Spicey Food or things that burn my mouth...

LilTexLady

Question for long-term post radiation patients: Will I ever be able to eat Ketchup, Tex-Mex, or anything acidy again?? Is this due to the lack of saliva? I am currently 5 months post radiation.

adventurebob

Maybe
I really dislike this saying but it is so appropriate sometimes:"everyone is different". I've been putting ketchup on all my food since I started eating again a month and a half ago. It tasted good and lubed up the food just right. I can't do hot peppers but that's about it. I think it's because my taste buds are like new. When I was a kid I wasn't able to do hot stuff but grew to love it. I think I'm just starting over again. Maybe it's the same for you. I really miss hot salsa and tabasco. Happy eating to you,

Bob

sweetblood22

adventurebob said:

Maybe
I really dislike this saying but it is so appropriate sometimes:"everyone is different". I've been putting ketchup on all my food since I started eating again a month and a half ago. It tasted good and lubed up the food just right. I can't do hot peppers but that's about it. I think it's because my taste buds are like new. When I was a kid I wasn't able to do hot stuff but grew to love it. I think I'm just starting over again. Maybe it's the same for you. I really miss hot salsa and tabasco. Happy eating to you,

Bob

Try the L-Glutamine powder.
Try the L-Glutamine powder. Since I've been using it my tongue is better able to tolerate orange juice, tomato sauce, and other things I've not been able to eat in two years.

Check out the superthread for links and info on Glutamine. You can buy it on line or I just get mine at GNC. I use a tsp in my water bottle I keep with me, and a tsp in my daily juice or smoothie every day.

rush1958

Spicey Food
LilTexLady,

Bob hit the nail on the head. Everyone is different.

In my case, I never cared much for spicey food before this all happened. I'm about ten months out of treatment and I can't get enough hot, spicey food now.

I can eat habanero peppers and the hottest sauces out there and never bat an eye. I eat jalapeno peppers with every meal. I doctor everything with cayenne pepper....

Just remember, your mileage may vary......

Rush

Skiffin16

NP Here
Like Rush, it's not a problem for me...hot wings, salsa, etc....

I'm nearing two years post treatment (chemo and chemo/rads)....back when I first finished and for several months I couldn't tolerate much either. Orange juice would irritate my throat. But now, it's all good...

Hang in there,
John

Kent Cass

Ms Tex
It was some time ago that this subject came up, and I can only remember CajunEagle as also having developed a liking for the hotter/spicier foods. Now, I see Rush has joined the ranks.

Everyone is different, though. Campbell's makes the Roadhouse Chili that I enjoy to the hilt. Pizza is easy, but of course the flavor isn't the same as it used to be. Way I see it, and you have to experiment on your own, the reason it struck home with me as great way back when is that it took the hotter stuff to actually register as a flavor with all the damage done to the taste buds, and I found it to be most agreeable. Must eat is slowly, though, which is all right. Most things were just bland and flavorless, unless the taste was to the Negative. Tried a Whopper- yuck. But then I tried a little Wendy's cheeseburger with white onion, mustard and ketchup, and pickle- BINGO. Also, Mac's chicken snack wraps with the Chipolte BBQ is excellent. And I'm NPC, which means my mouth and nasal area did take a hit. And when did I learn that I liked, again, such as mustard and onions? Right about the time where you are at, now- 5-months.

I hope it comes back for you, like it has for me and the forementioned. Trial and error is all we/you can do. I must admit, and encourage all to try, customized chef-salad's, as such is healthier. It's what I have for supper every evening, without failure. And, yes, it's with either Italian or orange French dressing. And by a little over a year after my last rad I had gained back all the weight I had lost. Things have come back for me, and I hope someday you'll be able to say the same.

kcass

Kimba1505

rush1958 said:

Spicey Food
LilTexLady,

Bob hit the nail on the head. Everyone is different.

In my case, I never cared much for spicey food before this all happened. I'm about ten months out of treatment and I can't get enough hot, spicey food now.

I can eat habanero peppers and the hottest sauces out there and never bat an eye. I eat jalapeno peppers with every meal. I doctor everything with cayenne pepper....

Just remember, your mileage may vary......

Rush

Spicey: no good.
Mark is approaching 9 months post treatment. He cannot do spicey. Even pepperoni on pizza is too spicey for him. Alcohol burns going down too. Guinness beer is smooth like a milkshake, sometimes cold white wine is okay. Everything else burns. They say give everything one year to work itself out. But you will hear from others here who even after 1 year still experience progress.
Ketchup is tough to give up...guess you'll have to do cheese fries!!
Kim

Pam M

Moving Right Along
LilTexLady,
I MISSED catsup - it's been a major food group for me since I was a toddler. it took a few months to be able to eat it again probably four or five months - I'm a year outside of radiation, and it still stings sometimes (but not enough to deter me). I am able to eat salsa again (mild only - not the medium I used to eat - there's a huge difference to me now). Same with salad dressings, grapefruit and some tomato based sauces - they sting, but I can tolerate it now. Like Luv4LaCrosse told us in another post, sometimes you just gotta go for it. Then you get to celebrate the day you realize you're able to have catsup again. Hope it's soon.

