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Minty taste/smell?? Am I going insane?

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Posted 1/30/2010 12:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

Sorry if this has been done before, but I sometimes (about twice a month) get a very strong, very strange (I best describe it as minty) taste in my mouth that is far more prominent when I breath out through my nose with my mouth closed. Therefore for a while I wasn't sure if it was a taste or smell. I am leaning toward taste now. It is something that I sense very strongly, while others can't really smell it on me. This usually happens at night, and continues on during the day, but never lasts more than one day.

It is making me feel like I'm going insane.

I do not have the typical symptoms of GERD, but I do have some form of gastritis (I mostly get nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort).

I've been told that this minty taste/smell could be anything, but many mentioned acid reflux (even though I don't get heartburn etc).

That is why I am here, wondering if any of you ever experienced this.

What sort of biological process can cause a minty taste/smell like this??


Thank you!
Posted 1/30/2010 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Angry_Kitty


Hello and welcome to HealingWell. I have heard of others with this same concern and they felt it was also GERD related.

Perhaps one of our members will have more info for you.

Again welcome and stick with us.

Kitt
Posted 1/30/2010 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
do you think your refluxing tums or toothpaste?

joy
Posted 1/31/2010 10:03 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, I shall stick around for a while definitely!

I haven't been taking tums for a long time, not sure about the toothpaste: sometimes it happens during the day, quite a while after having brushed teeth.

Can you have reflux without feeling/knowing it?
Posted 1/31/2010 2:04 PM (GMT 0)
Good Morning,



The term Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) refers to the backflow of food or stomach acid all of the way back up into the larynx (the voice box) or the pharynx (the throat). LPR can occur during the day or night, even if a person who has LPR hasn't eaten a thing.

Not everyone with reflux has a lot of heartburn or indigestion. In fact, many people with LPR never have heartburn. This is why LPR is called SILENT REFLUX, and the terms "Silent reflux" and "LPR" are often used interchangeably. Because LPR is silent, it is sometimes difficult to diagnose.

Do talk with your physician re this possibility.

Again glad to hear you are going to stick with us.

Gentle Hugs

Kitt
Posted 2/1/2010 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
Hmmm, I am liking more and more couchtater's comment about it being refluxed toothpaste, definitely more appealing than the other options I was given before, like diabetes and brain tumours... ;)

I don't have any of the symptoms of LPR, but I somehow think that maybe this is the beginning of it, and that toothpaste might play a role. I wonder what's the longest that the mint of toothpaste stays in the stomach. Unlikely that someone did that sort of research, eh...
Posted 5/4/2010 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi-Ihave exactly the same thing - and it is indeed hard to believe you are not going potty, or perhaps a terrible hypochondriac!

What a bizarre symptom it is - feels like you have just eaten one of those mouth freshener strips - the ones that 'explode' the minty coldness in your mouth.

I have had it for a few weeks only - but plenty sick of it already - have felt quite nauseous/sick on occassion, tireder than usual and not 100% well - could it be a virus? although nausea could also point to acid reflux. 

I am also very overweight,a number of years now, and have found it impossible to lose weight, rather i just keep on adding weight on! despite living on a terribly healthy diet of salad, veges, meat, fish, no cakes puddings etc, virtually gluten-free!? explain that one if you can. the weight thing also could point to acid reflus and diabetes.

Have you had any firmer diagnosis since putting up post? would love to know if you have.

Posted 5/4/2010 11:03 PM (GMT 0)
welcome bella,

I know what you mean about losing weight. I try to eat very little and it still won't come off. I have thyroid troubles, too.

Joy
Posted 5/11/2010 9:29 PM (GMT 0)
I am a 59 yr old male I have had the same symptoms for 3 or 4 months have been under a lot of stress building and financing a new house other than stress I am in good health. Sure would like some definitive explanation. OK I also wanted to say my tears or if my eyes water it also has the cool menthol minty feel does anyone have that same symptom? Even my sweat has the vicks vapor rub feel. Any help would be appriciated,
Posted 5/11/2010 10:52 PM (GMT 0)
See your doctor for some bloodwork.

