Question: How can I tell the difference between a sinus infection or spontaneous CSF leak ? I am tasting very salty mouth many times a day for several days now.

57 year old female, 5'2", 124 pounds. I am on Budesinide nasal spray (2 sprays each nostril at night for over 20 years for seasonal allergies and mild asthma which has been under contol for years now) and take 500 mg Metformin 2x a day for type II diabetes.

I had a headache that was made worse by bending over last Saturday. (The weather had suddenly changed from cool to very hot and humid for one day.) This is not totally inconsistant with my migraine history. The headaches are less frequent and less debilitating now. But I developed a new symptom: Salty taste in mouth many times a day. This really bad saltyness started on Sunday. But looking back, it was starting at a lower level a few days prior to that, but I only noticed it when I brushed my teeth, at first. I do not have baking soda in my toothpaste. My nose is not stuffed up, the liquid is clear when my nose runs (like when I was walking for my daily 3 miles and I stopped, my nose ran a bit. The taste seems to come on the very back of my tongue, not the front salivary glands. I have made an effort to make sure I am drinking enough water in the past couple of days, but it didn't help, although it was worse the day I forgot to take water on my walk.

What, if any extra blood tests should I make sure my doctor orders, if I ever get an appointment!

Mostly, it is in my mouth. Only once, after stopping walking, did my nose run a tiny bit and that may or may not have been related. Do I need a sterile container? I maybe could only have caught one drop, if that. Would that be enough? How soon does it have to get to a lab and how to "keep" it while waiting to get to one during open hours?

Is there any other possibility?

How urgent is this to get to a doctor? The ENT can't see me for about a month...

Thanks.

What about Barrett's Esophagus? Isn't this also possible?
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Can Barrett's Esophagus cause a salty taste all day long, day after day? My nose has not run since that one time. Maybe it is really from the back of the mouth.

My father died at age 61 from stomach cancer, so this is a concern. A doctor will see me on Weds morning, but he thinks is it GERD and does not think that CSF can spontaneously leak if I had no accident. I am really not sure which it could be, but doctors, in my experience only consider the most common things and often miss the diagnosis.

Does Metformin ever cause GERD and Barrett's Esophagus?
Does Budesininde nasal spray ever cause spontaneious CCSF leaks?

A small amount of anxiety is normal for a person whose father died at age 61 if the person is showing possible precursor symptoms at a similar age to the one where her father got cancer.

Why did you not mention GERD from Metformin as a possibility before. I have anxiety having to deal with doctors who don't fully discuss!

MY GP says he has never heard of Metformin causing GERD. He says it causes diarrhea, if anything.
I already walk 2-4 miles a day, I don't drink soda. I had not been eating spicy foods when this started except for some horseradish every day with my gefilte fish as it was during Passover holiday. Can horseradish do this? I have eaten it every year and this was not a particularly hot batch. I stopped eating it. THings were better today until after dinner. Onion Quiche and grilled vegetables. It started again, but not as bad as it had been. Doc not sure if it is gastro or sinus. Do you have a link to a paper that shows that Metformin encourages GERD and the best way to balance that with type II diabetes?