Soy Milk

Hi folks, I am having trouble with sleeping. I keep waking up two or three times in the night with an awfully dry mouth, and needing a drink, this has been going on for a while now, and I have been drinking plenty of water, but then today I thought it might just be the soy milk, as immediately after a cup of tea my mouth went incredibly dry, I usually drink about 6 cups a day, has anyone else experienced this?

I have never had problems with that and I used to drink a lot of soy milk over the last year.

Another question: Is the carrageenan in the soy milk actually something to worry about? I recently learned that this substance is somewhat controversial. It even causes colitis-like disease in rats.

Thanks soystud. I had the same reaction when I found out.

My allergy tests showed a strong reaction to soy, but fortunately i don't like it (but i do like Soystud:), besides, i've read in some medical paper that soy is bad for uc. When i have a craving for milk i have rice drink. I also use rice drink instead of milk when i bake muffins and i think they come out better with it than with real milk

I'm wondering what kind of tea you're drinking, it's possible it's the tea. I avoid carageenan like the plague. I'm lactose intolerant and find coconut milk is a great substitute for many things that call for milk. If you look you can find coconut milk that's free of carageenan and all that stuff. I also drink minimal amounts of lactose free cows milk. Occasionally I will have some soy milk. There's pros/cons to all of these. I figure by mixing it up and not having the same one constantly I'm not over exposing myself to any one of them. Maybe you can tolerate the soy, but in less amounts. As for the dry mouth/insomnia, my money's still on the tea. Even if its a non caffeinated tea, like a herbal, it's very possible there's something in it to which you're reacting.

I don't think it is the soy milk but soy milk is not a good thing to drink for other reasons. (hormonal issues and bad for intestines)

I am not sure if your medications could be causing dry mouth but it is worth talking to the doctor about. I would rule that out as a cause first. Also there is a spray and mouthwash that may help. http://www.biotene.com/

There is a different autoimmune disorder Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome is a disorder of your immune system identified by its two most common symptoms — dry eyes and a dry mouth.

Sjogren's syndrome often accompanies other immune-system disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. In Sjogren's syndrome, the mucous membranes and moisture-secreting glands of your eyes and mouth are usually affected first — resulting in decreased production of tears and saliva.

Although you can develop Sjogren's syndrome at any age, most people are older than 40 at the time of diagnosis. The condition is much more common in women. Treatment focuses on relieving symptoms. You should ask your doctor if you continually have dry mouth issues and they are not medication related side effects.

I would avoid any soy products, for one because of the dangers of hormonal side effects. I use Silk Almond milk. Blue Diamond brand tastes better but has carrageenan in it....

Hi and thanks everyone. I stopped the soy milk, and nothing changed, I still had a dry mouth except I noticed that my tongue looked a whole lot healthier, so I wont be drinking that any more now!

But I have been ill all day today, and it looks like the problem could be tea! which I have been drinking since I was about 8 years old...go figure!..everything is connected to UC somehow.

What happened was that I normally drink English tea, and without being able to add normal milk or soy milk I thought it would be terrible, and so I purchased some caffeine free fruity herbal tea to try out, I took one on Saturday afternoon and for about an hour afterwards I felt a strange fluttering in my chest, which progressed into my throat, which for me, usually means I have taken something that doesn't agree with me, but I didn't really believe it could be the herbal tea, I thought it must be something else I had taken throughout the day, and then this morning I had another herbal tea and had exactly the same feeling, except it got progressively worse, and within an hour I had a terrible headache and have been in my bed all day....so it looks like I have developed a bad reaction to tea!

I hope it is only that, its early days, I wont be taking any more tea, but if my symptoms continue I will go and get checked for Diabetes. I knew about Sjogren's and have read up on that, and I am pretty sure I don't have that...I am just hoping it is only the tea...thanks again

Update....I had a diabetes test and I am fine.

I discovered what the problem was...I have been struggling with oral lichen planus for a while now, but did not realize until at the docs that I also had oral thrush as well, so those two things in conjunction with taking soy milk and tea was causing my problem..at least I now know, and can sort it out.