Oral Lesions for 6 months Straight with No Answers

In February 2016 I developed about 4-5 canker sores on my soft palate. They were very painful and I couldn’t eat. I also developed swollen glands in my armpits B/L that were about the size of marbles. No fevers N/V or other GI symptoms. My dentist diagnosed me with aphthous stomatitis and gave me a steroid paste to put on them. The paste did help heal them. Two weeks later I developed Shingles on my chest and back (small patches and no pain). My PCP put me on Valtrex and everything healed within a months time. The mouth sores completely went away and I thought everything was just part of the shingles virus becoming active.

At the beginning of June of 2018 I developed the mouth sores again but they were not canker like in appearance. They only looked like large red spots and burned. The physician at the Urgent Care center swabbed for strep and thrush and both came back negative. My PCP diagnosed it as herpes and put me on a 10 day cycle of Valtrex. The sores did go away while taking the prescription and stayed away for about another week and then they came back. I was then placed on another round of Valtrex for 10 days only to have to sores follow the same course of action. My ENT stated that this was ‘out of his territory’ and referred me to ID. Another dentist stated that it looked like herpangina but has never seen sores come and go so rapidly or last months at a time. He also agreed that a visit to ID would be warranted. The ID doctor had the sore swabbed to test for HSV and it came back negative. I was also tested for:

Lupus

Rheumatoid arthritis,

TSH 3rd generation with T4 reflex

Ova and parasites

Enteric bacteria fecal panel

Giardia fecal sample

Pancreatic elastase fecal panel

All were negative and WBC /diff were in normal ranges along with the Comprehensive Metabolic Panel. Low vitamin D but taking prescription for it. i have a colonoscopy on the 21st but even GI is stumped.!

I’ll feel a burning sensation before they actually appear. They only stay on my soft palate and uvula and never move to other areas of my mouth (I have never had a cold sore on my lips or genitals). They disappear and reappear in random patterns on my soft palate. One sore will appear for a day or even a few hours and then disappear and another will form somewhere else. Sloughing is also present on my uvula and over some sores. When pressed with a Q-tip there is no blanching. I have pictures showing the randomness and time span of the sores. General feeling of malaise, loss of appetite and mild joint pain present. Neck, armpits and groin feel sore but no lymph nodes are palpable. Will feel feverish but no fever is present. No pus or foul taste present

Here are pictures taken over the last few days to show how quickly things change.

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