Taste buds

MichelleLee71
MichelleLee71 Member Posts: 13
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I was wondering how come I can taste the first few bites of food and then it's gone. Will my taste ever come back? I know I need to be patient but it's so frustrating some days.

Comments

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #2
    Same here...
    ...and I've been done with Rads since June 16th, and finished my last chemo on Aug. 28th...first few bites are good, then I run out of taste. I think this could take a while to right itself. Amazingly, I just keep eating what's in front of me...LOL.

    It's perfectly normal...that's what I've picked up on from being on this forum....every one suffers from taste fatigue.

    p
  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #3
    you are almost there
    once you can taste at all, it is only a matter of time till your buds completely recover. Everyone has the experience of taste fading out as they recover. It is actually a very promising sign. My taste took forever to completely recover with my first rads, something like four years. But for some reason, with my second rads this year, my taste came back very quickly. I was somewhat surprised the other day when I ate a piece of key lime pie, that the sour taste faded away after a few bites. That's the only food I've been aware of in awhile.

    Pat
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #4
    food, tasty subject
    MichelleLee71,

    For me it was “awful feel”, “no taste” and “terrible taste” for many months post treatments. I simply could not stand any food in my mouth (nothing). Recently, for some (good and beautiful) reason the texture and feel of food is no longer an issue and I retired the smoothies and put the blender away. While my taster is a bit shy, I can eat most anything hot, cold, spicy or mild. The one thing I have trouble tasting is ice-cream, go figure. Also, I taste sweet and salty foods. It is interesting to put something in my mouth and move it around till the flavor light goes on. Finally, have plenty of drinks, a full meal takes me 2 – 4 glasses of water.

    So, good luck!

    Best,

    Matt
  • MichelleLee71
    MichelleLee71 Member Posts: 13
    #5
    Thanks everyone for your
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I wish I would of found this site while I was going thru treatment but better late than never I guess. For some reason I can't eat hamburger yet. Don't know if it's a texture thing or what. Just can't seem to get it down. I'm so ready to eat a pizza but can't yet because of the sauce being too spicy for some reason. Can't do ketchup or sweets yet. Makes my tongue feel funny. Hard to describe. I too still have about 2 water bottles when I eat and it takes me forever because my jaw wont open all the way yet. Finished my rad Aug 24 and chemo Sept 5. Just not a patient person I guess. Want everything back to normal I guess.
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    #6
    MichelleLee71 said:

    Thanks everyone for your
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I wish I would of found this site while I was going thru treatment but better late than never I guess. For some reason I can't eat hamburger yet. Don't know if it's a texture thing or what. Just can't seem to get it down. I'm so ready to eat a pizza but can't yet because of the sauce being too spicy for some reason. Can't do ketchup or sweets yet. Makes my tongue feel funny. Hard to describe. I too still have about 2 water bottles when I eat and it takes me forever because my jaw wont open all the way yet. Finished my rad Aug 24 and chemo Sept 5. Just not a patient person I guess. Want everything back to normal I guess.

    patience
    if there's anything the fight against the beast teaches us, it's patience.

    I seem to be picking up more taste lately, 4+ months out from treatment. and finally, mouth soreness is fading. still not eating much due to trismus, but that's another story.

    I can hear what my onc would say if I told him I wanted pizza. acidic tomato sauce with rough, chewy dough...yeah, he'd chew me out good for that.
    he told me to start with baby food and easy stuff. ok, so I skipped the baby food, and went with chinese beef noodle soup instead. light on the sliced beef, heavy on the broth and noodles.

    hope you get it back sooner I did.
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #7
    Cat's Tail Is Missing....
    Yep, just like Matt and others have said....

    It's just like when the cat got it's tail cut off....

    "Won't be long now..."

    You are all going through the exact same scenario that I did.. That was over three, nearly four years ago now.

    One or two bites, flavor was gone....

    Matt, Ice Cream is the thing that took me the longest..., for what ever reason, I could taste everything else.

    But Ice Cream was the one thing that took nearly two years for me to get completely back.

    That was the same, one - two bites, it was gone.

    But now I have I'd say 100% of my taste back and nearly 95% of the saliva.

    Hang in there survivor buds...., your taste buds will be along shortly.

    John
  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #8
    blackswampboy said:

    patience
    if there's anything the fight against the beast teaches us, it's patience.

    I seem to be picking up more taste lately, 4+ months out from treatment. and finally, mouth soreness is fading. still not eating much due to trismus, but that's another story.

    I can hear what my onc would say if I told him I wanted pizza. acidic tomato sauce with rough, chewy dough...yeah, he'd chew me out good for that.
    he told me to start with baby food and easy stuff. ok, so I skipped the baby food, and went with chinese beef noodle soup instead. light on the sliced beef, heavy on the broth and noodles.

    hope you get it back sooner I did.

    pizza good
    Matter-of-fact pizza is one of the things I made friends with. Yum, yum! Spicy foods excite my taste buds.

