Idiopathic First Bite Syndrome

October 26, 2022 5:23 PM

I really thought everyone experienced this and just found out it's rare?

First Bite Syndrome is apparently rare in general and usually caused by upper neck surgery or specific tumors. I really thought everyone had that pain reaction upon first eating after a while. I guess mine is idiopathic. Do you have experience with this? YANMD, but my mind is blown.

posted by atomicstone to Health & Fitness (19 answers total)

I definitely experience a version of this but I would not describe the pain as severe or have any kind of swelling. If either of those were the case, I would definitely see a doctor.
posted by derrinyet at 5:44 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have this too, but not all the time. It probably happens once a month at most. When it happens, the pain is usually severe, sharp, and stabbing, but passes very quickly. I do not have any swelling, nor have I ever had upper neck surgery or a tumour in the area, so I guess mine is idiopathic too.

I also had no idea that this didn’t happen to everyone until I read your question!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:07 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Ditto! Though I did have an adenoidectomy as a small child. It's sporadic, and I never have any swelling.

I thought I had looked up this pain on the Internet once and concluded that it was not uncommon or dangerous. But now I can't find the source I consulted.
posted by praemunire at 6:35 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I have this exactly the same as hurdy gurdy girl.
posted by sockpup at 7:25 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

I never knew this had a name, and it sounds like the same or a similar thing?? I experience when I eat the first bite of something very sweet, like store bought cake frosting. I saw someone (probably here on metafilter) once describe it as "sean penn face" since that's the reaction it causes.

Edited to add: no surgery or tumors but I do have a neurological deformation around my brain stem/upper neck.
posted by phunniemee at 8:07 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Oh. Wow. I had no idea this was uncommon. It happens to me with extremely sweet things. I always thought maybe it was a rush of anticipatory salivation getting ready to help me chew and digest?

I work really hard to eat frequently so it doesn’t happen to me often. But yes, sharp and stabby, but brief.
posted by bilabial at 8:10 PM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

Like phunniemee and bilabial, I mostly get this with sweet things, though occasionally with other food. I'd describe it as a rush of pain and saliva together, and it happens most often when I take a bite of dark chocolate or something as a mid-afternoon snack. I've always just thought of it as one of those "huh, that's weird" things, and had no idea that it wasn't something that happens to everyone. (I would not describe the pain as severe, but it's aversive enough that I think twice before snacking on something sweet.)

I have had no neck surgery, no tumors (that I know about, eep), and the only thing that might seem somehow related is that dentists always complain that I salivate much more than normal and never seem to be able to keep up with the suction.
posted by LadyOscar at 10:28 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Yeah, this happens to me as well. Mild pain near my salivary glands on the first bite if I haven’t eaten in awhile, most common around dinner.

Like LadyOscar, dentists have praised my ability to salivate. It seems related.
posted by TurnKey at 11:48 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Happens to me sometimes, but only if I eat something really sweet or really salty after not eating for a while. I couldn't say how often it happens - less than once a week, maybe?
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 12:30 AM on October 27, 2022

Since this is attracting mostly people who've also had the same thing, let me chip in to say I don't experience this!
posted by penguin pie at 2:57 AM on October 27, 2022 [12 favorites]

This is familiar to me, though I've had no surgery, to my knowledge, aside from having my tonsils removed.

I have associated it not with sweet, but with sour foods.
posted by alexei at 3:35 AM on October 27, 2022

I have this and I had a parotid tumor removed several years ago. Didn't experience it before the surgery. And for me, first bite syndrome only occurs on the left side of my face/jaw, which is where the surgery occurred.
posted by cooker girl at 4:26 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

I've had it all my life although not consistently. It occurs way back on both sides of the mouth directly behind the ear lobes. In fact just now thinking of it I get a mild version. I never realized it's related to the salivary glands but yeah that makes sense.
posted by mono blanco at 7:15 AM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

I get this, only and always when I drink white or rose wine. Go figure. It's miserable so I avoid them. I can drink reds, no problem. I thought it had something to do with the wine. No surgery or neck problems, etc.

p.s. this is very interesting, cool to find other people have it, and this is why I love MetaFilter!
posted by probably not that Karen Blair at 1:38 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I'm starting to think there's a thing LOTS of people experience we might (I'm a lawyer, not a HCW) call sub-clinical (although VERY painful in the moment!) that is very common, and doesn't include some swelling, maybe? Because, otherwise, claiming its rare makes no sense. When I make a pain-face and explain to the people around me why, they GET IT. Also, thanks for all your insights!
posted by atomicstone at 1:42 PM on October 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

I also get this, usually with sharp cheddar. I swear I remember reading that this was a salivary response, ala these reddit threads
posted by lizjohn at 2:21 PM on October 27, 2022

Ah, it wasn't obvious that you wanted people who *don't* experience this to answer as well??

Better to ask a large random group of people if they experience it, to see how common it is.


Because - I had **noooo** idea what you were talking about. And I'm still a little confused.

You experience a flash of severe pain somewhere in your neck or under your ring, when you first start eating, all of the time/or even some of the time?

Wouldn't that put you off eating? Or would you try to eat less often so it doesn't happen so often, but eat more, or if you snack frequently does that stop it happening?

If you thought *everyone* experienced it, wouldn't you have expected any cultural references to it?
Like, "love is pain, and of course eating is pain...".
Or like, people saying you should go to a Dr if you have unexplained pain, "except if you're eating, because... That's normal??".

I'm just trying to think though the explaining to people situation you've described:
If you made a pain face upon eating, and told me that first bite hurt, I would probably look very sympathetic and nod, because that sucks!
But I would very much *not* have got it, I would have erroneously thought you meant you had a sore throat or an ulcer, or a temporarily blocked salivary gland, and that it was particularly hurting on that first bite of food? Also if someone expresses pain but doesn't explain further, the generally polite thing to do is to express sympathy but not dig further.

I wouldn't have assumed you got this all the time - if its genetic, do your family make the 'pain face' when they first eat too? Have you ever noticed anyone else making the 'pain face' you're talking about on eating.

I've just asked a couple of coworkers and they have never heard of this either, and are making suuper perplexed faces 🤷🏻‍♀️- but you'd really want to corner at least 20 people to get a rough poll, and keep going every time you have a large social group willing to answer a random question...
posted by Elysum at 9:02 PM on October 27, 2022

Edit windows closed: Ring was a weird swype autocorrect from tongue
posted by Elysum at 9:17 PM on October 27, 2022

It happens occasionally for me, but doesn't appear linked to any kind of food. In my case it mostly happens if I eat too soon after waking up in the morning. So I figure it's probably a muscular/joint thing - maybe due to the force of the bite after a whole night of my jaw being immobile.
posted by obliterati at 12:05 PM on October 28, 2022