Burning Tongue and Geographic Tongue

hey ive had this on and off for about 5 years now
i find it randomly acts up last month it was a little more
but sometimes it wont show up for 3-5months, during the
active time i find sometings are sensitive to eat and of course my
tounge doesnt look apealing..but i have no idea what causes it
i dont have any health problems besides athsma but i never used my
puffers so i highly doubt that..but i know my doctor said all i can do
is just wait it out..

All,
Let me first start by saying I understand your pain and frustration. This is a terrible problem to have and it doesn't help that just about everywhere you turn (doctors, books, internet, etc.) you hear the same thing - nothing's wrong and no treatment necessary...
I'm now 26 years old and a male.

Here's my story:
I struggled with dysphasia (difficulty swallowing) for as long as I can remember. I couldn't swallow large pills, big bites of food, and about a couple times per week my throat would basically back up with the food I was eating and I would have to excuse myself to the bathroom to bring up what I could... very embarrassing in public!

After years of dealing with it on my own I decided to have it checked out. Over the course of a couple years I had two procedures where they ran a scope down my esophagus to check things out, and on one occasion even shoved something down there all while I was awake!

Eventually, I was diagnosed with esophageal sphincter spasms and was prescribed Prevacid (similar to Nexium, Prilosec, etc.). Amazingly, this almost fully cured my spasms and I can now eat without worry.

However...
I never had geographic tongue or scrotal tongue until after taking Prevacid. Once it hit, it hit hard. Pretty deep cracks started to form in my tongue and large, painful ulcers followed. Just as the ulcers would clear up and I thought the worst was over they came back. I never know what to expect. My mouth dried out, my tongue hurt very bad, it affected my speech, and I became very depressed.

I tried everything I could find on the internet - all of the vitamins and minerals suggested and in all forms, logged what I was eating and drinking, took morning and night pictures of my tongue to try to keep a hold on how things affected it, tried not eating certain foods, drinking apple cider vinegar (yuck), nothing worked...

Until...
I came across a website made by a guy who figured out his GT. He suggested watching the amount of alcohol intake and using hydrogen peroxide as a mouth wash. I have to admit, I was a bit of a chicken and didn't want to dump hydrogen peroxide directly in my mouth, but I found an alternative! Listerine makes a mouthwash called Listerine Whitening Pre-Brush Rinse that contains Hydrogen Peroxide. This in the morning and at night combined with an Aquafresh Hydrogen Peroxide toothpaste have made all of the difference in the world! I still try to watch how much alcohol I drink, and if I know I'm going to I will use the Listerine just before and definitely after when I get home, but I think I've finally got my GT under control.
Occasionally, I'll still get a small spot (about 1/4"-1/2" in diameter) here or there, but for the most part I don't have any of the major issues anymore, plus my teeth are whiter!

Again, I sympathize with you! I know what you're going through. Hang in there and hopefully my remedy will help some of you. Stay positive.

Eric

hello, I just found out that geographic tongue is caused by a deficiency of zinc . I have suffered years with this miserable stuff and finally found a pharmacist who knew what to prescribe otc that would get rid of it. he said that people who have this problem can not taste the metal taste in their mouth from chelated zinc which he told me to take and in one week I have finally got rid of geographic tongue which the doctors could not do!. he also said that the chelated zinc is highly absorbable so I can get it in to my system unlike the other zinc formula's. I took one tablet and suck 'd on it and I could not taste any metal only a powder taste and he said that's how you know you are zinc deficient. after one week I have a happy and healthy tongue once again. he also said that sometimes your body may not absorb like it should so that's why he recomended chelated zinc because it's easy to dissolve and highly absorbable. please give this a try and maybe you can be free of this misery too.

I have had a geographical tongue all my life. I never new what it was until a recent trip to the dentist. I can remember going to a doctor when I was a child and him telling my mom for me to hold milk in my mouth and that would coat the tongue. Wrong. Nothing has never helped. It's so embarrassing. I brush and brush but that seems to irritate it even more. My mom has it and so does one of my cousins. So I have found that it is genetic. I think I may try Zinc after reading different things on the net. Good Luck

Well thanks everyone for helping me out ive been hurting for quite awhile about 2 months now. I've gone to things from doctors to dentists to see what it was. They said I had geographic tongue which I had no idea and never heard of it. I have a problem with that though because it becomes so painful I cant speak. Im not sure why it happens but ill try not to drink out of glass wear and hope it clears it up. It's very painful cause i get sores on the sides of my tongue with it. It keeps coming back though, does anyone know anything that may help clear it up and keep it away?

