Jack:
Please focus on staying hydrated. Towards the end of my treatment I got terribly constipated and it was due to pain meds (Particularly Fentanyl patch; Doc told me they absorb a lot of your hydration).
As for salt, that's funny it came up. We all react differently but 5 years out and some foods leave me with an overpowering salty after taste that can last hours. So that may hang with you indefinitely. I sure won't complain due to being able to eat and receive some sort of taste!
Best Wishes,
Steve

how long before taste came back for you?

I have no taste at this point but still have three more weeks of chemo/ rad to go . I get the impression it takes some time to get the taste buds back.

This is only a temporary thing. Everyone is a little different in this. I would say most of us had some sort of taste a month post radiation with improvements being seen all the way til 2 years post rads. Usually about 2 or 3 months after finishing radiation you will see a huge difference from where you were.

i too got the salt taste very strongly after radiation, and also foods i used to love had no appeal. it does pass, and until it does, hydration really helps.

Thank goodness ... Frankly right now I have no hunger at all and am really having trouble just getting enough ensure in me to keep from being down more than about 3 # a week

Kevin wasn't hungry either. He forced himself to eat scrambled eggs in the am and then Ensure the rest of the day. Truly, forced himself. He lost 54 pounds, but had it to lose so it's ok. He's perfect now! Has gained back maybe 5 pounds.

My doctors and nurses and also nutritionist all warned me about losing weight. They all told me their goal was for me to not lose any weight. You must push yourself to maintain your weight, once it starts dropping off you will begin to feel lousy.

Push to take in a minimum of 48 oz of water and 2500 calories daily. Getting more is even better. Dont skimp one day thinking you will make it up the next. It doesnt work that way. That will end up landing you in the hospital for malnutrition and dehydration. Once things get rough, you can go downhill very quickly so please push yourself.

You can get Carnation Very High Calorie (VHC) thru the green Amazon link on the main forum pages. This will help OCF with a small kickback. Carnation VHC has 560 calories per can so it will help you to easier get your daily calories.

Everything tastes salty to me after the surgery. I found that brushing with Biotene Toothpaste helped. It also helps with dry mouth.

Msmac: How long did the salt taste last? I'm 7 weeks out of treatment and everything tastes like pure salt. Fruit is especially vile tasting. That, and the hyper-sense of smell that I have, is making it nearly impossible to eat anything (which I desperately want to do so that I can get off my PEG). Oatmeal and Cream of Wheat with loads of brown sugar are tolerable for solid foods as is avocado but I'd like to be able to eat more than that. Ensure and Scandishakes are getting old and don't taste great, either.

Thanks.