Since December or January I have had an extremely dry mouth, which is really uncomfortable and also led me to have salivary gland infections twice, for which I had to take broad spectrum antibiotics .
Max Fax and ENT doctors have both drawn a blank. It’s not Sjögren’s.
I am coming to think it’s being caused by another part of my body - ENT and Max Fax both say my salivary glands are working, they are just doing so much less well.
Is extreme dry mouth something that other people who are hypothyroid (and not Sjögren’s) have?
What helps you?
I have tried oral thrush medication - also not helped.
I had a glass of wine last night - I have been avoiding alcohol of late - and my mouth was even more dry last night. I couldn’t sleep from 2-4 am, because I was so thirsty no matter how much I drank. Today I also have an extremely itchy back - both sides of spine, below ribs and itchy and dry backs of my calves. That sounds to me like kidney / liver but my recent blood tests have seemed OK.
I can feel a block in my neck when I swallow and so I wonder if this dry mouth is a Hashi’s symptom / related and if so how I can see it off?
Have had two neck ultrasounds since Jan - both normal.
Thanks any and everyone.
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I have feeling you & I have discussed my similar experience before but in case we haven't .....
I too have had a dry mouth since starting to medicate thyroid hormone replacement in 2011. I had in the past some extremely low/under range adrenal hormones and presumed it was related to that, and would improve as other health conditions improved, only it hasn't.
Similar to you I have been through the Max Fax (salivary glands scans, etc) and don't have Sjogrens, but I haven't had infections and think that's because I drink gallons of water (I have been told to reduce water consumption by my GP), and I can drink alcohol just fine 🤣.
Atm I am using Georganics Mouthwash Tablets (they have lovely flavours), a Waterpik Flosser which I love (one upstairs, another down stairs), and ELMA Sugar Free Mastic Chewing Gum.
Thank you so much. I think we have discussed - it rings a bell - but as I was on the track to Sjögren’s testing, my hole-y brain managed to forget all about it. I will look for your mouth wash. Thanks again.
Has your GP provided anything for your dry mouth? I have just looked at my past patient record to see prescriptions relating to my mouth issues. I have tried Bioxtra mouth rinse,
Benzydamine mouthwash, Salivix pastilles, SST saliva stimulating tablets, various mouth gels. Unfortunately I have never found any of it useful but it might help you.
Hi Georgor. Are you on levo? When first diagnosed last year I had been hugely hypothyroid and had very severe symptoms including dry mouth. I kept cleaning my teeth to try and refresh it. I also had very dry flaky skin mostly on my torso, my back and lower stomach. It was so bad my top would be covered in it inside when I took it off and the flaky skin was on the waistband of my clothes. Awful. They weren't my only symptoms but Covid and lockdown messed up getting a diagnosis. I'm just wondering if you are properly medicated? After starting levo my skin improved after a while but the mouth effects have taken a bit longer and are still troublesome. I also had difficulty swallowing and swollen tongue etc. They are all symptoms of hypothyroid, but can of course be due to other things as well.
I had no idea these could be part of hypo. My original hypo symptoms did include dry skin and itch, but the new itch I have is off the scale! Yet it could still be Hashi’s, the hundred-headed Hydra that it is.
Am only moderately well medicated. My TSH remains just above the ideal ranch.
My skin has been dry since the day I was born, my mum was told to bath me in olive oil. What ever I use my skin is dry, I do not wear make up very often, I use cream every day. I have an under active thyroid but I don't think the tablets make any difference to my skin. I am over 70 now still trying to keep my skin soft.
My friend was diagnosed with plummer-vision syndrome years ago. She had awful problems with dry mouth and a Web like thing in her throat. I haven't read the link but I think there is a link to long term anaemia.
She used the pastille things to produce saliva. She also has a spray which was a fake saliva thing. You have to be mindful of your teeth. Your dentist might know of something? It must be awful. My friend is OK now. At least she doesn't seem as symptomatic now. And she can drink! 😃
Plummer vision syndrome. Just the name makes it sound like a very aspirational condition. I have had anaemia for a long time - tick. Agree re: teeth. It’s been terrible for my gums in a very short space of time.
Do you know how your friend recovered from it? Thank you.
HiI honestly am not sure! She had a number of other things going on. It was a long time ago. I do remember she had to take iron supplements for a while. She has also had her gullet stretched a few times. I think that helped with the throat thing. She always felt like something was stuck. She just recently said she felt her throat again just last week which was why it was fresh in my mind. It was gastroenterology she was seen by.
It's rare I think but definitely not impossible. Particularly if you have long term anaemia. Worth investigating?
Are you still on omeprazole (or similar)? I found it gave me an awfully dry mouth for the short period of time my GP insisted I take it (because I was on Naproxen).
I drink water with a tiny pinch of pink Himalayan salt and I slice of lemon - sip during the day when thirsty. But I try not to drink gallons- I read somewhere that drinking too much can upset your electrolytes.
Hashimoto’s AND Ihave to be careful with toothpaste 😱 Oral-B gum and enamel repair was stripping the mucus membrane in my mouth but 3D whitening is fine 🤔 it is weird!
My mouth knowledge is as basic as my knowledge of running a B&B. What is 3D whitening? Since first having dry mouth, my teeth have become as yellow as a buttercup.
This is the one I’m using now - see picture 😊👍 my teeth have never been pearly white, but I actually fancy they do look a bit better - to my absolute amazement.
