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What Causes Metallic Taste In The Mouth And Tingling Sensation In The Tongue?
Hi, I ve been having weird symptoms for the past 6 months and none of the doctors I ve seen have been able to fix the issues. I m not sure if they are related or separate problems, but I was perfectly healthy before this, no issues whatsoever. I m 43, female. Here is a brief summary: February 25-27: Metalic taste in mouth, red spot on tongue. Feb 28-Mar 7: Weird tingly feeling in tongue and back of throat, tongue seems furry or coated, left arm tingly, pressure behind ears, dizzy. Pressure in head behind ears. Mar 8: White film on inside of cheeks and lips that wiped away easily; still have weird feeling in outh and dizziness. Went to Doc. He had no idea. March 15-24: Symptoms seemed to get a bit better while on Vacation March 27: Home. Woke up with white film in mouth again. Came off easily. Throat feels like there s something on it also. March 28: Doc visit; No idea again; gave me Zpack antibiotic to treat it in case it was infection. April 2: Still have issue, went back to doc; white stuff on cheeks, tongue still feels thick and coated and tingly. Did see a white bump in back of throat that doesn t hurt. Was given Nystatin mouthwash in case it s thrust. Nystatin didn t help at all. April 11: Still having same issue with tongue and throat, pressure in head. Very dry mouth, very tired. April 12: Feel awful, doc visit again. She thought I had a blocked salivary gland, go see ENT. I did that, they saw nothing unusual and said there was no problem! April 28: Still have mouth issue. UTI symptoms (urgency and frequency), and they did a urine test and found blood, low ph and leukocytes (trace) so gave me antibiotics (Amoxicillin, since I react badly to some others - ended up reacting to Amox also but took all but last dose). Culture ended up showing no growth of bacteria though! May 6: STill feeling UTI bladder irritation like symptoms, urine clear. NOW, to summarize, the feeling of irritation and having to pee when I don t has not gone away - it gets better and worse but never disappears. I went to OBGYN and culture showed more bacteria than usual (called it Bacterial Vaginosis) and put me through 3 rounds of antibiotic creams, which seemed to help a bit but the bacteria keeps coming back. Two rounds of Clindamycin cream caused dizziness both times, and last time it lasted over 2 weeks. I m still dealing with tongue/mouth issue, and what feels like bladder irritation on and off, and loss of apptetite. Went to ER a few days ago. No help. I m at the end of my rope... can you help me in any way???
Wed, 31 Jul 2019
Hi,
There are 2 nerves that are responsible for sensation to the tongue: (1) the front of the tongue- the lingual nerve (2) the back part of the tongue - the glossopharyngeal nerve
Abnormal sensations of the tongue can occur as a result of a variety of conditions that could affect these nerves such as (1) infection- any infection within the mouth can cause inflammation and affect nerve function (2) vitamin deficiency particularly vitamin b12 and folate (3) compression of any or both of these nerves by a mass (4) exposure to toxins (5) dental procedures or any type of trauma (6) allergic reaction with swelling (7) stroke (8) liver and kidney disease can sometimes cause abnormal sensations as well (9) neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (10) idiopathic- this means that the cause is not known
In some persons the abnormal sensations are temporary. If the abnormal sensations continue or worsen then you want to consider visiting your doctor for an assessment. This would include a physical examination which would give an indication of the likely nerve involved. In addition, blood tests to check vitamin levels and to rule out infection, liver or kidney disease may be suggested.
The treatment would depend somewhat on the cause found but there are some typical medications that are used to reduce abnormal sensations such as amitriptyline, tegretol, lyrica, gabapentin and the SSRI family of medications. These medications are anti-seizure medications and antidepressants mainly but in addition to those uses, there are also used for persons with nerve-related pain who do not have either depression or seizures.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein, General Surgeon
There are 2 nerves that are responsible for sensation to the tongue: (1) the front of the tongue- the lingual nerve (2) the back part of the tongue - the glossopharyngeal nerve
Abnormal sensations of the tongue can occur as a result of a variety of conditions that could affect these nerves such as (1) infection- any infection within the mouth can cause inflammation and affect nerve function (2) vitamin deficiency particularly vitamin b12 and folate (3) compression of any or both of these nerves by a mass (4) exposure to toxins (5) dental procedures or any type of trauma (6) allergic reaction with swelling (7) stroke (8) liver and kidney disease can sometimes cause abnormal sensations as well (9) neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis (10) idiopathic- this means that the cause is not known
In some persons the abnormal sensations are temporary. If the abnormal sensations continue or worsen then you want to consider visiting your doctor for an assessment. This would include a physical examination which would give an indication of the likely nerve involved. In addition, blood tests to check vitamin levels and to rule out infection, liver or kidney disease may be suggested.
The treatment would depend somewhat on the cause found but there are some typical medications that are used to reduce abnormal sensations such as amitriptyline, tegretol, lyrica, gabapentin and the SSRI family of medications. These medications are anti-seizure medications and antidepressants mainly but in addition to those uses, there are also used for persons with nerve-related pain who do not have either depression or seizures.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein, General Surgeon
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