Drinking wine post treatment?

It's too soon to worry about what may or may not come back.  I found that about 2 weeks post that taste started to recover, but it has taken months for some tastes to come back, and it may be for you as well. 

I am 1 year post and my taste is almost back to normal, but the journey was very slow and gradual.  I love the taste of lemon, always enjoyed lemonade, lemon Italian ice, and my favorite candy "lemonheads".  The lack of saliva though impacts how I perceive sour.  I recall seeing a TV show about sour candies, the body's response to sour is to flood the mouth with saliva, since it's not there, sour was impossible for me.  I loved the taste of Coke and Pepsi too, but early on, the taste (acid component) was too much to handle. 

It is improving as my saliva comes back,  I'd estimate that it is about 50% of what it was and some lemon tastes are now do-able and Coke is not as nasty.  I'm thinking that it will come back, but it will take time.

You will need to give it time, with tastes coming back at just 16 days, I'm thinking that eventually you will get there. 

My RO said that it could take up to two years.  Don't get discouraged, recovery from rads is not like healing from stitches or a simple cold.

It deoends on the wine. I was not that much of a wine drinker before treatment. I prefer a really good beer anyday. But, I tried a red wine about 7-8 months after treatment & it was horrible....like drinking straight rubbing alcohol. I tried a white wine a few months after that & it was delicious. Maybe I just don't like red wine?!? Anyways, there is hope you will be able to enjoy it again. Just give it some time!

amy_h414 said:

My husband is about a year

My husband is about a year out from treatment. If he drinks wine, it's generally red. White doesn't taste good to him, especially sweeter wines. I think the "sweet" part of his taste buds were the most affected and have not gone back to their previous state. He's starting to tolerate more spicy foods, so maybe sweet just needs more time. So I would say all is not lost when it comes to wine, it just might take some time to get to a point where it tastes good.

I'm not much of a wine drinker. beer is goood though...

Like mentioned, with time I'm sure you'll be good to go on the wine of your choice.

Sweet..., seems for some of us to take a long time to get back..., or at least to the poinrt of not losing it after one taste, LOL...

It took nearly two year to get my sweet back completely..., so tell him to don't give up on it Amy.

JG

Hello,

As you see by the posts, everyone has a different twist on how taste returns. I am in an unusual situation as my sense of taste has returned fully about 150% what it was. I too, very much like to cook and eat, and there are advantages and disadvantages of having hypertaste. First, the fresh raw natural subtle tastes of all foods is absolutely incredible. Zero salt is necessary to enhance any flavor. IN fact, salt really burns the taste so nearly all prepared foods and packages are last choice these days.

My taste was never lower than 25% throughout treatment; about 3 weeks post it was 100% and at 5 weeks 150%.

Beer, the cheap American crap like Coors and Bud, now have an amazingly fresh and crisp and nice flavor to them. I was a total micro-brew beer snob and these old classics do me fine now. LOL

The one thing about cancer especially on return of taste is it is all over the map, same with ability to enjoy wine. 

Best to you, don.

CivilMatt said:

wine (whine)

Cadharose,

My taste buds have been compromised, but they are improving.  Food and drink are a whole different ball game than before

If you are lucky and following donfoo you should be at 82%  or if you are average (like most of us) you will have taste hits and misses.  If you continue if the df trajectory at 52 weeks post you will be at %1325 and your head will explode (let’s hope that doesn’t happen).

I myself can taste a little bit of sweet, salty and sour.  Some sweets and  ice-cream I use to love, don’t work for me anymore, but a good steak is a blessing.

Not only are you now abi-normal, you are a food scientist.

Cheers,

Matt

just have to say I really love all your posts, quirky, poetic, witty, sometimes a stab in the back with a smile. I only wish you wouild jump in more often and get dirty down here in the mud. LOL

cadharose said:

Red, white, and everything in between! Brandy and cognac, too.

Everything I am reading here is encouraging.

That's awesome that you work at a winery, josh, and are still able to appreciate wine. I would imagine you have a very refined palate for the stuff. How about pate, cheese, olive oil, etc. Are you still able to appreciate good food as much? I love to cook french and italian and can't wait to savor it again.

Of Merlot that is, you will be fine down the road, just don't overdo do it, remember two bottles at a time only! LOl 

donfoo said:

i'm in

you in norcal? or central or north coast, hey anywhere-  i'm there. :-) don

Being 4 years out from treatment, I'm still having burning sensations with any Cabs, Merlots, Zins, etc, but seem to do okay with oaky chards and sav. blancs, so I'm sticking with those especially during these hot and humid times.  I tried using a little club soda in the reds to try and cut down the burning, and it worked.  Didn't effect the taste that much either.

Larry

cadharose said:

Red, white, and everything in between! Brandy and cognac, too.

Everything I am reading here is encouraging.

That's awesome that you work at a winery, josh, and are still able to appreciate wine. I would imagine you have a very refined palate for the stuff. How about pate, cheese, olive oil, etc. Are you still able to appreciate good food as much? I love to cook french and italian and can't wait to savor it again.

Hi cadharose,

Yes, most of the time it is "awesome" working at a winery doing tastings and giving tours but it's not all scenes from "Sideways" and "Bottle Shock". Someone does have to restock, clean the "dump buckets, restrooms, picinic areas and handle those that have been "over-served". As I am sure you know wineries are usually located in beautiful areas where people come to have fun and where wonderful food procucts are readily available and California's Central Coast is a postcard of such a place. As to my palate it took quite sometime after my treatments, 22 years ago this November, to make any progress just like so many of our brothers and sisters. Like you I have a passion for food and wine and have been "playing" in the kitchen since my pre-teen years, thanks mom, and "flirting" with wine soon after. Soon after treatment I began "playing" with ingredients that I could enjoy and tollerate and progress slowly began. It was the same with getting re-aquainted with wine. It has been a slow but fortunatley sure progress to where I now enjoy both very much. As to having a "refined" palate, no, but I have a happy one. I wish you and all our brothers and sister the  enjoyment you and they desire. Bon appetite, josh r.

hrowe said:

Mixed drinks ok but not beer or wine

I'm 13 months post tx (tumor near epiglottis) and the taste of wine, that is Reisling which is all I have tried, is terrible. So is draft beer. While not a big drinker I really miss the occasional draft or wine on the weekends when we eat out.

I tried a few sips of my wife's margaritta while out to dinner recently and it tasted fine. No burning whatsoever. But on the first sip the alcohol REALLY slapped my tastebuds in the face before the rest of the flavors kicked in.

I can handle the alcohol in margaritas, but the lime burns me badly, so I take them out before I start one.

Mike