Joy
Posted 6/1/2010 3:22 PM (GMT 0)
well my symptoms have subsided I still can detect it slightly it seems to come forward a bit then subsides. My stress level has gone down as we finally secured a home loan on our house that we just built. I am thinking that the stress level is directly related to this weird ailment with construction finished we are in the house and a loan secured symptoms seem to be going away. Anyone else out there concur?
Posted 6/1/2010 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
It's possible...

Joy
Posted 8/13/2010 11:43 AM (GMT 0)
OK, I had blood work done and went to see my Doctor, everything is normal I am healthy if a bit overweight. I discussed the minty thing with my doc and (you guessed it) he had never heard of it. We discussed the stress angle and he agreed that it was the most likely cause, he related it to burning mouth syndrome which is also often caused by stress. Anyone out there find a doctor that has heard of this?
Posted 8/13/2010 1:00 PM (GMT 0)
As I type I have the same taste,I think it's more of a acid taste,it comes and goes,I think stress is causing it,stress can make more acid production.
Posted 12/15/2010 4:51 PM (GMT 0)
I have had this for over 2 years. When it started it lasted for months before I got rid of it. Now it comes and goes. My doctor, like most of your's, told me she hadn't ever heard of this. The first thing they all say is acid reflux. Mine goes into my sinuses and into my eyes. I think it comes from stress, or stress plays a part. When I get stressed I feel this coming on. The burning mouth syndrome is what doctors have told me this might be but what I've read about that is your mouth actually feels like you have been burned, mine don't. Does anyone feel burning like sunburn on the surface of their skin also with this? I get that too. The only thing I find helps me with this taste is vinegar, baking soda mixed with warm water. After I take that for a few days the taste goes away.
Posted 10/14/2011 9:59 PM (GMT 0)
I found this forum because I too have been having this symptom. It started about two weeks ago and would come and go. Now it is constantly there. The best way I can describe it is as if I just smoked a menthol cigarette, but for those who don't smoke it is much like I have just finished eating a minty candy.

I am not overweight, not particularly stressed and have no history of acid reflux or diabetes. I was joking with my wife, saying I think I have a brain tumor, but now am thinking I will need to see a doc.

I will let you know if they have any other suggestions that haven't been mentioned. Very odd....
Posted 10/15/2011 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
afterone

a micro adenoma of the brain located posterior, i believe , to the pituitary gland can cause a number of sensory motor distortions-changes etc

i know...i have one...DONT PANIC...most micro-adenomas are very treatable and in some cases dont demand treatment at all depending on size and the influence it has on brain function

many if not most are not malignant...see a doctor soon and try not to worry

best wishes
mock turtle
Posted 10/16/2011 6:17 PM (GMT 0)
Very interesting to me since I've had the surgery for GERD and still have the minty thing going on. It is such a strange thing to describe to someone even to the GI doc and the surgeon who did my reflux surgery.

I definitely know what you're talking about but have no answers for you. I wish you well and if you learn anything I'd love to hear it. It's a strange phenomenon.

Also about the brain adenoma - my husband has a huge egg-sized arachnoid cysts on his brain and one in his chest as well which give him no problems at all and of course he doesn't have reflux or the minty taste going on.

I monitored myself yesterday for the minty feeling and did not brush my teeth or gargle and it was still there. Mine mostly starts after I eat and gets worse when I lie down to sleep at night. It's at its very worst just before I finally get up in the morning.

I wish you the best.
Rita
Posted 10/16/2011 10:33 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't had the minty taste, but do have a weird sweet taste after eating. Even if I drink something sour. Not sure why though.

Take care,
Bill
Posted 10/17/2011 10:45 PM (GMT 0)
Bill, that's one of the other strange things going on with me as well only the sweet taste lasts until I eat again and then it's okay for a while and comes back till I eat again.

I don't think people can make up symptoms like this.

Strange.

Rita
Posted 10/18/2011 1:18 AM (GMT 0)
Rita- that is exactly how it happens to me too. I haven't mentioned it to anyone yet though. Probably would just look at me as if I was crazy, LOL!

