Start of return of taste

To answer your question...yes, and expect a swing in the other direction with everything tasting sweet. I'm 7 months removed from 35 treatments, and a case of mucositis which was barely tolerable week 7-9 during and after treatment. My tongue on the left cancer side is still not right, and becomes sore very easily if I don’t brush after eating, use too much hot sauce, and eat too much sour stuff or red sauce. Most of my taste has returned almost too were it was before treatment with the exception of red sauce and pickled things.

My recommendations: Brush your teeth and tongue immediately after every meal, floss as much as possible, take a good multi vitamin and an Advil each night before bed, and take pilocarpine to increase your saliva (saliva is the “great healer”).

Food Recommendations: Everyone is different, but these worked for me. Indian, Mexican, and Chinese foods were and still are emotionally and taste satisfying. And, if you try new items of those ethnic foods you will really feel great about eating again.

Things that did not work for me at your stage: Red sauce, mustard, pickled stuff, sushi, alcohol, pizza, ketchup, soda, OJ, pastries, and everything dry. I still struggle with most of these, but they are all getting better as time goes on.

Keep in mind: As terrified and discouraged as you were or are now, you are a far better human being because of the experience. Good luck to you in the future. 

Salty seems to be the first to return....for me, sweet was last (took 3 years for that...but it happened overnight).  Don't be surprised if it comes and goes....you aren't imagining it, tho....nobody has that great of an imagination or we'd use it during treatment....LOL.

p

Congratulations on completing treatment!   Now the body can start to heal!  My path back to taste/returning flavor was very similar to Phrannie's.... salt was first and sweet was last (and i remember exactly when that came back).    For me it was only a couple of months for getting my taste back close to where it was before.   I still have trouble with spicy (even a little spicy) but that seems to be getting better over time as well.

Congratulations!

keith

I love the name

Your on the road to recovery. I was told whatever you don't get back in a year you most likely won't but they were wrong. I was still getting taste back for foods 3 years later. Matter of fact after 7 years I was told yesterday that my voice is getting back to what it was before cancer. We are all unique individuals and our bodies recover at different paces and in different ways. I lost 92 pounds during treatment and I go to buffets whenever I get the chance because I tell everyone I am putting all 92 back on and then some.

Heal On

      Jeff

Waffles, butter and syrup. My 3 meals a day for right now. It works for some odd reason so I will roll with it.

dw195 said:

Stinging Tongue

Anyone else have a stinging tongue? I have some taste left but some things sting like crazy, bananas sting :-( I don't know if it's the radiation, Erbitux or Thrush. The Thrush is almost cleared up but the stinging remains. Anyone else have this? I started week 5 yesterday... Countdown is on

Don

Yes Sir, I am 3 months post treatment and still fight with a stinging tounge. It has lessened some since about the 2 month post treatment. Yet my diet is still extremely limited to a select few items. I am always trying new foods every week. And yes, every thing still has sting to it. It will pass I am told. Just keep the fight going. Time heals.  Good Luck.

It'll all come together. Just keep trying new things. What doesn't work today, may work in a week or two, or three. I got such great advice from the good people on this board!

Three weeks and one day after the end of rads, I started tasting again. I was so happy for a few minutes, until I discovered that the flavors were off. Like you, I tasted mostly the salt. Water tasted salty as well, but that was far better than the taste the week before, when it tasted like olive oil! Gradually, things are changing. This week marks my 17th week post rads and I am still trying different foods. One thing that has helped me with stinging that can come with some red sauces, is Miracle Fruit, which is sold online. You dissolve a tablet on your tongue before you eat. I don't take it for more mildly-flavored foods, because then I barely taste them. I've found that I love rice and beans, although no cajun spices yet. I trickle olive oil over the whole thing, and it really helps to get it down, since I have little saliva. Things with sauces are best for that reason. I can only dream of steak. Chicken is too hard to swallow, unless it's cut into tiny, tiny pieces and drenched in sauce. This week I tried a very mild chili and enjoyed several tablespoons of that. Just about two weeks ago, I would taste whatever I was trying to eat, only to have the taste disappear after a few fork/spoonfuls. That was frustrating. This week the flavor sticks around. Baby steps...