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DiscussionChronic tongue and lip biting while eating
Brain & Nervous System | Last Active: Sep 9 5:38am | Replies (51)Comment receiving replies
Replies to "My initial statement stated I had seen a dentist and what they said."
HI chiefd67,
It's been awhile since your first post on this topic, so I'm guessing that you feel pretty frustrated... My sympathy for that.
I think that I may have one practical suggestion for you. If you want to skip my "story" and reasoning and see my suggestion, look below at the ** paragraph.
I have experienced bouts of this kind of biting. It's annoying that doctors brush it off since it has a big impact on nutrition- for me anyway.
I also have spine / neck issues: C5 going over C4 ( I forget the medical term); bone spur at C7; degenerated discs in lumbar region; sacral spine is stiff.
Like one of the other people who posted, I also had Covid before the last round of biting.
Also, I have had a lot of dental work. And my teeth are no longer well aligned. I do get jaw stiffness.
The biting has stopped recently! I don't know why. Certainly my teeth haven't suddenly re-aligned, so, like you, I think that probably rules out a dental cause.
It's been 7 months since my last Covid. Maybe that's a factor, maybe not.
I have changed my medication. I think you posted that you don't take meds., so no similarity there.
**Another change for me since it stopped: I am back in physical therapy for my spine. At this point in PT, I am doing stretches only, no weights or anything. Maybe this could be an avenue for you to pursue? If you can't get the VA to give you a script for PT, you might be able to learn some of the simple neck stretches on the internet. For me, physical therapy has been very helpful for other things, but it requires a lot of persistence and patience. It can take months to notice improvement. Again, going to PT has been one of 2 changes that I have made since the biting went away, so it might be a solution. (The other change was in my medication.)
Who knows at this point? But maybe stretching out the neck loosens up some nerves or muscles or something, even if it doesn't change the actual cause. At the very least, it might make you feel better mentally- like you now have something that you can DO about it, while the doctors dither.
Hope you find this helpful! Sorry it got so long!