20+ Years of Pain

Firstly, I just want to get it out there that a canker sore is not herpes.

No one really knows what causes a canker sore (aka aphthous ulcer or mouth ulcer) but it affects about 10% of the population, occurs more frequently in women than men, and people who experience canker sores often report a family history (wikipedia).

I tend to get them after I'm under a lot of stress and/or about 10 days before my period. There are often more than 2 at a time, huge and unbelievably painful. Hence my high tolerance to pain. Sometimes I have them when I get my teeth cleaned and the hygienist will (1) tell me it is herpes (infuriating), (2) collect all the dentists to look and gasp. I apparently have the worst case of it that anyone has ever seen and at one point had 6-7 at the same time. Awful.

So, after years of suffering, H recommended Orabase (pictured above). The paste actually covers, protects and STAYS on the wound. Further, I am a fan of all things that end in "-caine" and this stuff has 20% which is much more than other products I've tried. This stuff has changed my life.

Further Cutbacks

While I should be talking about the tragic layoffs happening around the world, this post is really about more foods that I can't eat. As if the dairy wasn't restrictive enough.

My family and I have long suffered from mouth ulcers (aka aphthous ulcer, canker sore, aphthous stomatitis, Sutton's Disease) that can take more than a month to heal. It is unbelievably painful and interferes with one of my greatest pleasures in life - eating. I think I may have 5-6 of them for the past 2 weeks - 2 in the back of my throat, one under my tongue, one on the tongue, one on my gum and one on my lip (which thank goodness is healing because I was looking like a collagen injection gone terribly wrong and drooling). I had to put my head down on my desk and almost cried just trying to eat breakfast and dinner yesterday. I've been treating myself with ibuprofen and anbesol.

I think that the break out may have happened due to lack of sleep, stress, trauma to the mouth (I have TMJ), overindulgence in wine and acidic foods (e.g., tomatoes, grapefruit), and general immunodeficiency issues. I have cut out my daily half a grapefruit, cut out tomato-based foods (pasta sauce, tomato soups), and wine. I will have to hit the Duane Reade for toothpaste that doesn't have sodium lauryl sulfate and milk of magnesia to gargle with. And after a year of M and Doris suggesting, I will make an appointment with a GI specialist.