ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: tenai98 on September 18, 2009, 09:39:13 am
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I didnt have this right after surgery but did have the periodical soap taste in my mouth...Now 5 months post op,I am having a lite, but yet definitely metallic taste in my mouth...It has yet to interfere with the taste of food. Really wouldnt mind that if i could lose the few pounds left to lose....
As any one else had this, this late after surgery????....
JO
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I have a metallic taste in my mouth also. I am 9 years post surgery. I think it's just another effect of the severely damaged facial nerves. It's not the worst problem I have, just adds to the fun. I have also smelled things that weren't actually present--another effect of the damage.
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Yup, I have the same thing. I noticed it about 5 months post op and went to the dentist thinking there must be some kind of dental problem going on but he told it was the nerve damage and it might last a few weeks or forever. Some days are worse, some better. Maybe I'm just getting used to it but it doesn't seem to bother me as much as it used to. At first it would even wake me up at night. We sure get to have lots of fun side effects!!
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I didnt have this right after surgery but did have the periodical soap taste in my mouth...
JO
Have you been periodically using foul language ;D
Actually, I started getting the metallic taste a month or two before surgery. I still have a funny taste in my mouth 3 1/2 months post op, but it isn't really a metallic taste (just a wierd, funny taste). My saliva is also a bit "sticky" (not as watery as before surgery). Like MamaG said, it's all part of the fun of having an AN :-\,
Joe B
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Yes, its one sided and not as much saliva too. I've been eating and drinking like crazy trying to find something that taste good, or as it was prior to surgery. I've found pineapple to be the best thing so far....
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I had the metallic taste post op. Strange, out of the blue there it is in the back of the tongue on the affected side. ???
It slowly diminished through the years for me. I just now very occasionally get it.
Maureen
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Jo,
I had the metalic taste thing for a while after AN treatment. But it slowly went away, so it can improve with time.
Regards,
Rob
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Hello - I'm just back from my appointment with Dr. Slattery at House and he told that my metalic taste had to do with my facial nerve improving, (it's being less that 3mos. since my surgery) then I just read how for some of you it's been years. Can somebody please tell me you been told the same as Dr. Slattery! He also suggested taking zinc, he said it helps.
Thanks!
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He also suggested taking zinc, he said it helps.
Thanks for this tip, ilsemor. Someone (not a doctor) told me that zinc would help my metallic mouth, but I wasn't sure if this was true or not. I started taking it post op and the metallic mouth did eventually go away. I had no idea if the zinc had anything to do with it or not. Nice to know that it did.
Jan
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Yes I have that also at first right after surgery it was a bad taste of blood for a couple of weeks and then it went to a metal taste I have been chewing of course sugar free gum and it seems to help a little with my head I have some hearing loss and that fullness. No pun intended but I do not know if the gum chewing is just all in my head...or it does work ???
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I haven't had the metallic taste thing happen but I have noticed a change in my taste for certain foods. Although I like cheese, I had never had much liking for blue (or bleu if you happen to be of a more Continental bent) cheese.
Not long after the surgery I ordered a cheeseburger, not noticing that the cheese in this particular cheese burger happened to be bleu. After taking my first bite and noticing a taste I wasn't quite expecting,
I thought to myself "My, this is quite tasty." Much to my surprise, upon partially dismantling my burger I discovered this tasty new taste was cheese of the bleu-ish variety.
Overall, it was quite a nice bonus in this whole, growth at the edge of your brain journey.
..take care.. tim b
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I'm two weeks post translab and also have the metallic taste. For me the metallic part is mostly an aftertaste that doesn't go away no matter what I do. Some foods definitely taste different (especially beef and fish), but I seem to be having pretty good luck with both chicken and turkey. My change in taste actually started six months earlier when I started having facial spasms and it would come and go. I'm hoping now since the surgery that it will get better as the nerve has a chance to heal. If not, I guess I'll be stocking up on chicken! The biggest loss for me in taste is chocolate. I've always been a big chocolate lover and it's just not the same! :'(
Zinc is an interesting idea. I remember a few years ago they said to take it when getting a cold...I tried it and ended up with a metallic taste!
Denise
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I, too, have had this metallic taste, becoming quite pronounced about 4 months post-op. Some days are better than others and I find that acidic foods really accentuate the metallic taste. I look forward to tomatoes fresh from the garden every summer, but this year it was a real disappointment. I have to add sugar to cut that acid (and metallic taste) so that I can even finish a portion of spaghetti. I had enjoyed chocolate, especially dark chocolate, before surgery, but it doesn't taste all that good any more. Given that I have significant facial nerve damage, my jaw gets sore pretty quickly with eating, so that along with the taste distortions, it does help to keep portion sizes down and hopefully continue to lose some weight. I'm in the food business, so this is a real bummer. Fruit tastes the best to me and I'll have to try the zinc idea to see if that helps.
