Hi Lynn,
I was drinking soda at 6 months post Tx. I like coffee too and quit drinking it for over a year. I am back to drinking (hot) coffee daily and really enjoy it. For some odd reason I could taste coffee flavor the whole time so coffee flavored milkshakes and Carnation Instant Breakfast worked well for me - hot coffee was out though. I eat chocolate again but it's still not as enjoyable as it once was. The first solid food I ate was a very rare filet mignon and it was delicious. I found dry meats to be a form of torture - like overcooked chicken or pork for instance. I love salsa and salad dressings and have no problems with them today. Pasta's and rice dishes still seem to work the best for me. I used to love baked potatos and they are just not the same.

The taste buds started recovering very quickly after cessation of treatment. I think that the salt taste bud comes back first so the body can protect itself. Sweets were the last. When it was at it's worst food tasted like everything from cardboard, metallic or sh*t. It was wierd because everything smelled normal. After a while my sense of smell compensated and got more acute. I could almost smell milk starting to turn without opening the container. It was strange having foods not taste like they smelled.

Thank God that phase is largely over with!