Anybody else experience that? I woke up the other morning and it was like my sense of taste had vanished. Now it's coming back a little but everything (including water) tastes a little off.

Just curious.

Thanks,
George

Hi George: I had a stage 1 scc that was rather shallow that was excised in October of 2002. My oral surgeon told me that I would retain 60 to 90% of sense of taste. I was eating dinner in November and it was almost liked the electricity sputtering and going off. I literally lost my sense of taste instantly like you lose it when you get a cold. It gradually came back but not fully. It's interesting that food that doesn't have a strong flavor like a mild cheese or vanilla ice cream I seem to taste more. What was also gradually changing was my sense of smell. I thought that it would compensate for the loss of taste - I actually smell things that other people don't smell and yet I can't smell some things that were automatic before like different kinds of flowers, etc - some I can - some are faint. I've had it checked out - there's no physical reason for it - it just is. Anyone experience something strange like this when they haven't had any other treatment than surgery? Hmmmm...

George, I hope your sense of taste comes back soon. I only had loss of taste as a side effect from radiation. It gradually came back to almost my pre-cancer amount, never lost it again.

Thanks Christine and Scootersmom. It was like you said scooter, it's almost like somebody flipped a switch. There at bedtime, gone in the morning. I'm tasting again but everything is a little different. C'est la vie, I guess.

I hope it comes back for you too brickster. Mine never has as of yet and the nasty stuff and burning continue.

I have learned just to accept all the side effects of having RX. I don't like it, but this is something we just have to live with...word being LIVE !!!!

I like your bio there Dianne and agree with you. I have this because I can handle it and there are others that can't. I have more surgery scars than a dog has fleas, but I am here to tell it. LOL

George, I lost a lot of taste too during and after TX. Nothing tasted good (not that I could eat much, of course...) and even water had a nasty metallic flavor. The quality came back but the quantity is still lacking for me, but that's due to my continued half-tongue numbness from surgery. I've found that sweet things have tasted the best to me and have been easiest to eat, but that may be due to the radiation-induced acid reflux.

I have a friend, non-cancer patient, who suddenly lost his sense of smell a few years ago. Apparently the doctors have no explanation and no one has been able to help him regain it, nor has it come back on its own. Very strange.

Keep us posted, ok?

D2

Everything tasted different after treatment but at least it was consistent, then bam. But, it seems like it's back to my "new normal" now. I guess life will be full of little surprises from treatment for a while. Treatment, the gift that keeps on giving.

What does ham taste like?? Or maybe even bacon. I still dream about decent food but survived so far on mostlysoft cereal and poached eggs and once in awhile a well cooked very thin spaghetti with a lot of sauce. One thing tho all, we are alive and posting.