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Ulcerative Colitis and Mouth Symtoms

Posted , 4 users are following.

cjb106
cjb106

I have mild to moderate left-side UC diagnosed last October. Symptoms abated after steroid and mezalaline treatment but I’m now in a flare after taking antibotics for another condition.

I saw my UC doctor and he increased my mezalazine dosage to be reviewed in two months time to see how things are and whether I need steroids again.

I have developed a thick yellow white coating on my tongue. GP’s initial reaction was that it was thrush resulting from the antibiotics, prescribed an antifungal in the form of a mouth wash (Nystatin) and took swabs for analysis. I have tested negative for thrush so no surprise that he Nystatin hasn’t made any difference.

So I still have the tongue coating, my tongue and lips are burning and I have a nasty, bitter taste in my mouth. On top of this, I have now started to notice red spots like small blisters at the back of my tongue.

I can’t get a GP appt til next week. I’ve just spoken to someone on the helpline at Crohns and Colitis UK and they tell me 1 in 25 people with UC have oral symptons involving mouth sores but no mention of this thick coating, burning or bitter taste.  My UC doctor’s secretary is away so I am unable to speak to him or get an appointment to see him.

Does anyone else have oral symptoms with their UC? Do the symptoms sound similar to mine and and how are they treated? Thanks.

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • janet02921
    janet02921 cjb106

    Posted

    Hello cjb

    I too have left sided colitis and have also suffered from mouth problems.  At the moment my tongue is coated yellow  and thrush comes up from the inbalance in the gut.  I am treating my with  a gel, mouthwash and rinsing out with slightly salted water.  I always find my dentist of more use with mouth problems than my GP so it might be worth seeing if you can get a appointment with your dentist first.  Hope this helps.  Steroids can present the body with many problems and won't be out of the body for a year.  

    • cjb106
      cjb106 janet02921

      Posted

      Thank you, Jane. I was tapered off steriods by last Christmas, felt exhausted for weeks afterwards which I attributed to adrenal function needing to get back to normal. However, six month on, I have not managed to get back to the good energy levels I had before I developed UC. I really struggle with tiredness.  Maybe it is the longer term effects of the steriods or just another UC complication of UC.

      I have been trying some natural remedies for getting rid of these mouth symptoms. Regularly rinsing mouth with various things: a tea tree solution, natural yoghurt, coconut oil, salt walter. I try to keep whatever the substance is in my mouth, slooshing it around for ten minutes before spitting out but nothing seems to be working.

      Are you in the UK? Is the gel Daktarin (miconazole)? I was offered it over the counter but declined as the coating is far back on my tongue and couldn’t see how I could get the stuff back there as I have a very easily triggered gag reflex - makes scrapping the stuff off my tongue difficult.

      I’ve switched to a different toothpaste hoping that that might help - to Optima AloeDent Sensitive from Holland & Barrett but only in the last week so remains to be seen if it has any effect. I don’t usually bother with a mouthwash but did find some LIsterine in the cabinet which I tried last night. It burned quite a bit where my tongue feels very sore so think I need to find something milder. Which brand of mouthwash do you use? I need to go to the phramacy to check out some brands.

      I’m aware that to rid the body of yeast you need to starve it of sugar and other substances. I’ve been reading up on Candida and websites suggest cutting out dairy and grains as well as sugar so I’ve been doing that too.

      This has developed since last visit to dentist so I’ll give mine a call to see if he can suggest anything. Thanks for your help.

    • looloo43
      looloo43 cjb106

      Posted

      Hi CJB, I can't help you with the mouth problems, but to let you know, tiredness goes hand in hand with colitis unfortunately. I suffer with constant over tiredness with my colitis even when not flaring. My doc said it's because your body is always fighting potential/active inflammation with this condition. Take care, & I hope you feel better soon hun. xxx

    • cjb106
      cjb106 looloo43

      Posted

      Thank you looloo. That makes sense. I used to be so active before all this. I could swim 5 miles, walk 10 miles, no problem. Nowadays, I wake up feeling tired and a 10 minute level walk to the local shops leaves me feeling drained. What a horrible illness this is. 
    • looloo43
      looloo43 cjb106

      Posted

      Ditto hun. I used to swim 2miles a week, have an active social life; i have had to reduce my hours at work too since being diagnosed. xxx
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