Can you smell and taste the burn from radiation?

connieprice1
connieprice1 Member Posts: 300 Member
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Connie was telling me today that she thinks she has a burnt taste in her throat, she also said she thought she could smell this sensation also. She is now 3 weeks out of radiation and eats completely with her peg, we have talked about her trying some chicken and stars soup but so far we have just talked about it. She has told me starting today that she is hungry and she did 4 cans today and did not throw up. We are hoping that the thick saliva and nausea is starting to subside. So far, she has no taste to speak of and I don't want to rush her but our doctor told us the sooner she can start tasting and trying food the better. Connie had a top denture and two partials and her 8 front teeth on the bottom which were removed at the start of treatment. She is anxious to get teeth again and she had 4 implants placed the same day the dentist took out her remaining teeth. We see her dentist the same day she does her 1st ct scan on May 5th and she is hoping to get her implanted teeth soon after. Does anyone have any advise on this topic as I am sure some of her anxiety is for cosmetic reasons also. I want to encourage her to try to eat orally but after ALL she has been through I feel she will know when she is ready. Connie doesn't post so I do all the posting with her questions and then read her the posts that come back. We Love everyone here, Homer & Connie

Comments

  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #2
    We love you back!
    I had extensive work done & can understand how Connie feel's.I had to get a lower denture put in & it was for the best. I managed to take small sip's of water everyday just to keep thing's going with the swallow function. Also flat gingerale worked for me also. My taste for savory was the last to return. I tried soup's at first. They did not work, so I tried making homemade shake's with carnation instant breakfast & I would add ice cream. sliced canned peaches, John's great suggestion & later on added half a banana. My taste for sweet was the first to return. It took me a fair while to start eating & nothing went as planned.So I sort went with pudding cup's, ice cream yogurt etc. Remember, we are all different & some of us here liked the savoury foods first. I sure missed them but they were a turn off. Now I can eat anything just about.The denture will take a bit but once anchored they work wonderfull. I can chew prime rib now lol. Don't worry about the teeth for now, try to focus on healing. Your dentist will take care of your teeth & if they don't feel right or hurt complain.I had to go without teeth for 6 month's untill my gums were perfectly healed. That was tough but doable.I am very picky also but you do whatever you must to get there.I wish both you & Connie my best & know she will do well with you at her side. My hubby is very much like you. I consider myself very lucky as I don't have his inner strength & needed his gentle push on my butt on occasion lol!
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #3
    rozaroo said:

    We love you back!
    I had extensive work done & can understand how Connie feel's.I had to get a lower denture put in & it was for the best. I managed to take small sip's of water everyday just to keep thing's going with the swallow function. Also flat gingerale worked for me also. My taste for savory was the last to return. I tried soup's at first. They did not work, so I tried making homemade shake's with carnation instant breakfast & I would add ice cream. sliced canned peaches, John's great suggestion & later on added half a banana. My taste for sweet was the first to return. It took me a fair while to start eating & nothing went as planned.So I sort went with pudding cup's, ice cream yogurt etc. Remember, we are all different & some of us here liked the savoury foods first. I sure missed them but they were a turn off. Now I can eat anything just about.The denture will take a bit but once anchored they work wonderfull. I can chew prime rib now lol. Don't worry about the teeth for now, try to focus on healing. Your dentist will take care of your teeth & if they don't feel right or hurt complain.I had to go without teeth for 6 month's untill my gums were perfectly healed. That was tough but doable.I am very picky also but you do whatever you must to get there.I wish both you & Connie my best & know she will do well with you at her side. My hubby is very much like you. I consider myself very lucky as I don't have his inner strength & needed his gentle push on my butt on occasion lol!

