Taste buds gone, ice lollies, fruit, everything

To about 3 weeks after treatment everything tasted like cardboard or absolutely disgusting. The worst were Fortisips. It gradually came back in stages only to ebb and flow. One piece if advice my dietician gave me was to avoid my favourite foods for a long time to avoid disappointment. I dreamed of having a burger ( not a favourite but just popped into my dreams regularly) with all the trimmings and ignored her. I could have cried when the smell bore absolutely no resemblance to the taste. Slowly slowly. Food is fuel. Ignore what it tastes like 

You could try adding aromatic herbs to your food as a lot if taste is to do with smell

Thanks, I'm treating it as fuel x

Hi Carran Dani is spot on just look at it as fuel. I am nearly 7 months since treatment and loads of food still taste bad even water. Something I do have most days is 2 bananas , blueberries and a scoop of ice cream and a pint of milk all blended. I use to love a vindaloo but can barely touch a madras. Weetabix smashed up with milk and berries and microwaved makes for a simple meal. Some tinned soup works also , tomato wasn't to bad . All the best Regards Minmax

Im was very much like Dani reference taste, your taste will come back although some say their taste buds alter where you no longer like the tastes you used to so it's great trying new recipes. Have a great weekend.

                                                                                                       Chris x

Hi Carran

Al I can say is eat your live not live to eat was my mantra for a good 6 months. Food was fuel I hit 2500 calories post treatment using that method. I’m now 3 years post radiotherapy this month most foods are good I have resigned my self chilli and highly spiced foods are not coming back to me. But I’ve discovered like Chris says other foods. If you’re managing to eat anythjng at 3 weeks you’re don’t better than me I had n g tube fitted end of eeek 3 which I had for 6 weeks thrn survived on 6 ensures supplemented by starting to reintroduce high calorie foods. 
you’ll get there just baby steps 

hazel c

Thank you all 

Hi, much like others taste was going at this point. I could just about still taste bananas in smoothies, maple syrup (with pancakes & Ice cream) and I think that was when I got a craving for smoked salmon as it was the last thing I could taste. I remember being asked what flavour Ensure I wanted delivering and thinking it really doesn't matter, so long as it arrives. Just keep the calories going in whichever way works to keep the mask snug. 

Half way through treatment though, I remember that milestone! 

Ronnie95 said:

I remember being asked what flavour Ensure I wanted delivering and thinking it really doesn't matter, so long as it arrives.

Yep. That resonates with me too. Till recently I did have some Fortisips to hand if I couldn’t eat normal food on a day out snd I found the coffee flavour really quite nice . Something I thought I’d never say. 
Thankfully those days are gone and I threw the last one away 

Treating your food as fuel is absolutely the way to go Carran.  For me it was a godsend if I couldn't taste something as almost everything tasted vile. 

All the best with your continued treatment.

Linda x

With my radiotherapy I lost all of my taste around week 2. Definitely needs a mindset change to think about calories and nutrition rather than taste, otherwise each meal can knock you a little bit more emotionally. My suggestino is to find things are get you the nutrition you need without any expectaion of taste or pleasure, and just think of them as fuel like others have suggested. In my treatment they gave me fortisip compat shakes which were pretty good for that purpose. No memories or expectations of enjoyment, just bland blank tasting things to drink to keep my body going. Overtime my taste has started to come back a bit, but I'm only 2 monhts post treatment so I still can't taste most things. But I can now tell the difference between plain porridge and pordige with golden syrup, which I couldn't do a month ago. Slow progress but definitely progress. And water does (mostly) taste like water now, which is nice. Of course, people's treatments and experiences vary wildly, so you may end up getting different tastes back in differtent orders or different timelines. During the treatment just think of fuel and no expectations of taste. After treatment, give it time and experiment. You might find it's different every few weeks.