ulcers on tongue...vitamin deficiency

So after griping about my tongue hurting all week, iwent todr, I have 5 ulcers on my tongue and appaently the cause is a vitamin B deficiency. This is not my reg dr & she is not WLS savvy.

In oct I switched from BA chewables to OTC pills for all my vitamins. I tried to talk her into checking all my labs to see if anything else is off, but no go. She only checked my B12. So vita-gurus how concerned should I be about everything else in lieu of any actual symptoms?

I will be placing a BA order today, but worry if I need to up anything to resolve a deficiency. Any suggesrions?

ulcers on ur tongue neverheard of that, heard of the blisters on the tongue and my doctor told me when you get blisters on ur tongue and they continue ur allergy to something that you have eaten. per my allergic doctor

Wow, good to know! I always thought it was allergies too. Sorry you are having to go through that but glad you got it figured out!

http://www.healthcentral.com/genital-herpes/question-answer- 27399-63.html offers some insight.  Says about 20 of cases may be due to b12, folic acid...shortages as a possible reason. DAVE

has anyone checked your labs since your WLS? should be about 14 vials?

Are you taking the B12 as sublingual or considering that you actually get what is in your multi?

Do they hurt? Thrush is fairly commonn in first year ppl, but it's not particularly painful.

I quick google search found this:

Ulceration (on tongue)

Severe deficits of vitamin C, as in scurvy, cause ulcers of the tongue. The lips, inside of the cheeks and throat also develop painful ulceration, according to "Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics." Scurvy ulcers may bleed or be covered by a thick grey membrane.

Deficiency of niacin -- vitamin B3 -- causes redness of the tongue and pain throughout the mouth before progressing to ulceration, according to "The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library." The ulcers of a niacin deficit start under the tongue and on the lower lip, then progress to the rest of the mouth. In advanced niacin deficiency, the ulcers, like those of scurvy can bleed and cause significant pain.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/285153-tongue-symptoms-of-vitamin-deficiencies/#ixzz19dwKVzzA


As for using BA vs OTC. Don't jump to conclusions until you have lab tests run. BA vitamins are no different than many other over the counter vitamins. I use Centrum and it's fine. I use a B-complex from Puritan Pride or GNC and my numbers are fine. The actual vitamin quality is no different -- you only need to worry about low-quality OTC vitamins that do not include all the vitamin ingredients we need. 

So if your PCP won't order lab tests, then go to your surgeon and get the request in. You're coming up on your one year anniversary, so now is the time to get this stuff tested anyway.

I had my labs checked in Sept and all was well.  Then I switched my vitamin source in Oct.  Pam, I am not trying to say that OTC is not a good choice, but I was doing well on BA and for me it is easier to go back to what was working rather than to try new products to find something that works.  I was already planning to go back to BA because I miss the chewables....they were my sweet at the end of a meal. 

It is quite painful, the ulcers are all around the bottom edge of my tongue on both sides.  I am barely talking and have been living on cottage cheese, yogurt and r/f beans exclusively this week.  Dr. gave me a topical analgesic to ease the pain enough for me to eat  and that helped immensely.  Tonight I had a bit of baked chicken with my r/f beans. 

Michelle, my PCP has been checking my labs, but not to my satisfaction...definitely not 14 vials worth!  I have discussed this with my surgeon and for my next labs he will write the orders.  He did not feel it necessary to rerun them in Sept right after my PCP had done them.  I am using a sublingual B12 that I got at my local health food store. 

I have not posted my labs in the past for input mostly because I am too lazy, but I think I will go dig them out and make the effort.

I am very skeptical that your B12 was good in Sept and now is low enough to cause ulcers in your mouth.  What was it in Sept and what is it now?  I''m thinking it was already low in Sept but they probably told you it was OK even though it really wasn't (happens a lot) and then it just got lower.

They should definitely be taking at least 14 tubes of blood - I think mine is usually more like 20.

Kelly

When is the last time you had a full set of labs done?

You really should not wait until symptoms develop to get labs done - by then serious problems, some irreversable, may have occurred.

How low is your B12?  What are you doing to bring it up?

Kelly

I am going to have to call Dr tomorrow to get #s.  The report I have does not have the Sept or today's B12. 

As for how to bring it up, the Dr just told me to go back to BA since that was working for me before.  I insisted on the test today to see how low I am in case I need to double up on my supplement to bring it up.  Do you have any other suggestions?

I will call leave a message with surgeon tomorrow to let him know what is up and get his feed back on the situation.