    Smell
    I forgot to mention that yes I did smell lol! My neck was black & I could smell the burn!But it has healed quite nicely!
  • buzz99
    buzz99 Member Posts: 404
    #4
    Eating
    Homer I can really relate to you on the eating issue. Buzz stopped eating after the first chemo, even before the radiation. I was really anxious to get him off the PEG and was a little too pushy about food. Low and behold, 2 months after the end of treatment he started eating again. At 3 months post treatment, he is eating soups, fruit in cool whip, all liquids, meatballs in gravy, and cereal with lots of milk. So, give it time and Connie will eat again when sufficient healing has taken place. BTW, Buzz really liked the Scandishakes. They deliver 600 calories in 8 oz of whole milk. Karen
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #5
    Taste & Smell
    I think there does seem to be an after effect from treatment. I too noticed it when undergoing rads...(the odor, not sure if there was an actual taste or it was the odor that I thought I could taste)...

    As for the actually effects from the daily rads, during the session itself, I didn't feel anything. But a few hours later my throat would be noticeably drier. You could definitely tell that something had taken place.

    As for taste, she can probably try all she wants, it's not coming back until it's ready, LOL... But in my case, I definitely kept on trying. If it doesn't have taste, or doesn't tatse good, try again in a few months.

    Best to you and Connie....she is lucky to have such a great caregiver....

    John
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #6
    Yes on the taste and smell
    Yes, the radiation burn was something I could definitely taste and small. And it did take a bit of time before I was ready to eat by mouth. When I did, though, the transition was very fast and smooth. Suddenly I didn't feel like such a sickie, and I was ready to take that first step and swallow liquid food. Sounds like Connie is right on track. She will get there.

    Deb
  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #7
    D Lewis said:

    Yes on the taste and smell
    Yes, the radiation burn was something I could definitely taste and small. And it did take a bit of time before I was ready to eat by mouth. When I did, though, the transition was very fast and smooth. Suddenly I didn't feel like such a sickie, and I was ready to take that first step and swallow liquid food. Sounds like Connie is right on track. She will get there.

    Deb

    Hi Homer

    Yep me too taste and smell for weeks after treatment stopped. Even those the radiation treatment stopped the effect of the treatment is still ongoing for weeks after.

    It is a very good sign to hear her telling you she is hungry, give her all she wants.

    Thanks care my friend
    Hondo
  • connieprice1
    connieprice1 Member Posts: 300 Member
    #8
    Hondo said:

    Hi Homer

    Yep me too taste and smell for weeks after treatment stopped. Even those the radiation treatment stopped the effect of the treatment is still ongoing for weeks after.

    It is a very good sign to hear her telling you she is hungry, give her all she wants.

    Thanks care my friend
    Hondo

    Thanks to my extended family
    Dear John & Dawn, Rozaroo, Buzz & Karen, Debbie, and Hondo,
    Just wanted to thank you for your prompt replies. When Connie told me about her throat tasting & smelling burnt, I knew right where to go with the question. I mean how would a doctor know the answer. As far as her eating, it has only been 3 weeks since treatment ended and I want her just to try a spoonful here and there to test her taste buds, they must be coming back a little because she can taste her burnt throat. lol, I found this website at the very beginning after Connie's biopsy & diagnosis. I was really blessed to find it, sometimes I think God must have led me here because everyone here has been so helpful at every step along the way. Since I found CSN, I never even looked elsewhere, I knew this was the place. I was really worried about how everything was going to turn out and I found comfort here from day one. You know, Connie's cancer treatments were probably over $300,000, but CSN was "priceless". Thanks for Everything, Homer & Connie
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #9
    connieprice1 said:

    Thanks to my extended family
    Dear John & Dawn, Rozaroo, Buzz & Karen, Debbie, and Hondo,
    Just wanted to thank you for your prompt replies. When Connie told me about her throat tasting & smelling burnt, I knew right where to go with the question. I mean how would a doctor know the answer. As far as her eating, it has only been 3 weeks since treatment ended and I want her just to try a spoonful here and there to test her taste buds, they must be coming back a little because she can taste her burnt throat. lol, I found this website at the very beginning after Connie's biopsy & diagnosis. I was really blessed to find it, sometimes I think God must have led me here because everyone here has been so helpful at every step along the way. Since I found CSN, I never even looked elsewhere, I knew this was the place. I was really worried about how everything was going to turn out and I found comfort here from day one. You know, Connie's cancer treatments were probably over $300,000, but CSN was "priceless". Thanks for Everything, Homer & Connie

    Awww Thanks....
    Taste is a funny thing.....

