So I have an. . . interesting problem. It's truly bizarre and I have never heard of it before. So to explain it I will make a short story long (no, I did not write that incorrectly - that's what I mean).
During the weekdays I do a fairly short run - a 3-mile run is about as much as I can squeeze in before my husband has to leave for work at 6:25. On Saturdays I usually do about a 6-mile run. And now that I am training for the Moab 1/2 next month, I've been doing 6, 7, 8, etc. mile-runs on Saturdays.
Every long-run for the past 5 weeks I come home and am unable to eat any food because of my parotid gland (a gland on your jaw-bone, under your ear - it makes saliva, i.e., spit). It freaks out - my parotid gland - and causes me so much pain that I can not eat. I can hardly think about food because then my gland goes into spasms - or whatever it is - and it so awful! Has anyone ever had such a problem? It doesn't happen on my shorter runs - just those runs 6-plus miles. The first time it happened I had chewed gum on my run and thought that was why - I had overstimulated the gland or something. But I haven't had gum the last 4-5 weeks and it still happens.
So weird and so miserable! I did a 10-mile run today, was finished running at 9am, but couldn't eat anything until noon. I was starving. :)
Anyone with any suggestions or help????
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7 comments:
i can't believe i'm related to such a weirdo.
have you tried maybe running with water? i wonder if it's a drinking thing.
that's all i got.
no, cuz if i did then i'd have to pee all the time.
but maybe?
and you'd better believe it - ha.
I have really bad TMJ problems and I had horrible problems when I trained and ran the marathon in St. George. I am sorry to say that I dont have any solution but you could drink an instant breakfast when you get home until the pain goes away. I did take iboprofen for it too. I had to chew gum so I think that irritated it too. Mine was also worse cause I tense up my shoulders really bad on long runs so if I focused on relaxing them it helped my jaw as well. Sorry I am not much help but just wanted you to know you arent alone.
This happened to me once too!
It was one of my first runs, so short distance but high effort just to keep going.
I attributed it either to tension in my jaw or the cold weather. It was sorta sore all the time but hurt bad when I opened my mouth much. I think it faded in a week or a bit more and thankfully hasn't returned.
I googled it and found nothing. Very weird.
i think you should talk to an expert but my guess is that it's a combination of a few different things. the air, your salt intake and your water intake.
dry air (like in cold/dry air) can make me have a tough time swallowing. running that distance will also deplete your salt and water content. the combination of the three can cause some discomfort. again, this is only a guess so please consult an expert.
when i run long distances, i take potasium and salt tablets. you can get them at most running stores. i don't drink a ton of water but i will take a good sip from time to time. it helps prevent those times when i have a tough time swallowing. i find that my run is effected by the outside conditions. i don't know, maybe the same thing is going on with you.
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So sorry for you! This sounds awful. I chew gum every time I run, so I don't think it's the gum thing or I would have experienced it by now probably. I agree with Fred Roth, I would recommend trying Potassium tablets and see if that helps. Really strange problem.
I have it. I've had a problem with it for several years, and I can't believe someone else has it too! It is extremely painful to swallow, talk, move my neck, ect. email me and we'll share each other's pain: jenniferstagg@hotmail.com
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