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oral lichen planus

  1. Hi I have just been diagnosed with oral lichen planus.

    I have had a sore mouth for about six weeks now and have just seen my dentist and g.p.

    I thought I would find out how mwny out there have this condition as I have never heard of it before.

  2. Hi,

    I was diagnosed in September 2009 with oral lichen planus. It's now May 2012 and it is much worst now and sadly after having a biopsy I now have lichen sclerous as well. I can't seem to keep it under control. I am now on a ciinamon free diet after testing positive in two seperate allergy patch testings and I am on week two of a 12 week Benzoate Free diet. Very early days and not seen any improvement as yet. I would like to now how you are. The Prof whom I am a patient of gives me very little imformation and my dentist is no help at all.

  3. Hi there -

    I strongly suspect there is a connection between candida yeast overgrowth in the body (also responsible for oral thrush and vaginal yeast infections) and OLP. I will try to give you the Reader's Digest version of my story! But it might be a bit of a novel... However I hope some of the info will be helpful.

    I have recently been diagnosed with OLP by my family doctor, who essentially said 'yeah, we're not sure what causes it or how to get rid of it, here's some steroid cream, good luck.'

    So I went to a naturopathic doctor who asked me a list of questions about my health - I should tell you that I have suffered from what I believed to be a hypothyroid condition but my tests kept coming back negative; I also have chronic headaches (doctor told me to drink more water - more than the 3 litres a day I already drink, apparently!) Here is a list of symptoms that research and naturopaths believe to be related to candida overgrowth in the body: http://www.thecandidadiet.com/candidasymptoms.htm

    In a nutshell, I had an extremely aggressive vaginal yeast infection for about 2 months, and then it spread to my mouth, and I had some mild symptoms of oral thrush. Immediately after that, these little zit-like bumps appeared at the back of my mouth, either side of my uvula and the roof of my mouth, followed by larger white zit-like bumps, and my gums began to bleed when I flossed, my tongue was yellowish-white coated, I had the metallic taste, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, etc. All symptoms of OLP.

    From what the medical profession knows of OLP, it is an autoimmune disorder, meaning the body is attacking its own cells, sometimes for no obvious reason. My naturopath believes the cells in my mouth attacked the thrush infection, and even when the infection ceased, the signs left are essentially OLP (so OLP is, in a way, its own cause).

    So the treatment, in hopes of getting rid of the OLP, is to do a cleanse of the body to get rid of the candida yeast that is overgrown. You can find out lots more information on the site I pasted above. But the plan includes a diet that removes yeast, wheat, carbs, sugar, etc. from your diet, which are substances that encourage candida yeast growth. The second part is to cleanse the body using a course of antifungals (you can also find those listed on that site, or check out this product, which has it all in one handy capsule! http://www.renewlife.com/candigone.html). I am going away on a trip for a couple of weeks, so it's not a good time for me to do the full candida eradication plan, but in the meantime, I have cut out refined sugar, white carbs, all alcohol, and sweet fruits (stick to berries and green apples, they are lower in sugar than other fruits). My naturopath also recommended that I take garlic capsules (natural antifungal), and use oil of oregano to treat the mouth. Here is my current routine, and I am having some success with it, though it will probably be better when I get right into the full-on diet and herbal cleanse:

    In the morning, after lunch, and before bed: brush and floss teeth gently, followed by a mouthwash of salt, baking soda, an acidophilus capsule (good bacteria to help fight the overgrowth of bad bacteria in the mouth), and several drops of tea tree oil. Do not swallow this, as tea tree is not meant to be taken internally but acts as a great antifungal.

    I follow this with a mouthwash just consisting of aloe vera juice (there are some studies that show aloe has a healing effect on OLP ulcers/irritations). I then use the oil of oregano. DO NOT USE COMMERCIAL MOUTHWASH - it kills the good bacteria in the mouth along with the bad, and can actually exacerbate a yeast problem (believe me, I learned this the hard way!) I'm also using a tea tree lip balm in the hopes of preventing it from spreading to my lips.

    Start doing some research on an anti-candida diet and cleanse, and on the benefits of aloe vera and probiotics. I figure trying this routine is better than anything my doctor has suggested (which is ZIP), and it targets the entire system as opposed to just treating the symptoms with steroids.

    I'll post again in a couple of months when I"ve finished the candida cleanse plan, and let you know how it went. Please update me on your progress as well!

    Best of luck and my sympathies

  4. Hello my poor little Lichen sufferers! I need your help.

    As I sit and cry tremendously it is not for me but for my best friend who has been diagnosed with this disease. She started having outbreaks at 16 and was getting them about once a year. However, we are 31 now and within the last 2 years she has been sick every 6 weeks. The rash is gets worse every time. Taking over her mouth, tongue, throat and down her esophagus. When she gets sick, she is only able to lay in bed for days or weeks at a time. She has been hospitalized several times because of dehydration because she cannot eat. She has been on several medications which include her having to get blood tests to ensure that her liver and kidneys are able to function while she is on it. The last few outbreaks have spread to her arms and hands. I am so worried for her doctors just keep trying these strong meds with little to no relief. My beautiful best friend is detriorating because she is constantly bed ridden and having a hard time caring for her 11 year old daughter. Is there something I can do. Maybe its the wrong diagnosis?

    HELP!!

  5. I was daignosed with Oral Lichen Planus 2 years ago and I was discharged from the hospital consultant being told there was nothing else they could do for me.

    Following on from this prognosis, I went on a strict gluten free diet and eventually the sores cleared up and now they only reappear occasionally when I inadvertently eat some gluten in error.

    I thought this was worth sharing with any sufferers out there.

  6. I was daignosed with Oral Lichen Planus 2 years ago and I was discharged from the hospital consultant being told there was nothing else they could do for me.

    Following on from this prognosis, I went on a strict gluten free diet and eventually the sores cleared up and now they only reappear occasionally when I inadvertently eat some gluten in error.

    I thought this was worth sharing with any sufferers out there.

  7. oral lichen planus is a inflamatory disease.this disease usually show in women about 50-60 th..the etiologi is unknown, but some of the reaserch show that OLP caused because of stress, allergy reaction from dentamaterial, or allergy from medicine such as anti hipertension, anti malarria etc. OLP can be symtomatic and asymtomatic..my mom have the asymtomatic and my teacher ask my mom to consume vit.A 20.000iu for 2 weeks and reduce her stress. but i read about the symtomatic to use corticosteroid.i wish it'll help.

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