Another Med Bites the Dust – Burning Mouth Disorder

In recent posts, I have shared with you that Effexor XR has been helping my burning become tingling most of the time. Unfortunately, the dose that was most effective had too many side effects including a very noticeable muscular tic that made it look like I was shaking my head “No.” I had no idea I was even doing that until my husband showed me a video. So weird!

My Neurologist was on top of it, reduced my dosage by half and most of that went away. But not all of it.

Over time, I realized I was having excessive sweating after taking my dose each day, the muscular tic was still there, but with less movement and it became intermittent. I was also starting to develop muscular spasms in my feet, ankles, and quads. Some were quite uncomfortable and there didn’t seem to be any action on my part that brought them on.

At first, I thought it was a shoe issue. Inserts, new shoes, and a couple of different styles of shoes made no difference, and I had to look elsewhere. Effexor XR seemed to be a likely suspect, and I discussed it with my Neurologist. I told him the side effects were outweighing the partial relief I was getting and that I thought it was time to discontinue.

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Could Your Blood Pressure Med Affect Your Burning Mouth Pain?

As you may know from reading some of my previous posts, I have been contributing to and following the Burning Mouth Support website for years.

I have learned much from it, and have helped to make it a resource for anyone suffering or caring for a sufferer of this disorder. There isn’t a lot of research out there, but what there is will show up on the Research & Studies page of the site for your use and to help you to educate your caregivers and medical professionals.

One of the latest things we found was a Clinical Case Report (Only 1 person!) on Burning Mouth pain as a side effect of a blood pressure drug called Lisinopril. Many people are on blood pressure medicines and it may be worth asking this question of your doctors.

“Are there any of my medicines that may affect my burning mouth pain?”

Even if it is an additive side effect (i.e. just makes your burning worse but didn’t cause it) you may find some relief by changing to another similar medicine. Some medicines can have dry mouth as a side effect and that if just adding kindling to the fire for those of us with Burning Mouth.

It is worth asking about, and the Burning Mouth Support website is worth checking into. You will find links to Support Groups on Facebook from around the world, Coping Strategies worth trying, and even a guide to the kinds of Specialists that can be helpful to you if you are searching for a diagnosis or help.

It’s a free resource thanks to Dennis Sharpe, and if you get a moment, thank him for his generosity!

Wishing you the best.