THe seltzer water helped my son a lot when he was in Rad Tx and the salty taste bothered him, too. I was always intrigued by how his taste buds reacted as some once familiar tastes for some things changed so drastically. He said coffee tasted like spaghetti sauce, honey tasted like dirt, chai tea tasted like black pepper. Some "super taster" people have taste buds that react very keenly to foods. I don't know if stress has anything to do with this, but while my son was in surgery, the turkey sandwich I tried to eat for lunch tasted like cardboard to me. I could not taste the turkey at all! When the taste buds started coming back again, it was a very pleasing and surprising for us. One day when Paul had not been able to taste anything sweet, he put one of those gourmet jelly beans in his mouth and excitedly told his daughter (5 year old at the time): "I can taste it!!! we all did a happy dance around the kitchen that day! It's amazing how the simplest things can bring such pleasure and good memories. So, hang in there, the taste buds will get better!