TheDane

I'm jealous!
RUSH I am jealous of you!

I used to LOOOVE spicy foods of all types back in "life".
Now everything is so over amplified it's all horrific and disgusting.

Yup - it's all very personal.

Darn...

~Dane

LilTexLady

adventurebob said:

Maybe
I really dislike this saying but it is so appropriate sometimes:"everyone is different". I've been putting ketchup on all my food since I started eating again a month and a half ago. It tasted good and lubed up the food just right. I can't do hot peppers but that's about it. I think it's because my taste buds are like new. When I was a kid I wasn't able to do hot stuff but grew to love it. I think I'm just starting over again. Maybe it's the same for you. I really miss hot salsa and tabasco. Happy eating to you,

Bob

I liked how you referenced
I liked how you referenced it to being a kid again, and I was thinking the in the same line. They are new taste buds, so they have to acquire to the taste of everything again. My doc said that I needed to retrain my brain what things taste like. I'm not sure how that works, I still can't seem to taste a chocolate cake like I used to..lol. Although, the taste has been changing a lot recently, so either I can try it again, or do what is best for myself and omit the chocolate cake..lol

LilTexLady

rush1958 said:

Spicey Food
LilTexLady,

Bob hit the nail on the head. Everyone is different.

In my case, I never cared much for spicey food before this all happened. I'm about ten months out of treatment and I can't get enough hot, spicey food now.

I can eat habanero peppers and the hottest sauces out there and never bat an eye. I eat jalapeno peppers with every meal. I doctor everything with cayenne pepper....

Just remember, your mileage may vary......

Rush

Thank you, Rush! Being from
Thank you, Rush! Being from Texas, everything is hotter than most. I had to drink 4 glasses a milk during a meal one night..lol I can live without many foods, but Tex-Mex is my favorite.

LilTexLady

sweetblood22 said:

Try the L-Glutamine powder.
Try the L-Glutamine powder. Since I've been using it my tongue is better able to tolerate orange juice, tomato sauce, and other things I've not been able to eat in two years.

Check out the superthread for links and info on Glutamine. You can buy it on line or I just get mine at GNC. I use a tsp in my water bottle I keep with me, and a tsp in my daily juice or smoothie every day.

Thank you Sweetblood. I'll
Thank you Sweetblood. I'll check into that, I know I have seen the name before.

LilTexLady

Skiffin16 said:

NP Here
Like Rush, it's not a problem for me...hot wings, salsa, etc....

I'm nearing two years post treatment (chemo and chemo/rads)....back when I first finished and for several months I couldn't tolerate much either. Orange juice would irritate my throat. But now, it's all good...

Hang in there,
John

You all are bringing up so
You all are bringing up so many other things that bother me too, it's comforting to know that this is a normal process and I might be getting anxious about it too soon. Thank you for your input, Skiffin.

LilTexLady

Kent Cass said:

Ms Tex
It was some time ago that this subject came up, and I can only remember CajunEagle as also having developed a liking for the hotter/spicier foods. Now, I see Rush has joined the ranks.

Everyone is different, though. Campbell's makes the Roadhouse Chili that I enjoy to the hilt. Pizza is easy, but of course the flavor isn't the same as it used to be. Way I see it, and you have to experiment on your own, the reason it struck home with me as great way back when is that it took the hotter stuff to actually register as a flavor with all the damage done to the taste buds, and I found it to be most agreeable. Must eat is slowly, though, which is all right. Most things were just bland and flavorless, unless the taste was to the Negative. Tried a Whopper- yuck. But then I tried a little Wendy's cheeseburger with white onion, mustard and ketchup, and pickle- BINGO. Also, Mac's chicken snack wraps with the Chipolte BBQ is excellent. And I'm NPC, which means my mouth and nasal area did take a hit. And when did I learn that I liked, again, such as mustard and onions? Right about the time where you are at, now- 5-months.

