Barbara,

I can certainly relate to your husband's situation. I finished Tx in mid-July and the taste buds are still a mess. Tolerance for anything sweet was the first sensation I lost during early Tx and I still cannot tolerate. I am also currently sensing certain sweet tastes with foods that shouldn't taste sweet. The best example is corn on the cob. Covered with butter and salt it tastes to me as though it has a tablespoon of sugar sprinkled on it. I'm told it's my taste buds focusing on the high sugar content in corn and other foods. Another example is bread/grain products which all taste like they are full of sugar. The odd thing however is how I can eat some things with sugar that taste okay. Best example is that I have settled at this point for real oatmeal every morning as a tolerable breakfast. I put brown sugar on it along with butter and it tastes great without being overly sweet tasting.

One thing for sure, none of my 3 docs will make any guarantees regarding my taste buds. It's fun to watch them squirm and wiggle when I ask as they do not like that question. My rad doc did tell me earlier that "on average" it takes 2 to 10 months out of Tx to get taste back although in some cases full taste may never return. They all stress that every patient is different and that there is no blanket answer.

I also was impatient following Tx and saw no reason not to be "all better again" about a month following Tx, especially after removal of the PEG tube. I was never a nap taker but have been hit with reality now. I found that around 2 PM every afternoon I suddenly felt like I had been run over by a truck and had to have at least a 30 minute nap. This gradually let up as more time passed but even now there are afternoons where if I'm at home at mid-afternoon I might have to sneak in a nap.

I can say that since Dx last April I have come to appreciate a minimum of 2 new experiences in life. There is life without smoking after all and I can slow down to sniff those roses that everyone has been talking about for so many years.

Bill Dozier