    You actually think you have none, but I think you actually have none of the taste the relates to good taste, LOL.

    To clarify, when I couldn't taste anything, water tasted like sweat, yuck...

    As Roz mentioned, one thing that I liked and ate mainly to keep my swallowing muscles working (which was a big deal to me, because I love to eat)....

    Anyways, I had my set procedure the last few weeks of rads, and the next few when pain was the worse. I would set out a glass of water, one or two cans of Ensure Plus, my throat numbing solution, a jar of the DelMonte sliced peaches in light syrup, and about 1/3 glass of water with ground up Percocet in it.

    First the throat numbing solution, then a little water, Ensure, sliced peaches then the Percocet water...immediately going to a nice warm shower...for whatever reason, that would always take away the initial pain.

    But I thought since I couldn't taste much I would swap to the unsweetened version of the peaches....LOL, I could definitely tell the difference.

    Best,
    John
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #10
    Skiffin16 said:

    Awww Thanks....
    Taste is a funny thing.....

    You actually think you have none, but I think you actually have none of the taste the relates to good taste, LOL.

    To clarify, when I couldn't taste anything, water tasted like sweat, yuck...

    As Roz mentioned, one thing that I liked and ate mainly to keep my swallowing muscles working (which was a big deal to me, because I love to eat)....

    Anyways, I had my set procedure the last few weeks of rads, and the next few when pain was the worse. I would set out a glass of water, one or two cans of Ensure Plus, my throat numbing solution, a jar of the DelMonte sliced peaches in light syrup, and about 1/3 glass of water with ground up Percocet in it.

    First the throat numbing solution, then a little water, Ensure, sliced peaches then the Percocet water...immediately going to a nice warm shower...for whatever reason, that would always take away the initial pain.

    But I thought since I couldn't taste much I would swap to the unsweetened version of the peaches....LOL, I could definitely tell the difference.

    Best,
    John

    Peaches!
    John canned peaches in light syrup saved me from starvation. Plus kept me regular lol! I thank you for that!
  • Rory1987
    Rory1987 Member Posts: 120
    #11
    taste and smell? yes I
    taste and smell? yes I experienced that when I had radiation to my maxillary sinus. I felt like vomiting
  • Em11
    Em11 Member Posts: 15 Member
    #12
    Yep
    My husband is now three weeks out from his last radiation. Just last night he said, "Did you burn something in the kitchen? The whole house smells like burnt leaves."

    He said this morning that it's still there.
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #13
    Em11 said:

    Yep
    My husband is now three weeks out from his last radiation. Just last night he said, "Did you burn something in the kitchen? The whole house smells like burnt leaves."

    He said this morning that it's still there.

    Drove me crazy for a while.
    Drove me crazy for a while. The first time I noticed it my step mom and I were walking down the hallway in the hospital after rads one day. I kept sniffing because I was smelling something that smelled like it was burning. My step mom was like, what's your problem? Why you sniffing? I said, don't you smell that? Nope. She couldn't. Apparently, I was smelling me.
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #14
    sweetblood22 said:

    Drove me crazy for a while.
    Drove me crazy for a while. The first time I noticed it my step mom and I were walking down the hallway in the hospital after rads one day. I kept sniffing because I was smelling something that smelled like it was burning. My step mom was like, what's your problem? Why you sniffing? I said, don't you smell that? Nope. She couldn't. Apparently, I was smelling me.

    LOL
    I'm not even going there...but people are looking at me a little funny while I sit here laughing out loud...

    Must be one of those abi-normal dog people visions that I keep visualizing.

    JG

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