Take care,
Bill
Posted 10/23/2011 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Guys,

I don't have a minty taste but do have a cold feeling on the roof of my mouth/throat that comes and goes. I have LPR but was on prevacid for three months and just came back from the ENT who told me I have no damage anymore and told me that if he didn't know me and he performed a scope on me, he wouldn't be able to diagnose LPR.

While this is great news, I worry about the cold feeling and am having it is just anxiety after suffering so badly for three months straight.

Any ideas?
Posted 11/15/2011 1:19 AM (GMT 0)
So I also have this minty taste in my sinus drainage. I have long term acid reflux that has gotten very difficult to manage recently and I also have a burning sensation in my chest when I inhale deeply. The thing is that this minty taste in my mouth tastes exactly like the taste of the enteric coating on a drug that I've been taking for acne - spironolactone (aldactone) So is it a coincidence? Is anyone else taking this drug? I'm also taking Topomax and I started that around the same time that I started having the sinus troubles.

Interested to hear what others have to say!
Posted 1/11/2012 1:57 PM (GMT 0)
Hi

Hope this thread is still active.

I found this thread after googling 'minty taste in mouth'. I have had this for about two months now and it is driving me round the bend. I really cannot bear the thought that I might have to live with this forever - it really affects the quality of my life, I am constantly aware of it, and it affects the taste of everything I eat. My husband tried to make light of it by saying, well, there are worse tastes you could be lumbered with....at least minty is quite nice...but only someone who has this would understand what it is like. It is a constant, tingly, cold, menthol/minty sensation in the whole mouth - the gums, inside the lips, the roof of the mouth, the tongue. When I take a breath in with my mouth open, it is similar to the sensation you get if you do the same just after you brush your teeth with minty toothpaste. Tingling on the soft tissues. The person here who said it was like you had smoked a menthol cigarette got it right too - I don't smoke now but it is just like how I remember that sensation felt.

Mind you - my first thoughts when it started were that it was a 'minty' sensation and taste, but it is not really minty in the true sense of the word. Minty is the word that came to mind, but it is also bitter, acidic.... Googling brings up all sorts of thing, like 'pine mouth' (from eating pine nuts, it is a known phenomonon) and sinus drainage.

I don't have GERD or stomach acid problems, but I am going to speak to my doctor about it. Interestingly, this only really started after I had a tooth implant, and of course, I thought it was related to that. I have driven my dentist up the wall by continually going on about it and asking for him to fix it. I have had antibiotics, x rays, all to no avail. PH sticks show no alkaline or acidic leakage from the gums, so no hidden abcesses or peri disease. So it is not poison or pus causing the taste. The long shot could be that it could be some sort of 'galvanic' reaction, caused by the titanium and other metal implant reacting, maybe even with the amalgam in my other teeth. But the only option there would be to remove the implants - and as I quite like my new two front teeth and don't want dentures (!) I am going to try to solve it some other way before going down that route. I am having my amalgam fillings replaced but that will take time.

It may also be an allergy to something - maybe even toothpaste. I did recently start using the new OralB pro expert toothpaste so I have now stopped. Indeed, for the moment the only way I can deal with it is to actually play on the minty taste and brush my teeth all the time! I have gone back to using bog standard Colgate and I brush whenever the taste in my mouth gets so I can't stand it. it sounds weird, but the taste of toothpaste is better than the taste of whatever the mystery is even if it is just for a short while, it takes my mind off it. Chewing gum doesn't work the same.

Would love to hear from more people who have this. It most certainly is not my imagination!!!
cheers
Posted 1/11/2012 4:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hello Philorth,

Welcome to HealingWell.  I have read that Titanium and amalgam produce dramatic ph changes and a change in taste sensation.  I would be suspicious of your implants also but not sure what the cure is and I understand why you like your new implants. 

If your sx started after the implants it seems plausible that the sx are related to the implants.

I wish I had a better answer for you.

Again welcome to HW.

Kindly,

Kitt

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