Flagyl and Hairy Tongue -- Part II

Hey Guys-

Just wanted to post a quick update. As mentioned before, my tongue continues to improve almost daily. One note to mention is that I've also been on an antibiotic for the past month as well and have still seen a huge difference. It's definitely a slow process (typically 2-3 months), but seeing the progress is enough motivation to continue the treatment. I notice that eating breads or certain foods that dry my mouth tend leave a thin coating occasionally so I always make sure to rinse my mouth and keep it moist immediately after. I'm still very pleased with the outcome so far. Still another few weeks to go though. I stop taking my antibiotics this weekend so I'll keep you posted if I see additional changes. Talk to you soon!

Hi there- Definitely do not take antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. They are actually one of the causes of HT. I had only mentioned it b/c of the improvement I've seen even while taking them. Stay away from them completely if at all possible. I'm very happy you were able to get some Tazorac! Good luck!

FThisCondition said...
Ok cool. Now diet wise. Any specific type of diet i should be taking? I know i should lay off the sugar but anything else in specific?

I recommend eating a lot more vegetables in the diet, an easy hassle free way to accomplish this is to buy lots of frozen and then steam them for a few minutes in the microwave. Of course, any means will do. Drinking lots of water is a must and a Probiotic like Inliven or Garden Of Life Perfect Food won't harm anything (if you can stand the taste).

Since many antibiotics destroy the balance in the gut and because Hairy Tongue is related to this, I always think it beneficial to try to assist the body by consuming more Probiotics or Prebiotics. This is just my opinion.

I have also ordered a 60g tube of 0.1% Zorac because I have seen improvement from using the 0.5% they sent me in error. I can notice that the tongue's covering is slowly thinning out and becoming less aggressive. I don't know how much better progress will be with the 0.1% but I think it will take more than a few months and will occur gradually.

Edit: My 60g tube of 0.1% Zorac just arrived so I will note progress.

Post Edited (Healing_Ways) : 3/14/2013 9:52:32 AM (GMT-6)

My ONLY concern about this condition is chronic halitosis. Do you guys have this problem? I honestly don't care about the way it looks because the fact that it's all the way in the back of the tongue but because due to these elongated papillae that trap food debris and bacteria, i get chronic halitosis and this is my main reason to get rid of the hairy tongue. Do you guys have the same problem as I do? cause i know some doctors and websites suggest it MAY cause halitosis and in my case its severe so just want to know if this condition is also curing the halitosis problem (as i'm sure the papillae get smaller and smaller it would trap less bacteria and eventually have chronic halitosis go away.) I haven't heard you guys talk about that so I'm not sure if you guys have that also.

Hi all,
I am a new member with HT for the last 12 months. Went to many doctors, ENTs and even so-called mouth specialists, no one could do anything. Let us face it: no doctor of any kind knows anything about this and they do not seem to be willing to learn about it either. So, I am personally done with the doctors.

I am mostly interested in the SURGICAL WAYS of getting rid of HT. But because there simple is NO DOCTOR who is willing to do it, I decided to do it myself.

Like I saw in the Part I of this HT thread, some members have also tried CUTTING THE PAPILLAE themselves but they failed to cut them. That is so right because it is not possible to cut that kind of growth on the tongue.

Instead, I found that YOU ACTUALLY CAN CUT THEM by scraping them with a very finely stoned KNIFE. Yes, I was able to cut them all the way to the back of my tongue (but I failed to cut the very back side because it is impossible to reach that part by hand and you keep gagging to death). being able to cut them is the good news BUT there is also the bad news side to it. They RE-GROW latest by 2-3 days. Yes, they come back.

Consequently, i have totally LOST MY FAITH in the SURGICAL REMOVAL of HT even if and when a specialist doctor tells me that he/she will do it for me.

Therefore, I need to know if the GEL YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING about in this thread is REALLY working for anyone who tries it.

And by the way, how is it possible to massage the tongue whilst it causes that much gagging and nausea ??? The back of the tongue is impossible to touch unless you are put to sleep !!!

