Doctors: Why Is My Mouth Always Dry?

General Questions
#1

I’m hoping some Doctors on the board may be able to explain this to me, and tell me if I should be concerned or visit a Doctor.

I suppose this condition started a couple years ago. Basically, my mouth is always dry. I wake up with a really dry mouth. I’ve always been that way though. I would always drink something in the morning and be fine. However, for the past couple of years, the dry-mouth feeling doesn’t go away. I drink copious amounts of water throughout the day, but it doesn’t offer much relief. I just finished what must be my tenth cup of water today and my mouth is still dry. I can say that I started working out a few years ago and read that I should keep myself fully hydrated to optimize results, so I started drinking a lot of water then, possible too much. But one can’t get addicted to water (other than the obvious amount needed to survive), can one?

I suppose you’ll want to know: I’m in my late twenties, in pretty good shape, I work-out regularly (like I said), smoke a few cigarettes a day (though at times as much as half a pack), work a desk job, anything else you’d need to know?

So, should I be concerned about this condition? Should I go to a doctor and get it checked out? Or do some people just have a drier mouth than others and it’s possibly nothing to worry about?

Thank you in advance.

#2

Get to a doctor pronto. That’s how I was diagnosed with diabetes. Excessive thirst, dry mouth, frequent urination are classic signs. I’m sure there are other things that are consistent with these symptoms but the very first thought that came to my mind was diabetes.

#3

Sjogren’s syndrome, esp. if you have dry eyes as well as a dry mouth? (link ).

Or possibly you breathe through your mouth a relatively large proportion of the time (i.e., your mouth is dry due to evaporative loss)?

There are large individual differences in salivation, but a chronic dry mouth isn’t normal.

#4

Are you taking any medications, either prescription, non-prescription, or herbal/supplements? This is a not-uncommon side effect for a number of medicines.

#5

Arrgh! Not something I expected to hear. Any other symptoms I should look for?

#6

I forgot to add that. Not regularly, just a multivitamin and a B-6 vitamin every morning. I’ll take Ibuprofen or Naproxen or Voltaren sporadically – sometimes once every couple of weeks, sometimes every day for a week or two. Those are for chronic back pain, which started when I was 20. I’ll also take Allegra once in a blue moon for allergies.

#7

Can’t help you with the dry mouth all day thing but I used to wake up in the morning all the time with a dry mouth. And it only started a few years back. I then realized that it was my toothpaste. The common ones nowdays that have “whitening” agents must use some form of bleach that totally drys my mouth out. I switched back to regular old cavity fighting toothpaste and haven’t had the problem since.

#8

I’m diabetic also, and thirst is one of the symptoms when my blood sugar is too high.

By all means get a diagnosis from a real doctor, not from us. If you are in fact diabetic, remember that it is a totally treatable disorder.

#9

Echoing BobLibDem and Panache45… this is exactley how I discovered I had Diabetes also. The unquenchable thirst is the biggest hint. Urinating more than average is also a giveaway, though if you had Diabetes and were not controlling your blood sugars via insulin or diet control, then you would more than likely be experiencing unexplainable fatigue and severe mood swings. Other symptoms may include blury vision and lack of concentration.

Hope this helps, though you should really get a pro to check you out (A Doctor!)

#10

Biotene has several products out that work pretty good against dry mouth. Toothpaste, mouthwash and gum. I have tried the gum and it works pretty well. I have a chronically dry mouth as well, but the gum really helped. People order it from our pharmacy quite often- but you can just as easily order it online.

#11

Thanks everyone. To the doctor I go.