A bit about me: I have suffered with this condition for 7 or so years with it getting progressively worse until it has plateaued over the last 3 years, with almost constant geographic tongue - the painful type. I have had extensive patch testing it only showed significant elevation / reaction to house dust. - I have also had bloods taken on numerous (I think 3) occasions, but no signs of apparent deficiency. - I have spent hundreds of hours researching these condition in order obtain some modicum of relief. Trying amongst other things: - amitrypoline - diphenhydramine (swish) - hydrogen peroxide (swish) - bicarbonate of soda - SLS free toothpastes - gluten free diet - dairy free diets - anti candida treatments (medicine and also natural treatments such as Apple cider vinegar etc) - vitamin and mineral supplements, majoring on B12 and folic acid etc - alpha lipoic acid - xylitol - in numerous forms - accupuncture - difflam - steroids either through inhaler (becotide) or paste (trinolone). betamethasone and buccal pellets (hydrocortisone). Steroids had proved to be the most efficacious, in particular hydrocortisone and betamethasone. However, I was having to take them constantly to maintain remission and it exacerbated my dry mouth - caused I think by the geographic tongue. Clearly taking steroids constantly is not a good idea. But... This is where I have finally (I think) made my breakthrough. I have happened on a treatment that seems to have drastically improved my geographic tongue condition (in conjunction with sticking to a largely bensoate free diet). The treatment is called fucoidan, in particular it is the chewable tablets referred to in this piece of research: http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajmcr/3/8/8/ I was able to get samples manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo which have had miraculous results, far more effective than the steroid treatment with no side effects as yet - other than some staining of my teeth. However, I was literally devastated to hear yesterday that this product has been discontinued and I am yet to locate a substitute I chewable tablet form. I was advised to perhaps try the power fucoidan in cream form as it has proved efficacious for RAS which seems to have a similar etiology- ref research by the same author: http://www.craniomaxillary.com/article.asp?issn=2278-9588;year=2012;volume=1;issue=2;spage=105;epage=108;aulast=Tsubura 

I've been doing a LOT of research about this - I've been having some awful symptoms for the past 2 years (since turning 40) -- some of which are typical menopause related stuff and some are not, but I suspect all are related to hormonal decline. I've been getting bloodwork and basically, my estrogen and thyroid are both circling the drain --- my last bloodwork showed the estrogen level of a 60 year old (I'm 42! WTH!) I am pursuing bioidentical hormone replacement via cream. I don't have it all figured out yet (I get the feeling that there's a lot of experimenting on yourself til you find the right combo) but from the reading I did, I am pretty confident that this is what I need. Those of you saying you can't take HRT because of pre-existing tendency to blood clots or migraines or whatever might want to investigate the bioidentical stuff via transdermal cream. Blood clots are only an issue when estrogen is taken orally and passes through the liver -- if you are delivering it via skin or patch, there is no increased risk of blood clots (and in fact, your risk of other heart issues goes way down). Migraines are also one of the things that estrogen can help. And even the connection between estrogen and breast cancer is not as cut and dried as I thought -- I feel safe taking the bioidentical estrogen. I have read probably 20 books on the subject of menopause and HRT and the one I found most clear ad helpful is called Screaming to Be Heard by Elizabeth Vliet. I would recommend reading it - it pretty much debunks a lot of the things that I had heard about HRT including the results of that women's health study that caused everyone to abandon HRT -- did you know that whole study was done with synthetic hormones, not bioidentical? And that none of the horrible side effects found in that study have been found in studies that use bioidentical hormones? They are all related to the synthetic stuff like norethidrone and premarin. Because the pharmaceutical companies can't patent a naturally occuring substance and therefore can't make big bucks of bioidentical, there have been few efforts to educate doctors or do controlled studies on bioidentical hormones, but the studies that have been done show amazing benefits without the scary side effects. (Of course, the pharma companies don't want you to know that, because they want you to keep taking your premarin....)

Ladies may I join you in this discussion? I am a young healthy looking 62. And today is my first visit here after looking up adrenaline I sure understand better now That's what I have going on MY NATURE'S PACE MAKER.working. Adrenaline After a stay in icu heart recently everyone finally agreed i am mot crazy.it was.my heart. The docs installed is a device catch my heart acting badly is a heart tracker like halter monitor. Under my chest muscles on top of my heart. I can cause it record what just happened.. iam write with excitment because your stories are all so familiar. These stories for me begin after mitral valve repair. 7 years ago. Basic problem ..unless the doc sees the heart behaving badly they deny the problem. All this time we never could catch it Last doc said bluntly if we dont see it didnt happen. You must to er Well recent at 230 am it woke me up, just as you have described. I went directly to the er They caught the serious thing! Arrithemia and more then two days in icu. Now meds have slowed my heart from 70 to 52 while docs decide what to do. Last night I realized I was having an adreilin rush. The same rush I went to a neurologist for help. Over a year and half. Often it also affect my skin. Goose bumps crawling feeling all day long! Well have I got news for him.I was not crazy about that either. my gp I visited last month just to say. I know you don't know what is wrong but I still got it. Knows too I sat in neros office two months ago ,,,same thing. I said dr i just want you know ME when I end up in er..and i need you. well it was er straight to icu. Home now with electrical issues. Last last night meds have my average at 52 bpm.it woke me. 2 3 am. I use my tricks to get back to sleep.as soon as felt sleep coming on the stomach feeling spread. It woke me up heart pounding.sweat .out of breath!!! Happened several times . then checked average heart rate on my Garmin. 48. Average 48 so i was probably lower. Maybe 45! My natural pace maker kicked in every time sleep lowered bpm and I was short on air. Natural pace maker? Adrenaline can't wait to see what was recorded on my device Thank you body! Now I think i know what as going on for long time hidden from doc view. Electric shock adrenaline style

We understand. But I think there's more than one way, and maybe you can all get what you want. The vast majority of times this has happened in my home it was guests. I did not even mention to them, like you said, it's just towels and I kept using them until they wore out, I just made sure not to use the bleached ones when guests were visiting. But here's the deal. I have sometimes used anti-acne medication. I also have used toothpastes and mouthwashes that have peroxide or other bleaches in them to treat gingivitis. And I often wear contact lenses that need to be cleaned/disinfected with peroxide (not all contact lens solutions have it). There are things that are easy to do -- rinse your face well before using a towel, for example; spitting toothpaste out and then just wiping your face dry will bleach the towel if you're using dental hygiene products with bleach. Sometimes it's harder, because people are trying to follow instructions from their doctors -- for example, when cleaning contacts, one is often advised to dry hands/fingers between dealing with one contact and then the other one. Sometimes doctors advise to always deal with the contacts over a towel (for example, rinse them with the disinfecting solution) so as not to drop them on dirty surfaces. That's when it helps to step outside the box for a bit. I only use the towels when what I'm drying is clean and well rinsed. If you need to blot something or rinse contacts over a towel, that's when I reach for the roll of paper towel I keep in the bathroom. As a bonus, not only are you discarding the paper and it doesn't matter if you had peroxide on it, but also you are always using a fresh paper towel for things that should be kept away from whatever was in the towel before you tried to use it. Also, no lint on the contacts, much nicer to the eyes. Good luck!