Hi @Kerri - I also really appreciate your update. @Jules has mentioned in the past that rinsing one’s mouth w/ baking soda dissolved in warm water can help calm the burning tongue/mouth sensation. That might be worth a try for your son. I’m sorry I don’t know the concentration of baking soda to water.
I just Googled burning mouth/tongue syndrome & this is one of the articles that came up. It recommends Low Dose Naltrexone or LDN as being helpful in relieving the symptoms. LDN has come up on our forum before as we have a few members who found it helped reduce their ES symptoms to some extent as they awaited surgery. It might be worth looking into to help your son be more comfortable as he heals & as these symptoms hopefully go away. There are other articles & suggestions which would also be worth reading. Obviously, starting a medication such as LDN would be under the auspices of your son’s doctor.
By Sarah Adams
Health Blogger at BuyLDN.com
(Yes she has a vested interest in promoting LDN but I posted this information because of previous LDN discussions on our forum)
Dr. Arpita Goswami Banerjee from University of Pennsylvania gave a case presentation on the use of Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) in treating BMS for the American Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine annual conference in 2017.
As she describes in her case report:
“Burning mouth syndrome, which is a type of chronic pain syndrome, is caused by damage to the sensory pathways of the central nervous system…LDN exhibits paradoxical properties, including analgesia and anti-inflammatory actions. It promotes enhancement of endogenous opioid production and exerts a novel anti-inflammatory action by glial cell attenuation, decreasing production of proinflammatory cytokines and neurotoxic superoxides… LDN can be utilized in these patients to treat their recalcitrant pain…”
In a recent interview Cindy Camp Koshak describes her experience with BMS:
” I had skin hanging from the roof of my mouth, a very swollen tongue, dry mouth, and trouble swallowing. My mouth became severely dry and my tongue felt like it had been scalded with boiling water. The pain was unrelenting and I could find no relief.”
“I used to be consumed with mouth pain all day long prior to LDN, but I have days now that I don’t even remember I have BMS. I would say that my BMS is 60% better after starting LDN. My doctor and I are convinced that continued use of LDN will eventually eradicate the BMS…You have absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain… LDN has taken me from a life of despair to feeling like I’m top of the world. Never in a million years would I have believed that I could feel normal again. I have been very fortunate to help others start their journey with LDN. I have seen them experience the same wonderful results as I have. We are so grateful for the positive changes LDN has made in our, and others’, lives.”
I would also check out the BMS facebook group, a lot of people there have discussed using LDN.