How to get your tastebuds back

Hi Onyx:

Are you still having chemo and/or how long ago did you complete it?

During chemo, my taste buds were only mildly effected. Plain water tasted atrocious, however. I switched to homemade lemonade. Foods continued to taste only a little off, but drinks, somehow, gave me some strange tastes.

I found that only time restored my full sense of taste. Something you may want to try in the interim, if you're having dry mouth at all, is to rinse 3 times daily with a solution of water and plain baking soda. A great moisturizer and it really helped me avoid dry mouth. I also never had any mouth sores, etc.. I brushed my teeth, during and for a short while following chemo, with an "extra soft" toothbrush, dipped into plain baking soda (the extra soft brush cuts down on the chance of any gum scratches and potential for skin breaks, etc.) I also brushed my tongue and roof of my mouth very gently to get rid of any drink/food residues.

About 6 weeks post chemo I had a regular dental check up and cleaning and returned to using my regular toothbrush and toothpaste at that time.

Just eat the things you enjoy most and your taste should return naturally. I'm not aware of any special techniques to hurry it along although someone else may have some suggestions. If it doesn't begin to return in a reasonable amount of time, definitely check with your onc. and/or dentist.

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

tlmac said:

Hi Onyx, I finished 4 cycles of AC May 2003 but never experienced problems with my taste buds. I did have mouth sores that I treated with a mild salt water rinse that worked great. My dad, however, is just concluding 8 weeks of radiation to his throat for tonsil cancer. His taste buds are completely gone at this point but may come back. He's been told to try foods with strong flavors: sweet, sour, salty. A good friend of mine ate Milky Way candy bars all through chemo. She said it was the only thing that tasted good. Best of luck!
terri

Zinc for tastebuds?
I happened to hear today that a zinc deficiency can result in tastebud problems. I was a vegan for years and zinc mainly seems to be in oysters and red meat (neither of which is in my diet.) and supplements. Mine are mostly back after a month out from chemo but some things seem distorted, so I'm giving it a try.