Diagnosed with Parkinsons: dry mouth, sensitive tongue

I've had no tongue sensitivity but I have been coping with dry mouth. I keep thinking to order a mouth spray but... Another recent issue is biting my cheeks and tongue.

I recently had a dry mouth, very sore throat, and sensiitive tongue (I n ormally brush my tonngue when I brush my teeth and I can't bear it now. I swent to my GP and it turns out h=I had a Candida Yeast infection (sometiems called Thrush). There are several other symptoms, like you might have a rash along with it , but you can Google Candida and find out more or even chat with your doctor about it.One aspect of it is when the friendly bacteria abandon you (perhaps as a side efect of some of the meds you may take) that that little rascal Candida thinks youve put ou the Welcome Mat for him and he accepts your generous offer of a staying with you for a while.

My wife has suffered with dry mouth and gum irritation. She occasionally has experienced irritation with her tongue which has caused taste bud issues. Dry mouth itself is a problem of it's own causing tooth decay and contributing to the other mouth issues.

My dentist prescribed a toothpaste to treat dry mouth.prescription only

@boatman12
Hi there,
I just recently noticed how dry my mouth will get even when I am drinking water. I lost my sense of smell during Covid back in 2022 but still can taste most foods. Are they telling you loss of taste and dryness is from Parkinson's? I know the smell is. I have had increased choking from pills getting stuck my throat is so dry. Anyone else experiencing this and what have found to remedy it?

Hello @brianes and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

As this is your first post in the Parkinson's support group, would you like to share about your interest in PD? Have you, or a family member, been recently diagnosed?

@hopeful33250 Hi there I have been unable to participate for a few month due to health reasons so I would like to reintroduce myself. I am a 67 year old who was misdiagnosed 20 plus years ago with Essential Tremors and diagnosed about 2 years ago with early onset Parkinson's . I just recently 3 weeks ago went off the Vyalev pump and trying to transition back to oral medication and have been really struggling. I do hope to share and learn how others have dealt with these issues.

Hello @wkrebs59 and welcome back to Connect! I'm glad that you are able to join the discussion. You said that you are not using the Vyalev pump anymore but are going back to oral medications. What type of struggles are you having with the transition? Are your symptoms increasing?

@hopeful33250
Hello @hopeful33250 I really liked being on the Vyalev pump and had been regulated nicely! The problem I came across was not all the medicine was being absorbed in my tissue. I have already had one experience in the hospital where I was given high doses of strong antibiotics and had to lance the area and drain the medication out. I was started to feel the same way. The areas of pooling are located in my upper thighs this time and I grew concerned if I continued these areas would connect together and become infected. The transition back to oral has been a challenge and I have not quite got there yet. I had to wait three weeks for a follow up with my doctor which was the hardest 3 weeks I have had the tremors, my heart rate and blood pressure and the overall lack of sleep I became sleep deprived for about 9 days . My neurologist called in medication but it takes time to get the right dose to compare with Vyalev. I might just not have the body type to handle the liquid form since I do exercise and have more muscle tissue compared to fatty tissue. I have to allow these pooling areas of meds to try to be absorbed. I came so close to having sepsis that I don't want to go that route again. The pain in the areas of the cannula and the balling up or what is called pooling of the medication are two of the symptoms. Some of the areas seem to be moving to the surface yet have not been able to dissolve the medication which is now causing pain in the many areas I have used. I try to use a heating pad and massage to break it up but at this time I continue to have them. The good news is I have no fever or redness so there is no infection and have to wait on them to be absorbed on their own. This could take a while. Are there others that have gone through this and if so what was your experience in both getting regulated and ridding of the pooling ?

Hello @wkrebs59

I would encourage you to look at a discussion group specifically discussing treatment with Vyalev.
Here is a link to that group:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/vyalev-injection-pump-anyone-else-on-this/
Here you will meet @coho222 and others who have used this pump.
How are your PD symptoms as you make this change in your medication?