Tag Archives: BMS

Pain Puzzles – How Long to Solve Them?

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Anniversary CakeAs many of you know, I am very close to the 8th anniversary of my second bout with Burning Mouth Syndrome.

A friend I made on the Burning Mouth Syndrome (BMS) Facebook group page named Dennis and I have stayed in contact even after I left the group.

(Trolling is bad, boys and girls; don’t do it because people like me will not hang around for it!)

He became interested in the syndrome after his lovely wife was afflicted, and has been keeping up on research, traveling to multiple specialists, and keeping others informed about any progress toward finding a cause or a cure, no matter how tangential it might be. Continue reading →

Burning Mouth…Impossible Choices

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May 2016 will officially be 8 years of burning. – No celebrations are planned.

If you have checkCedar Pollinatinged into this blog from time to time, you have seen me try all of the medicines and supplements and coping techniques that have come my way or been recommended by any of my Neurologists (three, so far).

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Mother’s Day with Burning Mouth Syndrome

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Kali & GirlsToday is Mother’s Day. 

I have received cards and flowers and even a surprise Starbucks coffee from our daughter who lives near us. It is a good day, filled with memories of the two beautiful, bright babies who grew into incredibly cute and inquisitive toddlers, went through their individual awkward teen years and came out the other side as stunning and brilliant young women. Continue reading →

The Pity Party-Burning Mouth Syndrome

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holohololand
Image courtesy of holohololand/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have been suffering from Burning Mouth Syndrome for nearly six and a half years now.

Every once in a while, what my Neurologist euphemistically refers to as “the persistence of it” overwhelms me and I have a brief, but intense pity party.

Instead of focusing on the optimistic side of the coin:

  • It isn’t fatal
  • At least it isn’t cancer
  • My family is supportive
  • Some drugs help
  • I have developed decent coping strategies

I occasionally dip into the pessimistic side:

  • It hurts nearly every day
  • The drug helps but can me drowsy and aimless
  • There is no rhyme or reason to the good days or the bad days
  • Even on good days, my tongue tingles all of the time
  • I think, deep down, I am angry
  • I fear – It. Will. Never. End.
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Internet Interventions-Burning Mouth Syndrome

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_DSC6302I have been active on a Facebook Closed Support Group page for Burning Mouth Syndrome sufferers. It is a positive experience most of the time, but occasionally things take a turn for the worse, and I see people posting suicidal thoughts and deep despair. Continue reading →

The Patient Maze-BMS

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cooldesign

Image courtesy of cooldesign/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have been reading about the Affordable Care Act snafus and victories with great interest. Here is a site that has very good coverage: Summary of the Affordable Care Act. I don’t begin to guess how this will all shake out, but from personal experience as a sufferer of Burning Mouth Syndrome, I can tell you that healthcare was a maze, to begin with; and an expensive maze at that! Continue reading →

Defeating the Dragon-Burning Mouth

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depressiondragon

Image Courtesy of eyehook.com

I have been battling a dragon.

It breathed its fiery breath on me in 2006 for four months, disappeared as mysteriously as it came and then re-appeared in May of 2008 and has been my constant companion ever since. It is diffuse burning neuralgia that we finally are calling Burning Mouth Syndrome for lack of any closer diagnosis, since it began in the very back of my throat and palate (unusual for BMS) but has now spread to my tongue (typical in BMS). It may have been caused by dental procedures or a variety of things. We may never know.

There is no official cause and there is no cure, only management of the symptoms.

Through a plethora of specialists, medical tests (I won’t go into detail here because they were just too icky in many cases), vocal therapy, gastroenterology procedures, diagnostic nerve blocks, acupuncture, etc., I kept slogging along, hoping for a cure just around the next corner to no avail. Finally, after a year and a half of constant pain that was only relieved by sleeping or drugs that made me very sleepy, I hit a wall and got very depressed and laid down my sword.
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