how long before get taste back

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paintmatt
paintmatt Member Posts: 17 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

I am just starting to be able to eat soft stuff  not much flavor in any foods was wondering how long before getting some taste back 

thanks and Happy New Year

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  • Cornflakes69
    Cornflakes69 Member Posts: 3
    edited January 2021 #2
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    Hi paintmatt

    My taste started coming back within a month or two I'm three years out now and can taste most things very well although there are some things that don't have much taste, mostly fruit like apples and oranges cant taste the sweetness 

     

  • Logan51
    Logan51 Member Posts: 464 Member
    #3
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    taste

    Mine came back in 3-4 months. You'll find the spicier foods to register more with your taste buds. I developed a Roadhouse Chili addiction, post-tx! You might want to try that or a pizza if your teeth can handle the chewing.

  • ricksmithgolfer
    ricksmithgolfer Member Posts: 87 Member
    #4
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    6 - 12 months for me

    Tonsil / lymph node cancer with 35 rads and 3 cisplatin chemo treatments. My taste took a little longer to come back than for some. Remember everyone is different on how fast taste comes back. I am now 2 years 3 months from finishing treatment and have all my taste back along with all my saliva. One food that you may want to try is bacon if you can swallow it. The flavor to me was exactly as I expected. At about 6 months after treatment my taste was still not coming back and someone on this forum suggested I start drinking lemonade to heip avtivate the taste buds. Shortly after I started drinking it I started noticing an improvement in taste.  Maybe worth trying to see if it helps. Losing my taste was one of the hardest things I dealt with. Be prepared for it to take a year and if it happens sooner consider yourself one of the fortunate ones. Good luck and God Bless.

    Rick

  • Dave705
    Dave705 Member Posts: 62 Member
    edited January 2021 #5
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    Hey Paintmatt

    Finished radiation last September. Taste still not all there, especially with meat. Seafood wonderful and definitely anything spicy taste good. But even things like chocolate is still hit or miss. Just hang in there. Everyone is different. Just like me it may take you longer

  • motorcycleguy
    motorcycleguy Member Posts: 478 Member
    #6
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    3-4 months -

    before it started to come back for me, too. Eggs, chicken soup broth, oatmeal, chili....

    It's still a little hit & miss on some foods (like a steak, for example).

    But, there's enough things that taste good, to keep me going. (A little "faded" taste keeps me from gaining weight - which I appreciate).

    It's tough, I know - but, keep trying different things. You'll get back to eating and enjoying it again!

    mg

  • ERomanO
    ERomanO Member Posts: 317 Member
    edited January 2021 #7
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    Hit or miss

    I think that sums it up best.  It not as though an on/off switch was flipped and suddenly my taste came back just the way it was before treatments.  As mentioned above, some things may never taste quite the same, but you find things that do and add them to your list.  My in-laws always send a box of Florida oranges and grapfruit to all their kids (and their favorite son in-law) and they taste close, but not quite like I remember.  It's not the end of the world.  Like all the changes we undergo, we just have to get used to them.

  • Mattie65
    Mattie65 Member Posts: 82 Member
    edited January 2021 #8
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    My taste

    Hey Paintmatt. In my case, I'm 2 1/2 weeks out of radiation and I already have a good portion of my taste back, in a way that I can taste the artificial flavours from the calorie drinks I'm living on again, in full.

    Two weeks ago, those still tasted awful. Right now, I'm surprised to discover that some of them actually do have quite pleasant tastes. :D

  • PipLily
    PipLily Member Posts: 127 Member
    #9
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    Hi paintmatt!

    My husband says it was about four weeks post treatment that he was really able to start tasting things, and was just a slow, steady improvement from there.  He finished June 3, and he now says he is at about 95%, and enjoys everything. He still has a small amount of residual dryness, but having a glass of water handy at meal times takes care of that. Everyone is very different, depending on treatment, etc. Hang in there! Each week will have some improvement. Happy New Year!

  • hlrowe
    hlrowe Member Posts: 80
    #10
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    It wasn't linear for me

    Around 3 weeks post TX I started tasting salt. Process was gradual over a few years. Taste would progress and then flatten out for a few months and then get better. That was frustrating. It's been 8 1/2 years and red meat taste is around 80% just to guess. Chicken, fish and pork are fine. Wine and beer (I like a few in the Summer months) took 5 years to get back to near normal. Pop still isn't quite right. Everthing else is normal. Took about 4 years to be able to eat spicy food again. Medium salsa now tastes like hot. My habanero days are over. It's hard to have patience but it does come back to fairly normal for most of us.

  • wild willy
    wild willy Member Posts: 63 Member
    edited January 2021 #11
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    taste

    been 11 years and still waiting.

  • motorcycleguy
    motorcycleguy Member Posts: 478 Member
    #12
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    paint,

    You're not too long out of treatment, but I was wondering if you were starting to get some taste back?

    I remember a Dr. (or Nurse) telling me once that the average taste bud is only 6 months old. She told me that they are constantly regenerating.

    Cancer treatment seems to do a number on them ... but they are probably growing back at this time.

    Do you like eggs? For a couple months after treatment, eggs over easy tasted good, and that's all I ate for a while!

    I hope you're starting to get better. I remember how much of a struggle that was!...

    mg

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