no taste!

Hi Julie yes unfortunately welcome to the next phase of recovery many loose taste at the start so you’ve done well getting through treatment. Only advise I can give you is forget about food  for pleasure and please don’t take this the way It’s not a time to try and diet. For the next year at least your body’s in a state of repair as hard as it is and it’s hard ,treat good as fuel it’s eat to live not live to eat. The treatment is still working ,hence why side effects getting worse. I do know  if people even a few weeks after treatment hsve had to have a n g tube fitted as they were unable to maintain calories. Have you got the high calorie food supplements ensures or fortisip s. You need to be aiming for 2000 calories each n every day by any means . 
Don’t want to scare you but radiotherapy snd chemotherapy do take its toll on your body if you can still swallow ok just eat we know it’s not easy it will come bsck just takes time. 
Hazel x

Am being sensible Hazel don't worry!!  I have managed to maintain my weight and have not needed drinks. Like I said, I don't know why I didn't  consider losing taste now, even though I knew about the radiotherapy still building for a couple of weeks.  It's just the wierdness of it, so strange putting food in your mouth and there being nothing but texture!  Will get my head round it I'm sure.  Just glad that treatment is all done!

Good just wanted to make sure as one lady we knew inadvertently  lost 4 stones after treatment and it really set her recovery back. 
you just have to keep thinking food is fuel

youll get  there 

Hugs Hazel x

Hi Julie. It’s absolute rubbish isn’t it. You think that with such targeted radiation your taste would survive wouldn’t you ? A reduction in saliva has an awful lot to do with it as well as the direct damage to taste buds snd the nerves supplying the tongue. 
Hazel is spot on with food is fuel mantra. If you can swallow it then eat it! 
One tip.  Don’t keep trying your favourite foods. It’s awful fantasising about the lovely food you used to enjoy but now is tasteless or even worse tastes rank ( word of warning as that can happen) 

Its a question of experiment I’m afraid. 
my oncologist told me my cancer would take a year out of my life and he was right but by the end of that year the world was a much better place. A day at a time. Xxx

Julie

How was your taste after surgery?  The reason I as was that my surgeon told me that surgery can destroy the nerves responsible for taste - they try desperately to avoid them - but radio tends to just "annoy" the nerves and eventually much returns.  You may be having a combination of both effects going on??

Hi Julie,

A few weeks ahead of you  but you have my full sympathy. I too am an absolute foodie, before teaching I did menu planning for pubs. The whole eating for pleasure just doesn't exist at the moment. I ate all through treatment them went completely to PEG for 3-4 weeks, so you are doing really well! 

I get hints of flavours coming through. My mouth and throat are still sore so avoiding lots of seasoning still as it irritates it. Things I can taste include smoked salmon, homemade pesto without lemon or garlic, and sugar puffs. Odd combination, but just going through trial and error. I have lost too much weight in recovery, but building it back up as much as I can. Adding build up powders, etc to meals and topping up with Ensure. 

Good tip to avoid favourites, it's the path to frustration. You will get there. Not tasting food and it all feeling like lard or sawdust has got to be one of my most irritating things about this. My eco-warrior credentials are out of the window, if I can't face it, I bin it and try something else, whatever it takes. Just keep experimenting and try things again in a couple of weeks. 

Good luck!

Ronnie 

Hi Julie,

I'm now 10 months post treatment and my taste is pretty much what it was prior to treatment. I went through a tough time where I actually lost my appetite after being on a feeding tube due to difficulty swallowing and lost a lot of weight. My taste also went and certain foods tasted differently for a while. Good news is it came to pass and I enjoy my food again, although I struggle with some foods due to dry mouth, but taste is good and I look forward to meal times. Hang in there, you're doing great.

Hi Julie

Well done for being able to eat through your treatment - you did really well.  Losing your taste though is so miserable.  Almost everything I ate tasted vile although I did strike lucky in having absolutely no taste with a few things!

My worse time was the first 4 months after treatment and then very gradually my taste began to improve but for me it was very slow.  My best advice is to just keep trying lots of different foods and keep trying them.    It may take a while but eventually you'll get a glimmer of taste back - joyous!   In the meantime, eat what you're able to in order to keep up your weight and as Hazel says, treat your food as fuel for now.

Hope you won't have to wait too long!

All the best.

Linda x

Thanks Dani,

Just generally a bit low I think. Probably the first time since February that I've had a chance to catch up with myself.

Not usually a very emotional person but have shed a few tears here and there today

Was ok thanks Peter, hopefully won't last too long!