I’ve just noticed over the past couple of days… my tongue is irritated and looks odd. The left lateral side appears smoother and there are bumps clustered almost on the side and bumps on the back of my tongue near my throat. Ive been doing the worst possible thing and googling but none of the pictures I’m finding are similar to mine.
has anyone seen anything like this before? I am so anxious I feel sick!
Have you had any oral sex history? How many times if so. is it painful or itchy?
Dear brittany,
I’ve annotated the picture you’ve posted to check what you’re referring to.
Could you please confirm and answer some questions?
Thanks,
Adhari
Yes, thank you for replying. That is what I’m referrring to. I wouldn’t say it’s painful but it is noticeably there… I feel like I keep perioidically biting it.
I did check my glands, they are not swollen.
April 15 is the last time. We both were tested prior and okay… but i didn’t visually see the results. I haven’t had anything like this happen before, so I am definitely concerned.
It’s not painful or itchy, but i did notice last night i woke up biting it two different times. Its irritated this morning but not painful.
I can’t get into a doctor until the end of May which makes it a little nerve racking and a lot of time to (over)analyze . I’ve been seeing one person but sexual history is new… prior to that i dated someone for 5 years.
Dear brittany,
Thanks for the information. The two common STDs that can cause ulcers are syphilis and herpes.
Herpes tends to be associated with multiple painful ulcers, whereas syphilis (in its primary stage) can cause a single, relatively painless ulcer at the site of infection.
Very early stages of syphilis can be ‘missed’ by a blood test, so it can’t be entirely excluded if you tested negative; but your partner would have tested positive at the time…(you say he didn’t share his result with you?)
I think you should go to an STD clinic as soon as possible to get tested for both infections. This would mean taking swabs for herpes and syphilis DNA from the ulcer and repeating the blood test for syphilis. Tell them they need to check for primary syphilis.
Thank you for the information. Just a follow up-- I’m across the country right now so went to an urgent care. I feel like they sort of rode my concerns off, so going to still follow up with my doctor when i get home.
She did not do a swab or bloodwork. She said it was unwarranted and my symptoms don’t match those diagnoses. She said she didn’t think my mouth looked abnormal to her, related to an STD but would run a urine screening. I mentioned syphilis and HSV and she just said no.
So anyway, she thought it looked like a yeast buildup or oral infection, Prescribed diflucan … and said she’d follow up in a couple of days with the returned urine culture results.
Stick to your guns and get a proper STD screen with a doctor you can trust! Doesn’t sound like this person has much interest or experience.
“The (man) who knows syphilis know medicine”
Prof Sir William Osler 1849-1919
Professor of Medicine, Oxford; and
Founding Professor, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Im not sure if you’ll see this but as a follow-up, I did get 2 sets if STD tests including blood and oral swabs and they have all come back negative. The second physician thought it looked like syphillis as well but I have now had 2 negative tests. she gave me a second dose of diflucan and it cleared my tongue up some… but the back of my throat is still red and sore. No fever or any other symptoms… soooo not sure what ill do from here but just a follow up that the std tests have all come back negative. Thanks for listening and advice 
Hi brittany,
OK, good to hear STD tests are clear. Can’t help with your throat symptoms, but I’m assuming the doctor also swabbed your throat for gonorrhoea and chlamydia in addition to the blood tests?
Coronavirus can present with myriad symptoms, so maybe consider getting swabbed for this in case your presentation is atypical.
Rgds,
Adhari