Because GT seems so little understood I thought I'd put forward a few thoughts of my own on the matter, to see if anything that I've experienced clicks with anyone else.
I first noticed I had geographic tongue whilst I was in hospital following a bad accident. I was kept in hospital due to an infection that I got in a wound. To treat the infection I was, over a period of 4 weeks, put on several strong courses of strong anti-biotics, admistered through IV. (I'm allergic to penicillin so I was given the alternative type of antibiotics) I have a feeling it may have been the anti-biotics that has triggered my own GT off. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I suppose it may have alternatively been the trauma of the accident that triggered it off too? (the doctor at the hospital gave me Nystatin thinking the GT was thrush.....that of course made no difference to my GT)
Whilst I'm here asking questions I thought I'd ask if anyone else has had GT with a combination of a stomach ulcer, as I've just been diagnosed as having a stomach ulcer too? Could it be that the thing that is at the root of my ulcer is also the root of my GT too. I know that ulcers are caused by the bacteria H-Pylori, could there also be a link there? Or perhaps that some of my bodies stomach acid is also attacking my tongue via reflux?
Ok all the best to all you GT sufferers. V

I too, have been suffering BMS since October 08 and I can remember exactly when it started. I had tonsilitis and the doc gave me penicillin. Sometimes, I think it has something to do with the back of my nose as I feel something is going on there. Sometimes I think it might be my stomach because if I don't eat a meal my tongue goes horendous and the burning is really bad. The odd time it goes away for maybe a couple of days, but then it is back again.

My doc says he thinks it is to do with an allegy, my nose being stuffed up and breathing through my mouth at night time. I was given a nasal spray and that did help a lot as I concentrated on breathing through my nose.

Then again, I wonder if it is bacterial due to the tonsilitis and I also noticed that when giving oral sex to my hubby it becomes even worse. Sorry for the too much information.

I just hope someone finds a cure, it is getting me down at the moment and the doc said to me, don't worry the first 7 years are the worst!

I've had GT/Gossitis/Burning Tongue for a little over 2 years now, for what it's worth it did start shortly after I was on a strong antibiotic for a deep cut on my leg. I have lesions that a come and go on the sides of my tongue however, my tongue is painful (like it's rubbing on my teeth) even if the lesions aren't present. In my case my tongue and mouth do not hurt while I'm eating. It does seem like my saliva lacks viscosity, but I don't think my mouth is dry.

I've seen all kinds of doctors locally and have tried many different prescriptions. A month or so ago I made a trip up to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where an Oral Pathologist proudly proclaimed that he knew what was wrong with me, he said proudly and I quote "I've seen this before, you have Geographic Tongue" - No kidding... He prescribed Lidex, a stronger topical steroid than what other doctors had prescribed. It did help a little bit but every time I used it I had bad abdominal cramping and I'm not crazy about taking a steroid in the first place, I was on it almost 2 weeks before I had couldn't take any more.

Things that I've tried that haven't helped:
> GERD medications (Zantac, Pepcid, Nexium)
> Kenlog in Orabase (topical steroid)
> Anthesol
> Acyclovir (tested negative for herpes, but tried just in case)
> Diflucan (anti-fungal pill)
> Zithromax (antibiotic I was on it for a sinus infection but actually made my tongue look worse and didn't help with the pain)
> Vitamin B supplements (pill & sublingual)
> Iron supplements (pill)
> L-Lysin
> Walnut Hull Tinacture
> Zinc (pill & sublingual, haven't tried chelated version)


Things that help me a little bit:
> Mycelex Lozenges (anti-fungal)
> Lidex (topical steroid)
> Mouth/tooth guard made by my dentist (clear like what’s used for tooth whitening)

Now for the good stuff, things that do help me a bunch!:
> Brushing my tongue with Arm & Hammer Peroxicare toothpaste (baking soda & peroxide)
> Liquid Grapefruit Seed Extract (it's an antimicrobial - mix 5-10 drops in 8oz of water and swish around mouth for a few minutes 3 times a day - this stuff rocks. I have before and after pictures of my tongue and they would make a great infomercial - my tongue looks great and the pain is significantly less.)

Note: I've been combining the toothpaste and GSE for the best results. I still have a slightly painful tongue, but it’s not all the time and most of the time barely noticeable. If a lesion starts, brushing it with the toothpaste when I first notice it usually stops it dead in its tracks.

God Bless... Brent

After reading through this thread I was wondering if anyone could tell me where you can buy peroxide tooth paste in the Uk? I was also going to buy a bottle of hydrogen peroxide but I've not been able to find any. I was told by someone that you can't buy it now because of anti terrorism laws (apparently H.P. can be used to make bombs). Is it then possible to buy a hydrogen peroxide mouth wash solution in the UK (I think I read somewhere that Aquafresh produce one)?
V

I have had this burning tongue now for awhile just thought it was from too much acid in my stomach probably is however the burning tongue has now progressed into burning mouth and throat. My pain in my throat is really tongue pain, it took me awhile to figure out that my throat isn't sore it is my tongue that is sore and burning. At night my tongue feels big and burns real bad. Doctors say nothing is wrong. I had a throat CT scan nothing, I went on fungal meds didn't help, my doctor put me on HRT, hormonal replacement as I am now post menopausal. I am so sad, it is so painful
I will do anything so I think I am going to ask my doc to raise my estrogen level up. Whats is odd is that is wasn't as bad when I went up to Michigan last week, some of the symptoms seemed to dissipate. Maybe the person that wrote about the cleaning solution's from bars and restaurants has a point, the chemicals in the sanitation capsules can't be real good for you.