Furry tongue

[LancsCarol]

Furry tongue - cream-coloured and needed scrubbing off with toothbrush -every morning of my life as far back as I could remember (I was 65 when diagnosed T1). Diagnosed one day in hospital, and given a dose of insulin to correct very high BG (off the scale of the Boots meter I had bought that day, and at least 28 on the GP's meter and the hospital one) (and yes, I felt really ill).
So, next morning, tongue NOT FURRY!
Any morning since for 10 years, overnight high BG will produce a furry tongue, and at sensibly low BG (4-9) my tongue is clean.
Have any of you noticed the same link?
Could (should?) furry tongue be a diagnostic tool to begin investigations re diabetes?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Not sure what you mean with furry tongue, so do forgive me if I botch this, being Dutch and all, and a T2. If it was diagnosed as hair tongue, it'd usually be brown or black... When you say it was cream coloured and there was a clear connection to high blood sugars, I'm thinking more along the lines of thrush... And that is a known, regular occurrence with high blood sugars, (in the mouth and private parts, usually).

Just a T2 though, but my oral thrush was, when it occurred, cream/yellowy, and this rang a bell. There's a gooey gel for that that might help too, should blood sugars be unmanageable for a bit due to a virus or something.

Dunno if this helps any, but just thought my 2 cents might be of use. And if not, no harm done.
Jo

 

[Outlier]

I had for many years a somewhat lesser version of partly-furry tongue (cream) which disappeared when I found out I was T2 and did what was necessary to lower my BG to normal. If I'd only known.....so yes, I do think this needs investigating as one of the possible markers. Also my tongue was swollen and corrugated round the edges. That's gone as well.

 

[MrsA2]

I think , in Chinese medicine, the tongue is on of the first things they look at. Apparently all sorts of diagnosis can be made

 

[Outlier]

Once upon a time, here in the West, doctors would want to look at our tongues before anything else. I always thought it was to give them thinking space, but maybe those old Drs. knew more!

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Once upon a time, here in the West, doctors would want to look at our tongues before anything else. I always thought it was to give them thinking space, but maybe those old Drs. knew more!

Now it's just the computer!

 

[Outlier]

Hands up everyone whose GP couldn't pick them out of an identity parade! (My hand is up).

 

[LancsCarol]

Not sure what you mean with furry tongue, so do forgive me if I botch this, being Dutch and all, and a T2. If it was diagnosed as hair tongue, it'd usually be brown or black... When you say it was cream coloured and there was a clear connection to high blood sugars, I'm thinking more along the lines of thrush... And that is a known, regular occurrence with high blood sugars, (in the mouth and private parts, usually).

Just a T2 though, but my oral thrush was, when it occurred, cream/yellowy, and this rang a bell. There's a gooey gel for that that might help too, should blood sugars be unmanageable for a bit due to a virus or something.

Dunno if this helps any, but just thought my 2 cents might be of use. And if not, no harm done.
Jo

Hi Jo
I have just been looking at the THRUSH information on the various reliable webpages - not the advertisers, commercial sites etc - and it seems to me that my symptom is not Thrush. It is simply a soft cream-coloured coating on the tongue, which, as mentioned above, appears or disappears on a daily basis if my bg is high or low overnight.
Very high bg = a thicker furry coat across the top of the tongue.
There is no soreness, patchiness, cracking, sore throat, loss of taste [thrush symptoms] - and it never lasts beyond one day if my bg drops to normal range. Eating fibrous food or a light scrub with a tooth-brush will reduce it immediately.
So, it has none of the Thrush characteristics apart from a vague similarity of "cream" and "whiteish" as the description of the colour of my symptom and of the colour of thrush deposits.
I guess it is more like the deposits of plaque on teeth - but on my tongue it is soft, not hard. And it does contribute to the condition they now say doesn't exist [but it does] - halitosis/bad breath. When it's a goodly coating of fur, my breath does smell bad. And gets better when I've had a good scrub with the toothbrush to remove the fur.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi Jo
I have just been looking at the THRUSH information on the various reliable webpages - not the advertisers, commercial sites etc - and it seems to me that my symptom is not Thrush. It is simply a soft cream-coloured coating on the tongue, which, as mentioned above, appears or disappears on a daily basis if my bg is high or low overnight.
Very high bg = a thicker furry coat across the top of the tongue.
There is no soreness, patchiness, cracking, sore throat, loss of taste [thrush symptoms] - and it never lasts beyond one day if my bg drops to normal range. Eating fibrous food or a light scrub with a tooth-brush will reduce it immediately.
So, it has none of the Thrush characteristics apart from a vague similarity of "cream" and "whiteish" as the description of the colour of my symptom and of the colour of thrush deposits.
I guess it is more like the deposits of plaque on teeth - but on my tongue it is soft, not hard. And it does contribute to the condition they now say doesn't exist [but it does] - halitosis/bad breath. When it's a goodly coating of fur, my breath does smell bad. And gets better when I've had a good scrub with the toothbrush to remove the fur.

In that case... You might want to look into getting a tongue scraper? Considering that that thing was invented once upon a time, you're likely not the only one. And it's friendlier to the tongue than a toothbrush would be.

Good luck!
Jo