what does dry mouth really feel like?

[bubbles328]

so i've been wondering about dry mouth.  i feel like my mouth feels dry--like i'm constantly in need of sips of water.  my lips too get tight and uncomfortable.  sometimes i feel like the two front upper teeth get stuck to my upper lip--but those two are crowns, could that be why?
i have horrible dental issues and half of my real teeth are crowned by now (i'm 33).  my throat too feels dry--like i'm swallowing dust particles that tickle.  i can't eat a piece of a dry toast or a dense (like French) bread without getting terrible hiccups.

YET i have saliva.  i swallow it all the time.  i can feel it in my mouth.  the dentist said it looks like a normal flow when he was working on my mouth.

so what does this mean?  no dry mouth?  would a lip biopsy even make sense?  (my ANA was positive, but nothing else was).  i just need to know how to answer my rheum's questions on whether i have dry mouth.  i have doctor confirmed dry eyes, incredibly dry skin, sinus issues, swollen lymphnodes and parotid glands....  but do i have dry mouth?

[Crymeariver]

I've had Sjs diagnosed for 10 years and still have saliva flow.  Just not when I need it    I'd say you have dry mouth because it also is an issue of quality and not just quantity. 

[Luna]

I agree with crymeariver. Sounds like you have it. I think there are different degrees of it.

Luna

[eyeamdry]

I agree that there are degrees of dry mouth and there is no real measure unless you go to the dentist for some weird measurement, but I don't think you need to be measured if you feel you have dry mouth.  I think it likely begins in some cases with dry lips.  Mine did.  I use lip baum non-stop and carry a bottle of water all the time.  If I'm not careful, I can become so dry that I can't move my mouth or lips.  It is like if you put your hair-dryer on low (so you wouldn't burn up) and opened your mouth and kept the blower on until you were bone dry.

You may keep the saliva you have, I hope so.  The saliva was my last symptom.  And it's gone.  I use Evoxac 3 or 4 times a day.

[Piebird]

I always thought the dry mouth thing is funny. I mean how am I to know if my mouth is drier then other peoples? I am not in their mouths to feel what a wet mouth is like.

[Rachel F.]

Well, my issue is that my mouth sticks together at  night. I need to keep water by my bed. I didn't used to have to do that before. During the day, it is more my throat that is dry, and having trouble eating anything dry like meat that isn't moist or bread. Those seem to get stuck in my throat. It sounds like you are having the dry mouth issues. Have you tried using the mouth spray? It might feel good. It seems to add lubrication which is needed for comfort...

[Gayle]

I understand. I never knew my mouth was dry or different than other people until the Dr asked me some questions. I have to drink at night, I can't swallow crackers or breads without drinking. (I also get hiccups when I try to eat bread... ) I suck on cough drops or something all the time. My teeth, well that is a book...

[Jellyb]

I feel like my tongue is burned, like scorched on hot coffee. Also my lips will stick to my teeth at night, so I have to sip swish and swallow, like Joe says, all through out the night

[bubbles328]

thanks, everyone, this really helps!  yes, i too have to drink throughout the night, or else i get this really annoying dry cough.  i completely lose my voice if i talk too much (like, if we have company over) or if i have a meeting lasting longer than 10 minutes wihtout something to sip.
i am paranoid about going anywhere (including meetings at work) without lip balm and a drink...
i guess i have dry mouth!

which is funny, because i have really, really dry eyes--yet in the morning, i have lots of tears in them.  they water during the day, too, sometimes.  i asked the doc about it and she said my tears were only sailine and not the 'good' tears.  they run out and run down my cheeks--yet my eyes are horribly dry!  maybe that's the same with my mouth...

[MissyLouWho?]

I have saliva, but only in the bottom of my mouth.  My tongue is a dry tacky lump.  Starting to have real trouble swallowing all my pills every day with just liquids.  They get stuck either on the back of my tongue or just inside the top of my throat.  Once that happens, it's very difficult to get anything to scrape them off and go down, even hard foods.  I find using applesauce or pudding or something thick helps to get them down much easier.  And watery liquids don't seem to 'wet' me.  They just seem to go down and disappear.  Thicker things like milkshakes and smoothies seem to linger longer and help me feel more moist for a few minutes.  My throat also sticks together, and I feel like I can't cut through the phlegm in my throat when I swallow.  And yes, I have the bad teeth too.

Your eyes sound just like mine.  Never heard about the good vs saline tears, but it makes sense.  Sometimes I can't cry because there's nothing there, other times I yawn and my make up runs everywhere .  Can't open my eyes in the morning to find my drops so I have to keep them in the same place so I can feel around for them but once I put them in, within 15 minutes I have tear flow.  Yet I have 3 & 4 on the schirmers test.  I give up trying to figure this thing out!

[jazzlover]

Bubbles.. definitely sounds like you have dry mouth!

I've been plagued with hiccups for years. Never thought it could be related to SJS. Interesting.

[Piebird]

Before I got my diagnosis I just thought I was really good at drinking enough water and had a lip gloss addiction. I carried a travel mug with me everywhere, had a Brita at home and at work and stashed lip gloss all over the place.

[quietdynamics]

Like Jellyb....my tongue feels like I burned it on a hot beverage. The edges are wavy.

My job was teaching...so I was talking all day and never thought about the fact that I sipped water all day. I always carry water with me, and sugarless Polar Ice gum.

Sometimes, I wake up and it feels like fine silk  thread on my lips? Someone posted about it  feeling like spiderwebs.

My nasal passages are dry as a bone and my ears as well (they flake, like when you don't get the soap or shampoo off when you rinse...)

[ashewoman]

Everything is subjective of course, but I can't lick an envelope or spit.  I don't have enough liquid in my mouth to do either of those things.  Also, the burning thing sounds right.  Sometimes, my tongue feels swollen and I think this has to do with dry mouth too.  I don't feel like drinking extra fluids helps much but it's hard not to stop trying that route.  Which can led to frequent urination.  That was the first thing the doctor noticed and back tracked to dry mouth.  I knew I had to go every 30 minutes but I didn't feel like I had a urinary problem.  Just really thirsty.  GG

[star723]

Can I say again how thankful I am I found this site?  It was my dentist who said I needed to see the doctor about my dry mouth.  He jokes that he never has to worry about blowing my mouth dry when working on my teeth. Over the last few years the teeth have gotten worse.  It is great to read on this post that I am "normal". I don't eat ground meat anymore and eat toast only when there is something to drink close by. For someone who loves to talk dry mouth is a pain in the...... really don't know which is worse dry mouth or eyes!!