Hello All,

My name is Paul and I live in USA. I am on this forum because I have severe mouth pain in the roof of my mouth, which began around Fall 2010. I think that it is caused by nerve damage/Burning Mouth Syndrome. Also, I had dental work done (cavity filling) around the time the pain began, so perhaps this caused the problem. I have seen a dentist, oral surgeon and neurologist. I have an appointment next week with another dentist too. They are not sure of the cause, and of the best treatment for the problem. I am taking neurontin and amytriptylene, which initially helped to reduce the pain, but after awhile the positive effects of the medication seem to have worn off, and I still have the severe pain. This is definitely life altering, painful, and scary, since I have never had severe chronic pain like this, and it has lasted nearly 2 years without any sign of abating. However, it does come and go a little, but the difference is between severe pain and moderate/minor pain, so it is always there in the background even when it is not agonizing (which it is sometimes). In order to help make this problem go away, I have made a number of lifestyle changes. I quit cigarettes, alcohol, and soda (which I replaced with coffee). I thought this would help, but the severe pain is still here to haunt me. It gets worse if I drink citrus/fruit drinks or eat berries or things like that, which is also a problem because it affects my ability to eat healthy foods. Also, just plain water makes it hurt. One other thing I might mention is that I smoke marijuana, which helps medicate OCD which I also have. I have been trying to cut down, for reasons including the fact that it makes the severe mouth pain on the roof of my mouth much worse after smoking. However, most of the people/health care providers I have talked to seem to think the marijuana is not the cause of my severe mouth pain, and that it is for the most part a separate health issue that I should work on. After consulting many people, it seems more likely that the dental work I had back in Fall 2010 caused the severe chronic mouth pain, since it started around that time, while I have been smoking marijuana since 1998 and never had a problem like this before. I certainly hope that I will not have to deal with this severe chronic mouth pain for life, and that I can arrange for treatment so that I can carry on with my life! Thanks very much, Paul