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I am about 18 mths post op and have the metallic taste as well on the AN side. Some days, it's worse than others. However, it is extremely bothersome as it changes the taste of food. Like some of you, prior to surgery, I enjoyed fish and other seafood, chocolate and a few other food items. Since surgery and radiation therapy, I am not enjoying these things anymore. My mouth is also extremely dry and extremely sensitive to any bit of spice, even black pepper...not good. I am not enjoying food, period. I am so tired of mashed potatoes! :(
Thank you for the tip about zinc, I will try it. I have brushed, swished, kept my dental appts, but to no avail. However, I noticed that having something salt, like popcorn, helped the taste a little bit, but I cannot have too much of it due to the issues with my mouth.
Again, thank you for the tip, and I appreciate y'all letting vent a little bit. I am very overwhelmed and frustrated. ???
Ronnye
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Ronnye: The silver lining with me re: diminished taste is that I lost weight ! ! Since I can't taste most foods, I eat to live - the funny thing is I can taste vegetables & fruit the best ! Mother nature is playing a good joke on me b/c I never ate them much before, now I love them ! I eat the 'healthy' dark cocoa chocolate.
Friends/coworkers have told me they'd like to have the decreased taste for a couple of months to lose weight.... I exclusively drink water, another benefit !
It's been over 3 years for me with diminished taste (no taste buds working on the AN side), so I've gotten use to it.
Always good thoughts, Nancy
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Nancy,
I wish that were the case. Despite not eating much, I am not losing much weight. I think, however, the weight issue is because of meds. I have really bad migraines, as well as sleeping problems, so I think the combination of meds (including steroids) is not helping the weight issue. Plus, I have had some serious life challenges since the surgery that have not helped my recovery. My mom came to visit me last Thanksgiving, as she feared I was not eating right. She came to cook my meals as I could handle them. Two days after she got her, she died. Soon after her burial, my 20 yr old daughter took ill. She had intracranial hypertension and had shunt implanted in her brain. But the problem has left her legally blind. It has been a difficult transition for her, as she can no longer drive. She is a very social person. However, she returned to college this semester, but she is still in denial of her situation. So my plate has been full.
I eat some veggies and fruits. I have always loved broccoli but I tend to choke on it now, as I do with rice. Also, the left side of my tongue feels heavy & swollen. So, imagine having all of that going on at the same time. Not pleasant. I guess I will continue to try to see what works. I do know that food with texture irritates my mouth..so, it's mashed potatoes or pasta.
Thank you for responding. And, again, thank you all for allowing me to let off some of my frustration.
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Alas, my metallic issues do not affect my taste buds...but I am taking a healthier approach to nutrition....less meat, more veggies...weight loss of 18lbs
Jo
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Congrats, Jo. I'm trying to do the same thing. Hopefully, I will have some success.
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Hello, I am almost 4 months post craniotomy for A.N. I've had an overwhelming metal taste in my mouth for the last 4-5 weeks. Both of my doctors said it has nothing to do with the surgery - that it must be a vitamin I am taking. ??? This is frustrating because I haven't changed my vitamin regimen since my surgery. It is nice to know that I am not the only one with this side affect. It is so hard not to question my experiences sometimes. Thanks for voicing your question!
Kim
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I don't agree that it has nothing to do with the surgery. Lots of us had metallic mouth post op.
Mine lasted for months - I don't recall exactly how many - but it eventually went away. Try zinc.
Jan
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For the record, I've been doing the zinc for three weeks now. There's been no real improvement in the metallic taste issue. Also, periodically, it feels like my tongue was burnt by hot liquids. I haven't been drinking anything hot so that can't be the cause.
A few nights ago, my wife broiled some fantastic salmon steaks. Imagine my delight as every single bite tasted just like a chunk of a golden rod Dial soap bar...
AN - the gift that keeps on giving... >:(
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Eli -
sorry to hear the zinc didn't work. I never really knew if it helped me or not. I started taking it and my metallic mouth eventually went away, but it may have left on it's own without the help of the zinc. I'll never know.
Hang in there,
Jan
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Jan,
It's hard to know whether it's helping or not. And, it's worth a try. It's only been 3 weeks. I figure I take it until I use up all the pills. I posted that early this morning when I was tired but couldn't sleep. Seems like I have a lot of those nights these days.
A friend here was recommended zinc for his tinnitus. I think that was mostly for placebo effect but I'm not a doctor so I don't know. Maybe there is something to it.
I really needed to poke back on here last night and re-read everyone's comments. I'd begun wondering if the taste was a CSF leak. I doubt it could be. I don't have the horrible headaches, dripping nose or other symptoms. It was good to re-read that metallic taste can last a while and come and go. It helps me remember that I'm still recovering.
Eli.