is a side effect of the 6months R-CHOP chemo I had last year. My onc Dr suggest chewing gum and it helps. I use a sugar free gum.
  • chaszuniga
    chaszuniga Posts: 1 Member
    Ever since I started this app and eating healthier the same thing happens to me and I drink lots of water ! My guess was all the protien in my diet !
  • Femmigirlz
    Femmigirlz Posts: 231 Member
    Annie I sure hope you are in better health now. Sorry to hear you had to have chemo. I cannot chew gum because of all my dental work but I may get some hard sugar free candies. Thank you.

    Chas- I thought the same thing that maybe it's due to increased protein intake. Whatever it's from I want it gone.
  • edruddick
    edruddick Posts: 3 Member
    Dentist and hygienist trip may help.

    I had something similar. I then stopped drinking squash and diet soft drinks and haven't had the problem since. I would perhaps look and some of the changes in food and see if its something there setting you off.
  • hannydeee
    hannydeee Posts: 155 Member
    There may be something in the sugar free squash thing: I drank a lot of it over the weekend and had a really dry mouth as a result. Maybe something to do with the sweeteners in it?
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    Nearly a couple of years a go, I suffered dry mouth along with sore neck glands, not long later the dry mouth got worse, along with difficulty in swallowing.

    I was diagnosed with sjogren's syndrome nine months after the first symptoms. Nowadays its just the dry mouth, occasional dry eyes...symptoms have been stable.

    What out for dental issues with dry mouth due to increased bacteria.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories