Mouth ulcers

[Popel]

Hello good people of BLT.wondering has anybody had any issues with mouth ulcers post transplant as im thinking I’m getting them because of my immunosuppressant medication but could be wrong .paul

[alfredthegreat]

Hi Popel. There is no known one cause for mouth ulcers. It's thought that stress can be a culprit (and a transplant and recovery is a huge stress on the body) it's also thought it could be lack of vitamin E or B12. Also acidic fruits can make a situation worse by aggravating them when you already have them. It's also believed that they can be hereditary. There are also many other beliefs. The good thing is that they usually heal up after causing people a nuisance for a week or two. If you keep getting them then I would mention it to your GP. Hope you are free of the pesky things soon. All the best. Alf

[alfredthegreat in reply to alfredthegreat]

Aspirin is thought to be a culprit too amongst many other meds, also many foods and beverages.

[Smyally]

Hi Popel. A few years ago due to issues I was having with tacrolimus I was changed and put on sirilimus anti rejection tablets. Within a few days I had developed 10 mouth ulcers and I could hardly eat eat anything. If you have had a recent change of medication or a new one added it’s worth reading the leaflet to see if they are listed as a side effect. Hopefully not and hopefully for you they will heal up soon. Xx

[Poobear69]

This may be of interest to you Paul

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/1...

I suffered mouth ulcers pre and post transplant. Whilst in hospital recovering from my transplant I was prescribed Nystatin (brand name in Nystan) this relieved and cleared the mouth ulcers very quickly. I'm still prescribed this medication and use it when I feel that I'm beggining to have a flare up of mouth ulcers. Perhaps you should speak to your liver team or even your GP and ask if it's worth prescribing for you.

[AndyEssex in reply to Poobear69]

Am I correct in saying that Nytstatin is an anti fungal medication that is used to treat thrush which can often occur in the throat and become extremely sore?

[alfredthegreat in reply to AndyEssex]

Yes, that's right Andy. I had repeated bouts of oral thrush while on chemo and I took Nystatin each time. Then after transplant I was prescribed it straight away for a period of 3 months.

[AndyEssex in reply to alfredthegreat]

My father had it a couple of months ago. He's 82 and recovering from a heart valve replacement. He couldn't eat for at least 8 days and struggled to keep any liquids down. He looked dreadful and very drained. We were a little skeptical when the GP diagnosed it as thrush. He prescribed 14 days of anti fungal medication and a topical liquid with a throat dropper. It probably took 5 weeks for every symptom to completely disappear.

[alfredthegreat in reply to AndyEssex]

Yes it can get quite serious. If oral thrush goes untreated it can invade the gut and for those on immunosuppressants it can invade other organs. It also is very unpleasant trying to eat and drink while suffering from it

[AndyEssex]

Hi Popel,

Sometimes mouth ulcers can be a sign of being a little run down. Luckily I don't seem to suffer with them myself but my thinking is that immune suppressants make you feel pretty run down anyway by nature and therefore mouth ulcers might be an issue. People often say that cold sores derive from being run down too.

[Bootandall]

Hiya Paul, I am frankly surprised that no one has mentioned a common home remedy, baking soda lol. As usual, it is a good idea to check with your doctor to make sure that is okay for you. Take care. X

[Popel in reply to Bootandall]

Thanks I’ll give it a go.paul