Can anyone please comment...

Thanks for the reply Blue Magoo,

I still can't believe how I got into this disgusting thing just by using Flagyl for a few days. I am all eyes and ears waiting on the results of your Tazorac trial even though three month period seems like forever. I'd normally think if it came in a few days, it should be going in a few days too. So that makes me dubious a bit.

After I got this thing on my tongue, I started looking at other people's tongues as well. I mean I am taking every opportunity to ask other people for them to show me their tongues, as in a close friends' meeting. Well, it is not an easy ask but the results are quite astonishing, I'd say. You can try this yourself too by starting with your immediate family, for example.

My finding is this: there are many other tongues around us that look as bad as ours, or sometimes worse looking than ours!!. This is the truth. I saw a lot of white sticky build-up in many people's tongues and came to think how come they don't have HT in a condition like this. Their tongues show pretty much the same amount of papillae like formation like I do. I thought could it be that @some@ of these people have been having this for a while already but they are not aware of it ??? Could it be a more widespread condition than we think ?

I know why and how I am aware of my condition even if they do have Ht like I do BUT ONLY without being aware of it. The build up on my tongue bothers me only because it gives a a gagging feeling and a strange taste in my mouth. Maybe those other people have the same type of build up but the papillae are not condensed at the back of their tongue, therefore not causing nausea or gagging or a change of taste. So they have no complaints but we do.

I am only mentioning these things to sort of brain storm on the subject. But the actual reality is I am sure we understand each other perfectly well in this blog, because we have the same complaints/symptoms, and if one of us can make something work, others will benefit as well.

This week i will look for the Tazorac (or whatever its trading name here may be) and start it. But let me tell you this before anything else, yesterday I had a thorough scraping of my tongue and at the moment there is NOTHING left visible on my tongue, except for the very back of my tongue (because I cannot touch that part for more than 1 second or so). I will let you know when they grow back in their white sticky outlook. probably 4-5 days max.

On the other hand, i might keep on shaving on a daily basis, which is something I have not done before, and see if it makes a difference in killing it.

I'll be back with my results as and when they occur whilst I am keenly waiting on your personal results.

Nick

@ Nick987

The gel has been working for me but progress was quite slow until I stopped all brushing of the tongue. I have now tried to stop scraping too but can't always. Currently, my tongue just has very short 'hairs' all over, the front is a lot thinner and it is thinning out gradually. I have been using the gel for about 2 months or so (just guessing).

Perhaps scraping and brushing the tongue simply damages it forcing it to take defensive actions, who knows. However, I was skeptical when Blue Magoo first mentioned the suggestion to avoid this but not anymore.

I also think it is important to make sure your diet is reasonably alkaline. Ever since I had this problem Ive improved my diet by eating more fresh vegetables, drinking more water and avoiding too many sweets or confectionery but I also take a few supplements.

I still take a scoop of 'Garden of Life perfect food Super Green Formula powder', 'Garden Of Life Perfect Food Raw Super Food powder', the occasional 'Now Foods Ultra Omega - 3' capsule and Kiwi-Klenz prebiotic. Be warned that many cannot deal with the taste of the above supplement powders but you can find them in caplet or tablet form to avoid that.

As mentioned previously, I got my gel from Goldpharma but the name will depend where you are located. It was Azorac for me but Tazorac for others amongst other names. Goldpharma have been great despite my first order being an error (swiftly rectified).

For anyone experiencing slow progress, maybe it is because you are brushing and scraping the tongue or simply doing that too much, or it could be that along with diet.

At the moment I have been using the Zorac 0.1% 60g but still have a lot left of my 0.5% 15G tube too.

