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Scientific Cause of Mouth Tingling?

J

John506

Well-Known Member
Messages
52
Hey,

Since I've been a type 1 diabetic, I regularly get really annoying tingling sensations all around my mouth and tongue.

I get this when I'm treating a hypo, not when I'm actually low, but just when I'm eating my sugar tabs or whatnot.

Just wondering if anyone knows the scientific cause of this?

Thanks.

John.
 
Slightly confusing.....if you are treating a hypo then you must have a low Bg level ? The tingling is just one of the many hypo symptoms people may experience because of the low Bg levels. In my case it lasts from before when levels are low and starts to go only when the levels rise.

As far as I am aware the reason is that the nerves in the body are irritated when your blood glucose levels are low. The facial (sensory) nerves can be affected and this causes the tingling effect.
 
Hi John,
I get this sensation sometimes, very rarely though and it's really unpleasant. It's usually when my BG is on the rise when I'm already treating the hypo.
I think it's similar to when you have pins and needles in your foot if you've been kneeling and cutting off the blood supply. You get the pins and needles when the feeling is coming back in your foot. Maybe the tingling is normallity returning to the tissues in the mouth and tongue :? ?
Jus :)
 
Apparently, hypo symptoms divide into those which are caused by glucose deprivation on the brain (confusion, vision problems etc) and those which are part of the autonomic nervous system - the nervous system's response to the fact your sugar's dropping.
Tingling, along with sweating and shaking, is supposed to be an autonomic nervous system response.

I'm not entirely convinced, myself, that all hypo tingling is the same. When you read articles/books about hypos they usually only really talk about tingling in the mouth, but personally I have noticed an interesting thing: I get the tingling in whichever muscles I'm using at the time I go hypo. Eg if I'm long-distance walking, I will get tingling in my thighs. If I'm playing a wind instrument, I get tingling in my lips and tongue. I wonder if there is an element of tingling being caused by (?)glucose deprivation in the muscles as well as/instead of the autonomic response.
 
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