Question:
has anyone experienced a black, spotted tongue right after surgery?

I am now 4 days post-op and just looked in the mirror at my tongue and it is black! not slightly... it is the whole top where my taste buds are and further back- like I ate a grape popsicle! i haven't had anything today but water and ice, cherry SF jello, and warm green tea with splenda? I am not on antibiotics? I am on lortab, tums, gas-x, B12.... flinstones with iron. I took all my vitamins and med this morning at about 7-8AM... and another dose of lortab at noon? it is now 5PM? i am scared this could be a sign of something serious? please anyone help me if you can!    — heather S. (posted on May 23, 2003)

May 23, 2003
Welcome to Ketosis - Fat Burning mode! But to be safe.. you might want to confirm this with your doctor. <p>Take Care, Be Well, Be Happy!
   — John T.

May 23, 2003
There might also be another reason...if you've taken something that contains the same ingredients as Pepto Bismal and followed that up by something with a lot of iron or caffeine in it, it might turn your ton black. I once freaked my mom out (when I was 12) by drinking some coke directly after taking Pepto and my tounge turned pitch black. If you brush your teeth and it goes away, I wouldn't worry.
   — Renee B.

May 29, 2003
There are a couple possible medical reasons for this. If it won't brush off and stays for a couple of days, you should definitely get it checked out. It could be a bacterial infection and then there's something called *black hairy tongue* that can get pretty gross if left untreated. Not only that, but as I'm sure you know, it doesn't look good and will most likely cause bad breath. Good luck!
   — Lynette B.

October 6, 2003
I did a bit of searching on the Web and found that in some instances it can be related to side effects from antibiotics (we are given peri-operative). I did have "black, hairy tongue" (you'll know it when you see it!) and it was really weird! But it slowly went away over about 3 weeks. The other thing I noticed was that it was (of course!) blacker right after drinking black coffee in the morning! Mine started about my third day home from the hospital. I am putting this in my memory bank for the next time I have surgery, just so the docs all know it.
   — Jane P.