# Freaking out! My tongue looks weird now!Please advise



## AchtungBaby (Dec 8, 2004)

Hi all,I have noticed that my tongue has changed its shape. I actually went to my physician and she said I am allergic to something but could not figure out what it was. Here is a picture of a tongue that looks like mine. http://beyondwellbeing.com/ibs/qixu.shtml How can I reverse it? I am freaked out. Has anyone else experienced tongue changes? Thank you all! Any comments would be appreciated.


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## K9Mom (Sep 20, 1999)

Hypothyroidism can cause tongue swelling as well as a whole host of GI problems. You might want to ask for a thyroid blood test for TSH and Free T4 just to check it out.http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/tongue_symptoms.htm


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

You should probably see a dentist or an ENT specialist who is more familiar with tongue conditions.


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## soft (Jun 3, 2004)

Wow, my tongue looks exactly like this. I've tried to figure out over the years what causes this but haven't. I think mine is a reaction to salt or something.Softy.


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## 15851 (May 9, 2005)

Hi, I'm the guy who put up all the IBS tongue images at beyondwellbeing.com.I am a practitioner of Oriental medicine and what I say about particular organs or mechanisms is all coming from the alternative perspective of traditional Chinese medicine. I'll do my best to translate keywords if they can be confusing.This particular tongue is unique in that there are imprints of the teeth around its edges.There are a few possible causes for this, some of which are likely attached to severe conditions such as IBS and other causes that are nothing more than staying up all night feeding a newborn or studying for a big test.No reason to freak out.There are a few different reasons for these teeth marks. I've heard dental assistants claim that this is because you're grinding your teeth at night. I think that's silly. If your teeth grinding was causing the teeth marks, they'd be red and bloody.These teeth marks are really do to one of two causes:1) You're fatigued. In this case, the tongue (which is a muscle) just doesn't have enough energy to maintain its own shape and begins to take on the shape of its container, specifically the teeth around it. This is the young mother's tongue that I was mentioning earlier. It could also indicate that your digestion isn't working very efficiently and so you're not getting the energy out of your food that you should. That's one reason that diarrhea with undigested bits of food, or loose stools in general may arise with this tongue appearance. This condition could be related to the thyroid issue that K9mom mentioned. Because traditional Chinese medicine doesn't work specifically with the concept of thyroid, we'll just call it Spleen Yang which is to say the warmth and metabolic activity in the body that is responsible for proper metabolism and digestion is deficient. Still, it isn't always a thyroid issue.2) Edema. This would actually come closer to what "soft" described in terms of salt intake. Salt causes you to retain fluids, if the body really plumps up, you may see that in the tongue as well. When it plumps, it fills the entire mouth and presses up against the teeth taking on their shape.This condition is also related to a Yang deficiency but rather than digestive Yang (which we call Spleen Yang) it is more Kidney Yang. Kidney Yang is also considered a thyroid issue too, as it is in charge of general systemic metabolic activities as well as more specific urination and body fluid regulation issues.So, you're both right. Thyroid and salt intake. However, when this tongue arises with IBS, I would lean more toward what we call "Spleen Qi Deficiency" if the patient isn't sensitive to cold. If they are, them its "Spleen Yang Deficiency".Thanks for the link to my site, I just happened to be looking at my "referral hits" the other day to see where my site's traffic was coming from and I came across this discussion.I may not always monitor these forums, but if you need to track me down, you can do so from the website mentioned in the first post in this thread.-al.


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