However, the ‘Oral-B gentle(?! Yea right🙄) gum and enamel repair’ was awful - stripped the lining of my mouth.
Yes I read a little added salt helps with hydration.
I have never read the actual science though because all research seems to be directed to elevated sodium levels that encourage high BP. I was told by my GP if I drank too much water my ADH would drop (antidiuretic hormone) but it never has although I did have low sodium levels once years ago (hyponatremia).
Both sodium and chloride are electrolytes and its the water/electrolyte consumption V the water/electrolyte excretion that counts. Ironically the more water we drink the more our sodium chloride needs go up and we need sodium to balance potassium if we are to prevent elevated potassium and its unwanted effects (such as high BP!).
It's a balance which used to be easily but with todays diets such as keto which is naturally low in sodium I think it's important to add a little good quality salt, and added to our water is the best way of achieving hydration.
Hi , I have had a lot of voice problems since starting Levo and have found my mouth to be on the dry side although not as dry as your description. I found chewing gum very useful for helping with saliva flow. I also second the himalayan salt in water or added to your drink. I even add it to coffee! 🙂
What is the virtue of Himalayan salt? I don’t have such high quality salt - can I sub any old rock salt?
In the Himalayas Tibetan people drink their tea with (salty) rancid yak butter in it. I’ve had that a few times but never salt in my coffee, which I will try!
Yea we had some Kazakhstanis through a few years ago and they couldn’t get over us lot drinking milk fresh 😂
It’s wonderful running a B&B you meet the world!
I bought a bag of Himalayan salt from Sainsburys . The rate I’m getting through it, looks like it is going to be a once in a lifetime purchase, either that or the second bag will be passed on in my will! 🤣
LOL! Yes blooming hard work- 5 floors including our accommodation and my knees are sooo noisy now! I call myself the creaking ninja 🥷 I couldn’t creep up on anyone now! 🤣
But yes very rewarding and eye opening. You get to host lots of lovely people and learn a bit about their culture.
Hi, I also suffer with an extremely dry mouth and have done for years. I am hashi. Doc keeps testing me for diabetes 🙄, which I know I dont have. I keep a drink by my bed as cannot go through the night without having numerous drinks. Alcohol doesn't help me either. 😩
Hi Geogeor,I too suffer from a very dry mouth which always seems worse during the Winter months. I have Oral Lichen Planus as well as problems with my salivary glands. I was recently doing some research and found this paper on tongue rotations to help stimulate saliva production and I have found it does seem to have an effect. Hope this helps you too.
OLP is considered an auto immune disease that affects mucous membranes of the mouth, it looks like white lacy lines inside the cheeks in its mild form, it can during a flare cause a mix of red and white patches that may also ulcerate and it can also appear on the gums and tongue. It can be very sore at times. I had the skin version first on my wrists which eventually cleared but then it appeared in my mouth. It causes the lining to feel rough and dry. I had biopsies taken to confirm it was OLP and also tested for Sjögrens but that was negative.
I feel for you, because I had it and sometimes still have it.Dry mouth could be with being hypo or being overdosed or being diabetic or having electrolyte issues.
Also, worth checking other hormones.
I used a mouth spray from a pharmacy for halitosis, some sweets I ordered from iherb for dry mouth and then just regular sweet to stimulate salivary glands.
[EDIT: the NHS misdiagnosed my issue because I had extreme constipation / gastroparesis and not a kidney infection. Only 2 courses of antibiotics later - prescribed by NHS GPs, who told me to ignore my pharmacist’s advice, when she told me that if the first antibiotic wasn’t working after a few days I should do a cultured urine test - did I realise this.]
I was told I have a kidney infection, 2 days ago . I am guessing this is why I was EVEN more thirsty and dry of mouth and itchy this week.
I was diagnosed as having it by dipstick test alone and was then prescribed nitrofurantoin, an antibiotic that all the medical websites say doctors shouldn’t prescribe for kidney infections, only for lower UTIs. They also all say cultured urine samples should be done.
I need to chew gum quite a lot and I drink a lot during the day (tea mainly) because I get a dry mouth. I also occasionally have a vagal nerve response when I, er, go to the loo. I can be sick then. Only happens sometimes.
Have you been given any good medical advice to help you?
And do you think that vagal response is caused by another vagal consequence happening, such as gastroparesis (bowel movement slowed too far)? And if so, have doctors tried to help you with it?
Hi, no! Doctor just shrugged and muttered something about it and said one of those things, and not to worry! I have to take stuff for constipation quite frequently. I got very unwell with severe constipation a few years ago, well before I was diagnosed with Hashis. So now I’m just watchful because that was nasty!
“Not to worry”?! Insensitive doctor, if you ask me.
And do you get any other of the autonomic system complaints? Heart flutters, eg.? Other things … skin changes? lymph nodes up in neck? Difficulty swallowing?
And did the doctor tell you about gastroparesis being connected to the vagal nerves not working, too?
I think sometimes, with really bad gastroparesis, they have to put something inside people, to try to get the bowel to move… the people they don’t say “don’t worry” to, but help!
No, I think it’s because it’s an infrequent thing, the being sick. I don’t have a lot of the symptoms of gastroperosis (phew) except constipation and sometimes sick. To be honest I’m really happier to stay away from the GP whenever possible! I hope you feel better soon!!
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Long list of strange eye issues...thyroid connection? 
Dehydration Issue?
Carbimazole causing very short period cycles (+ rapid drop in t4 on low dose)
Dehydration and electrolytes