    Matt
  • ditto1
    ditto1 Member Posts: 660
    #9
    Skiffin16 said:

    Cat's Tail Is Missing....
    Yep, just like Matt and others have said....

    It's just like when the cat got it's tail cut off....

    "Won't be long now..."

    You are all going through the exact same scenario that I did.. That was over three, nearly four years ago now.

    One or two bites, flavor was gone....

    Matt, Ice Cream is the thing that took me the longest..., for what ever reason, I could taste everything else.

    But Ice Cream was the one thing that took nearly two years for me to get completely back.

    That was the same, one - two bites, it was gone.

    But now I have I'd say 100% of my taste back and nearly 95% of the saliva.

    Hang in there survivor buds...., your taste buds will be along shortly.

    John

    I was lucky
    that I was able to taste most things with no reduction in taste within a few weeks of finishing my tx for Base of Tongue cancer. However sweets are not there yet and I still rely mostly on nutrition drinks for most of my calories and tend to eat at nite when my wife gets home. Still eating much smaller portions I assume for a variety of reasons. Smaller stomach from loosing 30 lbs and having my rear teeth removed leaving me with less teeth to chew with and generally a mouth that has not completely returned to pre cancer feeling. But overall blessed to be in the position I am in. As you can see from the comments you will get there and we all strive for Johns 100 and 95 percents.
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #10
    MichelleLee71 said:

    Thanks everyone for your
    Thanks everyone for your comments. I wish I would of found this site while I was going thru treatment but better late than never I guess. For some reason I can't eat hamburger yet. Don't know if it's a texture thing or what. Just can't seem to get it down. I'm so ready to eat a pizza but can't yet because of the sauce being too spicy for some reason. Can't do ketchup or sweets yet. Makes my tongue feel funny. Hard to describe. I too still have about 2 water bottles when I eat and it takes me forever because my jaw wont open all the way yet. Finished my rad Aug 24 and chemo Sept 5. Just not a patient person I guess. Want everything back to normal I guess.

    I missed ketchup a LOT...so put it sparingly on things...
    and mix it with mayo to calm it down. I did eat one piece of pizza not that long ago...tasted good for a few bites..but like you said the sauce is too much. The minute I read about pizza I thought of Staceye (she's a memeber here, too) talking about how she'd just lick the top of the pizza...LOL.

    Sweets come back last...icecream is only good for one or two bites, then it's all in the testure...I kinda gave up on icecream after giving it a goliath type try (like 1/2 gallon every other day).

    I tried meatloaf the other day, and almost choked to death...hamburger is too dry unless it's in a bun with lots of mayo (bun is also pretty dry), but I have managed to get some burgers down with lots of water.

    p
  • Billie67
    Billie67 Member Posts: 898
    #11
    ditto1 said:

    I was lucky
    that I was able to taste most things with no reduction in taste within a few weeks of finishing my tx for Base of Tongue cancer. However sweets are not there yet and I still rely mostly on nutrition drinks for most of my calories and tend to eat at nite when my wife gets home. Still eating much smaller portions I assume for a variety of reasons. Smaller stomach from loosing 30 lbs and having my rear teeth removed leaving me with less teeth to chew with and generally a mouth that has not completely returned to pre cancer feeling. But overall blessed to be in the position I am in. As you can see from the comments you will get there and we all strive for Johns 100 and 95 percents.

    Me too
    I finished tx the end of June and at first my mouth was so raw feeling that food was not an option. Then I slowly started with really soft foods, eggs, pudding, soups, noodles and stuff like that. I couldn't really taste any of it. Then after another month or two I could eat more texture but like you and most everyone else, only the first few bites would have taste and then go away. Pizza burns my mouth too so whenever we get it we ask for light sauce. I'm getting ready to start my second round of swallow therapy and it's really helping. Part of the practice is to NOT drink water in order to get the food down. I've been instructed to just keep working on swallowing the food without water. It's not easy but it is helping and now I can eat hamburger, breads and granola bars to name a few. I'm still working on getting my taste back for sweets, most of it tastes like vinegar! Ice cream is still not my friend :-(
    Good luck to you, it will get bette.
    Billie
  • JoeA
    JoeA Member Posts: 9
    #12
    Its better but not normal
    Hello Michelle,

    I am 2-years pats treatment and some of my taste has returned. First two bits are great then it turns sour or no taste at all. But I can eat most everything but large chunks of any type of meat and sweets are difficult. If the meat is shredded it is OK, I can get it down....sweets are bland and oh how I miss donuts!

    My saliva is a bit better but it is still stringy and almost clumps into hard clumps. Not sure how to explain it.

    I have been gargling with Crest Pro Health Rinse twice each day and it seems to help.

    At least I can go out to dinner and enjoy myself. Hopefully all of my taste will come back, but if not I am just glad to be alive.

    Joe

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