[Symptoms] Funny taste in mouth

[Chrisr]

Does anyone else get a funny taste in their mouth when they don't get good sleep?  I can't explain the taste other than its not ordinary for me. I wouldn't describe it as metallic or any other taste that comes up when you do a google search for this topic. I don't notice it all the time, just throughout the day on days when I'm tired. It seems to be stronger on really bad days. 

I read somewhere that it could be adrenaline from lack of sleep but I can't find that again. Anybody ever heard of this related to sleep apnea?

[Narcil]

all i know is that mouth breathing makes your breath smell worse. could you be mouth breathing more when you don't sleep well?

[PeaceLoveAndPizza]

Any history of acid indigestion or GERD? Do you take any antacids or other medications like Omeprazole or other PPI?

[Chrisr]

I've been a mouth breather my whole life I think. It's something that stays with me the whole day.
 I can't rule that possibility out though.

I have no stomach issues and take no medications. Also, I regularly see the dentist and have asked about it there. Really my only health issue is the sleep apnea. 

I think this started around the same time my sleep apnea started and it went away when I got the CPAP machine but it's come back just like the fatigue.

[HalfAsleep]

If you’ve ruled out a CPAP malfunction….

I have recently had this experience myself. It may or may not be relevant to you.

It turns out, taste is substantially a production of smell. That’s a research factoid. However, I have been a virtual lab rat in the last few months. I had a septoplasty. After that, everything tasted metallic. All my normal foods tasted bizarre. Chocolate tasted super-weird. All I wanted to eat for about a month was Gelato. Gradually things got better, but I will never eat chocolate again.

The ENT who did my septoplasty further told me that the trigeminal nerve can mess with the nose. He said that a branch and sub-branches of the trigeminal nerve run across the cheek to the nose. You can get a hot spot (pain) on the nose. My experience is, this can be a source for the metallic taste, and I’m experiencing this as I post here. It also makes using some CPAP mask styles impossible.

Another reason for metallic taste also comes from the nose: post nasal drip. My septoplasty eliminated my post nasal drip, so I’ve swapped my old metallic taste source for a new metallic taste source.

Sinus infection?

So, yep, consider your nose.

Fatigue might come from the settings not being quite right, and perhaps unrelated to metallic taste.

[Chrisr]

So your story about nerves brings up a story of my own.

I started feeling the fatigue/too-tired to-care-about-the-world in mid 2020, off and on. At that same time I stopped taking terbinafine because my taste was disappearing. I didn't really have symptoms of Covid and never tested positive so I'm not sure what caused my taste to fade. It never really went away.

When I finally went to the doctor about possibly having sleep apnea he mentioned that viruses can cause nerve damage and that's probably what happened to me. The damage either being in my mouth/throat area or in the nerves delivering the signal to that area. I guess I could also have nerve damage causing the odd taste. My wife hasn't mentioned bad breath.

Could all the brain fog blamed on covid be nerve damage causing apnea? Interesting

[HalfAsleep]

That is very interesting. I hadn’t thought of COVID, but do recall folks were having taste issues with it. It was one of the more obvious symptoms. You might be able to google and get more info on it. Perhaps, after research, they have been able to pinpoint the cause. Maybe that’s even where I got the idea that taste comes from smell.

My own taste issue is specifically associated with the trigeminal nerve. I never had COVID.

You might have had the apnea before COVID, and not realized. Personally, I don’t know anything about nerves and throat mechanisms. However, it’s very possible you are getting brain fog from poor sleep, and it's maybe not a COVID thing.

Have you posted your Oscars to customize the settings?

[Chrisr]

I do have another thread with my graphs. I have a luna G3 so no Oscar though.

It's possible I had apnea before covid and its possible I never even had covid. My doctor said any virus can cause nerve damage(this is my GP not a sleep expert). I did have cold symptoms during that time but never tested positive for covid, for what that's worth. When I first got my cpap machine it was taking care of my symptoms but has lost its effectiveness since. The odd taste went away and came back also.

Maybe somebody out there has experienced this too.

[HalfAsleep]

Have you had your nose checked? The specialist would be an ENT.

My weird taste also comes and goes. It was an ENT who told me it was from my trigeminal nerve. The particular nerve end is the outside edge of one nostril.

Check post nasal drip...that's also an ENT thing, but you might be able to google taste and nasal drip. A sinus infection might also mess with it.