Oh my god it burns -- but not in the right place...

May 1, 2008 7:54 AM

My tongue tingles when I have the urge to urinate. Is this normal?

Really folks, this is a serious question. I'm a relatively healthy woman in my early 20's and I've been experiencing this phenomenon for as long as I can remember. I asked a doctor about this once many years ago and my concerns were more or less blown off. I haven't really wanted to bring it up again for fear of seeming like a hypochondriac. Is there something horribly wrong with my nervous system or is this within the range of normal?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (13 comments total)

I can't answer your below the fold questions but to your above the fold question... no, I don't think it's normal. At least, it isn't for me and I'm the epitome of normal.
posted by dobbs at 8:34 AM on May 1, 2008

Heh... I am at a conference today, and I was just wondering the very same thing. When I have to pee really badly, I get a tingly sensation in the teeth and gums and the base of my tongue. I've never talked to a doctor about it. But you aren't alone. I'm a woman in my mid-30's.
posted by kimdog at 8:51 AM on May 1, 2008

Yes, if I have to pee really badly, I also get a tingly, achy feeling in my jaws and gums. Is this a woman thing, and if it is, how could that be? I just asked my boyfriend if he gets this and he pretty much said it sounded insane.
posted by gt2 at 9:04 AM on May 1, 2008

don't freak out! you're fine. or at least i'm assuming you're fine. do you have any actual nerve problems? like, inability to sense in different parts of your body? being hyper sensitive in others? getting chronic weird pains or numbing sensations? if yes, go see a doctor. if not, really, don't worry. the body is much more connected than we'd like to think. just look at any acupressure or acupuncture website (a good one is here ). you can relieve all sorts of different things by pressing on a point on the body that you wouldn't think would correspond to the issue you're having.

the point of all this - stay calm. you're fine. if you start peeing out of your mouth, though, go see a doctor immediately.

that was a poor attempt at a joke. you're fine!
posted by binocularfight at 9:07 AM on May 1, 2008

Huh, when I have to pee I start thinking about sex. Like, a lot. I just figured things get crosswired sometimes. (Note: I have no golden shower fetishes or anything, the act of peeing is not a sexual one, etc)
posted by restless_nomad at 9:15 AM on May 1, 2008

I have the exact opposite problem. When i use my electric toothbrush, I need to pee, urgently. Even if I just peed before starting to brush my teeth.
posted by jrishel at 9:57 AM on May 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Fascinating.

I think you (and jrishel) are experiencing crosstalk in your brain.

Take a look at these images of the sensory and motor homunculi superimposed on the motor and sensory cortices of the brain. You can see that the area devoted to the tongue is right next to the area of the intra-abdominal in both the sensory and (I think, but it's not as clear) the motor cortex.
posted by jamjam at 10:18 AM on May 1, 2008

If I have to pee really really really badly, my teeth itch.

I'm sure it's normal.
posted by konolia at 11:25 AM on May 1, 2008

I can't find the related paper anywhere, but last year I saw a scientific presentation at a urology conference that showed that people feel strong urinary urgency in a variety of bodily locations. In the study participants had their bladders filled until they were desperate to go, and then marked on a map of the body where they felt the sensation. Most people, most of the time, feel it either in the lower abdomen, or in the perineum, but some people feel it in all sorts of odd places. I think your tingling tongue is quite unusual, but not abnormal.
posted by roofus at 2:34 PM on May 1, 2008

I had never, ever heard of this before I read this question today. AND THEN, tonight on the train, I'm sitting next to 3 young guys on their way to a party, and one really has to go to the bathroom. They're all laughing and joking about it, and then he yells out, Dude, man, I have to go so bad, my teeth hurt! So I guess it's relatively normal?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:55 PM on May 1, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

This happens to me. Do you carry tension in your jaw (grind your teeth when stressed, etc)? I do, and thought the tingling was related to that - my body is tense cos I need to wee and that's how it manifests because I carry tension in my jaw. I may well be totally wrong, however.
posted by goo at 12:17 AM on May 2, 2008

are you hydrated well?
posted by edtut at 3:09 AM on May 2, 2008

I experience it as itching on my palate, behind my front teeth.
posted by Bruce H. at 2:36 PM on May 2, 2008