Is return of taste associated with return of saliva?

Cadharose,

Hmmmm, hear about peoples experience with taste and saliva returning.   Well, at 16 months post it is light years better than at the start, but nowhere near the former spitting and tasting I took for granted.

I taste everything a little and some things a lot, I haven’t been able to get a handle on it so I am constantly surprised.

Saliva is much, much better (two much better not too much better).  I can answer a phone or even run to the store without my water bottle, but I keep it handy and still drink 10 glasses a day and it is not unusual to drink 3 glasses with a meal.

You my dear sound fortunate and I expect you to enjoy it.  Body parts do not seem to like the rads so if your taste buds dodged the bullet maybe your saliva glands did too.

Best always,

Matt

At 12 weeks post I still have no saliva. I wake up sometimes with a thick coat in my mouth and an occasional squirt from the right side (mets and surgery on the left) but it dries up within an hour.

Taste on the other hand is 100% I never lost it. Docs shrug their shoulders and chant the "everyone's different" mantra. Some things were a little "off" but everything is 100% in the taste department. 

I'd gladly trade some taste for some saliva but my body isn't interested...

"T"

Hi,

I'm just a few weeks ahead of you at 7 weeks post. During TX my taste was at maybe 20% of normal, accurate but muted. Saliva was about 50%. By 3 weeks post,  all my taste returned fully and accurately. I even posted about "hyper taste" as all tastes and flavors seemed very heightened. Anything processed, anything with anything more than the tiniest amount of salt or spices (flavor and hot) would be irritants rather than enhancers. Saliva was about 75%.

The past weeks 4-6, tastes are fine except spicyness. It is just slightly improving but anything labeled "mild" still is a slight challenge. Saliva functions are fully back at 100%, well 97%. The only thing I ate that threw me for a loop was a very flaky pastry and one bite into that had me running for a glass of water. Milk is my friend still with respect to consuming anything spicy, just to cool my mouth, not as a sub for saliva.

My tongue is still sensitive to some things like regular toothpaste. I switched to Biotine but recently went back to standard stuff and it sends a slight tingle on the tongue.

My own take on predicitng the return on taste and saliva is to analyze where your tumor(s) were and the rad maps and procedures during radiation. These have a great impact on time to restore these functions. In my case, all the cancer was on one side so they painted the entire other (clean) side with 5300 grays during the 35 treatments. The areas where the BOT (primary) was located and the few nodes were dosed much higher (6500, 7200 i think) but with wonderful contouring given the most current technologies (hardware and software) plus a VERY experienced RO/nuclear staff (dossimetrist, physicist, etc.). I also explictly questioned the RO about being careful around the parotids and I suspect at least subconsciously he and the dossimetrist were careful while developing that part of the map. Who knows, this may all be just figments of my imagination but you know what I strongly believe in mind over matter, so even if it is all made up, I believed and I am golden in the taste department! good luck, don

ps - I am a real foodie and do lament the inability to take much spice. So many menus and dishes are still off limits and I have not adjusted my huge stack of favorites to include much more subtle and easy on the palette substitutes.