I hope it comes back for you, like it has for me and the forementioned. Trial and error is all we/you can do. I must admit, and encourage all to try, customized chef-salad's, as such is healthier. It's what I have for supper every evening, without failure. And, yes, it's with either Italian or orange French dressing. And by a little over a year after my last rad I had gained back all the weight I had lost. Things have come back for me, and I hope someday you'll be able to say the same.

kcass

Thank you Cass,for your
Thank you Cass,for your input! I have noticed some more changes recently. It's a bit strange while during treatment and after I could have salad dressing, mustard, etc. and didn't have a problem with my mouth while it was raw. In a matter of 3 months, I couldn't eat this stuff without it burning. Glad to hear that things have come back for you, although I don't want my weight back..lol

LilTexLady

Pam M said:

Moving Right Along
LilTexLady,
I MISSED catsup - it's been a major food group for me since I was a toddler. it took a few months to be able to eat it again probably four or five months - I'm a year outside of radiation, and it still stings sometimes (but not enough to deter me). I am able to eat salsa again (mild only - not the medium I used to eat - there's a huge difference to me now). Same with salad dressings, grapefruit and some tomato based sauces - they sting, but I can tolerate it now. Like Luv4LaCrosse told us in another post, sometimes you just gotta go for it. Then you get to celebrate the day you realize you're able to have catsup again. Hope it's soon.

I hope so too, Pam! I tried
I hope so too, Pam! I tried searching for another post, but I guess I didn't use the right words. I'm definitely going to keep trying. As long as I have a glass of milk to cool it off, I'll keep trying..lol

Greg53

TheDane said:

I'm jealous!
RUSH I am jealous of you!

I used to LOOOVE spicy foods of all types back in "life".
Now everything is so over amplified it's all horrific and disgusting.

Yup - it's all very personal.

Darn...

~Dane

The spicier the better
Ms Tex,

I was very similar to you, loved spicey foods and missed them SO much. When I was 5 months out there was no way could I tolerate anything hot and spicey. And I tried about every week. But it slowly came back. I can eat any of the hot stuff now, just like I did before. And I'm a year out from treatments next week. As the mantra goes here "Everyone is different" but give it some time and experiement every couple of weeks and hopefully that too will come back for you.

Positive thoughts to all!

Greg

luv4lacrosse

SPICY FOODS
I am 5 1/2 months out and spicy is not going well for me. The good thing for me is I have tried more new foods in the last two weeks that I am having success with, it makes me forget about the spicy issue. Beer goes down ok, but wine of any kind burns and tastes like rubbing alchohol.

Keep trying new thigs and adjust as you go.

here's to good eating.

Mike

buzz99

LilTexLady said:

Thank you, Rush! Being from
Thank you, Rush! Being from Texas, everything is hotter than most. I had to drink 4 glasses a milk during a meal one night..lol I can live without many foods, but Tex-Mex is my favorite.

There is spicy and there is NM green chili
Tex-Mex is mild compared to New Mexico green and red chilis. I grew up in Phoenix and was surprised at how spicy the Mexican food is here. Buzz can't eat anything remotely spicy (mayo and salad dressing are out). He is almost 3 months post treatment. Hope you get back to your favorites! Karen

Clearblue

sweetblood22 said:

Try the L-Glutamine powder.
Try the L-Glutamine powder. Since I've been using it my tongue is better able to tolerate orange juice, tomato sauce, and other things I've not been able to eat in two years.

Check out the superthread for links and info on Glutamine. You can buy it on line or I just get mine at GNC. I use a tsp in my water bottle I keep with me, and a tsp in my daily juice or smoothie every day.

swish
Hey Sweet
R u swishing and spitting, or swishing and swallowing?
Do you feel that yr improvemnt is definitely teh Glutamine?
Clear

Larla

Hot foods
I am nineteen months post treatment for NPC. I had radiation and chemo concurrently.I was very sick and relied on my feeding tube completely until about two months after.I could not tolerate anything spicey or acidic until about six months after treatment.I enjoy all foods now and I only have trouble with certain meats and breads being too dry.Just
keep trying new foods every week and you'll be surprised how you can tolerate them again.
Good luck.
Laura

minty01

LilTexLady said:

I liked how you referenced
I liked how you referenced it to being a kid again, and I was thinking the in the same line. They are new taste buds, so they have to acquire to the taste of everything again. My doc said that I needed to retrain my brain what things taste like. I'm not sure how that works, I still can't seem to taste a chocolate cake like I used to..lol. Although, the taste has been changing a lot recently, so either I can try it again, or do what is best for myself and omit the chocolate cake..lol

Hi
Hi LIltexlady

I am in agreement with everyone else as to everyone is different but no one explains why! The reason everyone is different some take longer some sooner than later is because we all are probably having different dose and treatment levels . i had this fear and got into depression , saw my consultant who assured me in time my taste will come back due to the fact i was having a relatively small dose , i am
two days out of treatment can only eat weetabix , ommelette or frosties , have not found a drink yet that tastes normal even water tastes salty ! i too love my curries and spicy food so i am hoping like you and im trusting my consultant that i will get that back.

God Bless and good luck

Ian