Post Edited (Healing_Ways) : 4/7/2013 9:07:09 AM (GMT-6)

FThisCondition said...
Hey guys,


I wasn't aware that you are not to brush or scrape your tongue cause I have been doing so everytime I brush my teeth which is twice a day but now that you both mention that we are not to, i guess i will not anymore. Also, do you guys apply it to the entire tongue? I only apply it at the very back of my tongie as that's where i see the most elongated papillae, the front of my tongue has just a normal white film just like most people. I've had sore throat for the past week or so is why i haven't been able to apply this product but I have seen some improvement in the back of my tongue where it is mainly affected and yes the process is very very slow but better slow then never.

You may have missed it back in the original thread when Blue Magoo was talking about a Dr. Drore Eisen who was both Dentist AND Dermatologist. I think sometimes you may not be able to avoid the odd scraping though.

Blue Magoo said...


He instructed me to firmly massage the tongue twice a day and to not eat or drink anything for at least 40 mins (I do it in the morning after brushing my teeth and then again at night before bed after brushing). Although you will find contradicting advice on every website, he said do NOT scrub the tongue, for it will elongate the papillae even more.

Post Edited (Healing_Ways) : 4/9/2013 8:09:45 AM (GMT-6)

@ Nick987

When i apply it, i try keep my tongue as dry as possible so there's no saliva for me to swallow. Even if i do get saliva in my mouth, i'll spit it out so i'm not swallowing any of this stuff but i'm sure i have but i have not had any problems with my stomach or trouble urinating or anything of that sort. Also, i've had this condition for a while now so in the beginning it was hard for me to even scrape or brush the back of my tongue due to instant gagging but after months of brushing and scraping and applying products, I don't get that sensation anymore, just here and there when i go too deep. I am able to massage the back of my tongue without any gagging, most of the time. Hope this helps. I'm at the point where i'd try anything and everything to get rid of this condition and hopefully zorac is the solution.

@ Nick987

I am not sure that the Zorac gel uses acidity. According to this site http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/skin-and-hair/medicines/zorac-gel.html

I also read that using it more than once a day wouldn't make any difference too. I have been using it for well over a month without any problems, no burning and nothing else out of the ordinary. Concerning the gagging I think your body just gets used to it when you ignore it and continue applying the gel. Eventually it does not react the same way or maybe some people just have more or less reaction in general.

Website said...


How does it work?

Zorac gel contains the active ingredient tazarotene, which is a type of medicine known as a retinoid. Retinoids have a structure similar to vitamin A and are involved in the normal growth of skin.

It is thought to inhibit the excessive cell growth and keratinisation (process by which skin cells become thickened due to the deposition of a protein within them) seen in psoriasis. It therefore reduces the thickening of the skin, plaque formation and scaling.

Zorac gel should be applied once daily in the evening. The benefits of this treatment may be seen after week of application, although the treatment may be used for up to 12 weeks.

Yours isn't growing back anymore...! You are saved then..!! No keratin means no hairy tongue !

Even though I hate sugary/sweet stuff, I love ice cream and I eat a lot. Following that is a sweet whitish layer sticking on to my tongue which I feel si feeding the keratin. However, sugary stuff should "only" affect thrush, not hairy tongue. In my research so far, I have seen no suggestion otherwise.

Also, I did not know that the cream did NOT contain acid. Well, that's great then..

I don;t eat processed foods but don;t eat to much green either. In fact, I had no greens in my life (not at all) for over 40 years. I'd always eat meat. Only after 45 y.o. i introduced the greens to my diet. The hairy tongue got me 1 year ago when I was 51 y.o.

I will probably start using the cream "tomorrow". Fingers crossed...

According to what I have been reading in the last 12 months, one of the reasons why and how hairy tongue can get triggered is the antibacterial mouthwashes. The reason why Flagyl does this thing is already the fact that it kills "all" bacteria in the lining of the mouth as well as the tongue, including the good bacteria that helps fight everything one of which is also the conditions that trigger hairy tongue. Other antibiotics do not specifically work on the mouth so they are not specifically a threat for the tongue.
So if we keep trying to free our mouth from bacteria by using mouthwashes etc. We are persisting the problem more. This is despite there are many websites which advice you should keep your mouth clean all the time, free of bacteria as well.
I don't know what you'd think of all this.