Any Ideas
I may not go into really deep personal issues here on this blog...
It's NOT my style!
But since a few of you have asked... and we all know that in many ways... this internet can be a GOOD creation...
I figured I'd go ahead and put this out there.
If you can lead me towards a "cure"... I'd be grateful.
Last summer I lost my sense of taste for sweetness. Not all of it, but most of it.
Since I had my bout with blot clots in my lungs in October of 2008, I did my bit with coumadin (which lasted 6 months) and moved onto an aspirin regimen along with a fish oil capsule daily.
It must have been fairly gradual... but finally I noticed the loss.
One day, I noticed an ad on television for concentrated fish oil caplets and in the fine print it mentioned a possible loss of taste. That was it! The fish oil capsules were canned!
I talked to my doctor about it... he had no words of wisdom. It just happens sometimes as people age... which would be acceptable if I was 79, but not at 52!!
Ah, well. It's an easy enough cross to bear if that's all I have to deal with, I know how bad it *could* be. And I can taste *some* sweetness. Plus, yes, I've lost a little weight, and imagine I'll lose more... but... this is the family that likes anything so long as it has a cup of sugar in it.
I've switched to Cherry Pepsi... and it still tastes good enough. Lemonade? EEEEW, yech. Milk? I used to drink a lot of it, nice and COLD. It's OK. I still sweeten my coffee because I can tell if I don't, but it's not the same. Cookies? neh. Pancakes and syrup. Definite blah. I used to be a potato freak... I could live on potatoes... but the sweet is gone there too. Cinnamon rolls? Nasty. Oh, yeah, I'll eat a cookie once in a while, but it's more just to see if I can taste them... and I can taste nuts! Fruit? Not the same... I was a big apple eater, again... they're passable.
You know what's the worst? Chocolate. If it's just plain Nestle candy bar chocolate... it tastes like wax. If it's a chocolate turtle, or chocolate coconut, and I inhale deeply enough... I *think* I can taste it normally. I doubt it, I think my chocolate smeller just overpowers my chocolate taster!
Our Valentine's dinner dessert had a nice heart shaped *warm* lava cake with vanilla ice cream, sprinkles, and a red heart on top... sounded delicious... smelled heavenly... and tasted like yuk. Vernon got to eat all but one bite!
Sliced strawberries with sugar? Yeah, passed on those today... <BIGSIGH>
What do I do?
I eat a LOT of jalapenos. I probably add too much salt to things to get some flavor. I test drive spicy flavored foods... every new chip flavor, salsa, and sauce I can. Some taste too weird... tabasco mayo... which I would have guessed I would've liked... is just *off*. If it comes with a good strong smell... that helps.
I can still taste mint... So mentos are stuck in every coat pocket... which also helps cover up the bad breath from all the onions, peppers, and jalapenos I eat!
I have to ask how things taste... I don't know if my cooking has suffered or not... they haven't complained yet, but it's impossible to judge the taste of anything anymore.
It's kind of a pain... but it definitely makes it easier to pass on desserts. 
It's not the worst thing that could happen by far, but should some of you have any ideas... I'm willing to listen!
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February 20, 2010 Spirit Wind
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February 20, 2008 Reflections and Shadows
Great photo by the way. I am sorry about your loss of taste. I am a lot older than you and have lost taste as a matter of aging but it is not fun. I hate that food doesn't taste like it used to. I hope someone has an answer for you. I would give up the fish oil for sure. You can eat walnuts and other nuts to get your omega 3's.
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Carol, Love your blog and, really really love your dogs! Watching Dr. Oz the other day they had a tablet made from a miracle plant.. they chewed it up and swished it around their mouths and took a bite of a lemon, all three said the lemon tasted sweet! Maybe you could surf over to Dr. Oz's site and check it out
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I had a friend that this happen to. She lost her sense of taste and her appetite as well....to the point where she has to MAKE herself aware of not having eaten. (I only wish for that
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I've been reading your blog for a long time, came over here from the Daily Coyote. I never comment on any blog, but I feel that I must say something about this. I had a severe allergic reaction to some medication about 2 1/2 years ago. It not only gave me hives all over my body for weeks, but it destroyed my entire digestive system, including my taste buds. (Also destroyed my blood vessels, giving me high blood pressure - darn it!) And my doctor was all "I've never seen anything like this before!" And it wasn't my nose. I had people tell me to blow my nose! Really annoying. I could smell chocolate, and strawberries, and all that good stuff; it smelled exactly the same as before. But at first I couldn't eat anything except refried beans and steak. Even vegetables tasted really nasty. And like you, I ate a lot of salt and hot chilies. I ended up losing 35 pounds.
