I am finding that my tongue is extremely dry especially when I wake up in the morning. My tongue is like a piece of cardboard. Does anyone else have this? Any suggestions of how to get rid of this? Thanks!

how much water do you drink daily?

zen...I was going to say the same thing!! Water water water. A dry tongue is generally a symptom of dehydration! Drink water water water!!

In the hospital at the ER, when they say stick your tongue out, they are looking for signs of dehydration!!

Zen,

I've had that a couple times just recently...I'm sure I don't drink enough water, and the weather here has been so cold and dry, which doesn't help. Increase your water intake and you'll be fine!

Have a great day, and GOD BLESS!

Deb

Oops, sorry depot, I posted to Zen when I should have posted to you....it's VERY early, that's my excuse!!

I drink a ton of water everyday (especially since I gave up soda 2 months ago). Thats why I don't get why my tongue is so dry.

Hi and welcome to PS!

Are you on any medications? Dry mouth can be the side effect of many medicines, both prescription and OTC. I was on a med once that made my mouth so dry that I produced virtually no saliva. My dentist gave me a fluoride paste to use because my dry mouth was negatively affecting my teeth.

I also believe that dry mouth is one of the signs of peri/meno.

Is there anything that hormones don't affect?

S glad you are part of the PS community. Let us know how you are.

Smiles,
Marcy

Last week I had an IV drip for 5 days of gammagobulin (spelling?). I have IPT and my platelets are low. I doubt this caused any dryness because it is alot of fluid. I am now taking natural herbs to help keep my platelets up. I go to acupuncture for the menopause and the platelets and the acupuncturist says that dryness is definitely a sign of menopause. Having a dry tongue is annoying but isn't as bad as the anxiety that I have from menopause (which has gotten soo much better with my acupuncture treatment)

[quote name='depotlady64' date='Jan 23 2008, 05:52 AM' post='206068'
Depotlady,
I too have this dry tongue thing upon waking. Even when no medication of any kind has been taken, and I have had lots of water to drink. I think it has something to do with adrenaline, maybe too much of it circulating during the night, due to menopausal imbalance. I am wondering about what tests one could do for this? I do know adrenaline causes dry mouth. I mentioned it to my doctor and she said it was normal, due to mouth breathing when sleeping, but honestly I am familiar with that on occasion, and this is different, and much more marked.
Alfreda

I am so glad this topic was started. I have had a dry mouth/tongue. Been to the Primary care physician, orthopedist, ER, and countless other doctors. No one can tell me what is wrong. I am sorry to be so graphic but my tongue is mucousy and that makes it feel dry. My rheumatologist thinks I have sjogren's dispite the negative ANA test and SSA and SSB. If I do have SJogren's she (Rheumy) says it is very mild. I was given some Salagen to counteract the dryness. Hasn't done much for the mucousy sensation though.

Still nothing has changed since last April. My mouth is still dry and i hate the post nasal drip sensation in the back of my throat. And despite the negative testing for Sjogren's, I believe I have it.

I've had a dry tongue, and my eyes are drier now, too. Some of it is due to just getting older, perhaps. I wake up in the morning and my tongue is also like cardboard sometimes. I keep a water bottle handy and try taking a little sip of water during the night if I wake up. I've found some ways to alleviate some of the discomfort during the day. You may not like these suggestions, but they do help the dry mouth. I brush my tongue twice daily, when I brush my teeth, and rinse thoroughly with a full glass of warm water. I use toothpaste and a medium toothbrush and scrub the inside of my mouth, inside cheeks, hard palate (top of your mouth), top of your tongue, and under it. This creates a fresh taste that will last all day. You can also try chewing gum to stimulate salivary glands. I don't care for chewing gum because it seems to leave a funny taste. My dentist told me once (and it's true) that chewing unflavored wax will really get saliva glands going. This may sound gross, but it really works and there is no funny taste. He told me this when I was going to fly and needed to swallow when we ascended or descended and your ears pop. So I chewed some wax and it works better than chewing gum. I cut up fresh veggies like celery and sugar snap peas, and munch on those during the day, as well as eating fresh fruit. An apple or an orange will really help with the dry tongue. I don't care for drinking a lot of water so I eat veggies and fruit instead. At first you may not like veggies, but now I've developed a craving for them since other snacks only make the dry mouth worse, like salty or sweet foods. The salt is just drying and the sugar will coat your tongue and cause bacteria to multiply, resulting in bad breath later on. Veggies and fruit don't seem to have this effect, at least for me. A lot of people have bad breath and all they need to do is brush their tongue. Sometimes having bad breath and a dry mouth are related.

mouth breathing can do that, especially if you have sinus issues. I try to use the Breathe Right strips when i can afford to get them and it seems to help my dry mouth/tongue. I also run a small table humidifier at night during winter when the air in the house is so dry and it seems to help a bit. But I am certain this is peri/meno related, as I've never had this problem before.

Dry mouth, nose, and eyes were among my first perimeno symptoms, 12 years ago now. I'm still dealing with it now in menopause. I had a salivary gland biopsy for Sjogren's and a workup by a rheumatologist, which turned up nothing. What I do now: brush my teeth A LOT, because dry mouth tends to make the teeth decay near the gum line; use eye drops regularly; and use a neti pot for nasal douching most days. It is a terrible nuisance and I wish I knew why I dried out so badly. Had a ton of stress in perimeno, which I'm sure didn't help. If anyone comes up with any other ideas or info on this, I'd love to hear them!
Best of luck to all,
Didi