I spent hours googling and found a reference to Alpha Lipoic Acid pills being able to help re-grow nerve cells. I figured that taste buds were essentially nerves, so I found them on Amazon, and took 2 every day - one in the morning and one at night. Now I don't know if this actually helped me or not. It took a long time for my taste to come back, and even now, I can’t eat anything sweet that’s processed. So no store bought cookies, donuts, or snack cakes – even chips and things like that still taste bad. But I can eat fruit and home-make treats – and cereal!!! I really missed cereal.
This really changed the way that I eat. And I spent a lot of time being really angry. And I made my husband stop eating bananas in front of me, poor guy. Oh – and I drank a LOT of water – 100 oz a day or more. Still do.
I hope that your taste buds come back - this is a horrible thing to have happen, and it's hard for people to understand. I wish that I had a better answer for you.
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I suspect it is some of the medication you are on but I would investigate it further if I were you. Fish Oil pills are not all created equal I heard Dr. Oz say on his TV show the other day . Some fish oil he said is already old before they make it into the pills and gives you a bad taste. I am on fish oil tablets the NatureValley ones from WalMart and have not had trouble. My mother takes a prescription fish oil tablet that is very expensive and she says food doesn't taste that good to her and she seems to still like sweets, but she is 87. They say zink helps to get an appetite back, and you sound like me, I like sugar, and lots of it! I hope you are able to fix this problem you are having , I can not imagine not liking sweets now, it could be a blessing, but it isn't normal for you. I would want my taste back. Good luck and keep us posted on how this is coming along, and maybe drop the fish oil just to see. If it doesn't help then go back on it.
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Are you on any other meds that might be doing it? Reason I ask is that this exact same thing happened to me once when my doc put me on ambien to get over a rough patch and get some sleep. I only used the stuff for ten days, but it took the better part of three weeks to get my taste back once I figured out what was causing it (which was hard to figure, since they didn't list it as a side effect and I had to search around the internet to find out what was going on). Anyway, I think Karen makes a good point about maybe trying a different brand of fish oil pills or eliminating them for a few weeks to see if it helps. Hope you get it fixed. Best -
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I have the opposite problem--nothing but sweets taste good to me. I just turned 53.
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Well Carol, your comment about loosing the taste for sweetness certainly struck a cord. You know I mentioned this earlier. My sense of smell went along with the taste for most things. Happily I can taste salt, spicy stuff and sweetness. I also found that texture of foods has not become important. Crazy is it not?
BTW, fish oils were not part of the problem. Though I did have joint and digestive tract issues with fish oil. Having stopped taking that stuff both symptoms have gone away.
You were quite correct when you said that worse things could happen to us. But it does make for interesting views of life.
Tony
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Loosing one of our senses can be a lonely experience. People with all their senses just can't get into the space you occupy. It took like forever for my wife/Spousal Unit (get over it I live on the Left coast) to stop asking how something tastes, she just does not understand how life changes, I can't really blame her. I suppose that I am just as far away from the experience of blindness. Sighted people will never really understand how their world is so different.
In the distant past I worked with people with hearing impairments. While I found the work interesting and had wonderful relationships I just could not bridge the gap. I often wondered why there seemed to be a lack of interest in the surrounding world. While there was interest at some level you can imagine how different their world is without the sound of music what we take for granted.
However they make adjustments just like you and I do. Often you'll see deaf people enjoying the low sounds the move through the body in a different way and they find enjoyment in this.
So, when people go on and on about the wonderful taste of food, I don't have much to say because that sense, well, most of it is gone, their'll never understand.
Tony
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Yes, Tony... and I miss it. It's kind of hard to cook without tasting... but no one's complained yet, so I must be doing ok just on portions! It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to cook for everyone everyday!
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