Watch and Wait > For those in the 'watch and wait' status

Yucky Taste in Mouth

(1/3) > >>

keepingthefaith:
Hi All,

At or around the time I think I started growing the AN, I noticed a strange taste in my mouth.  I cannot define it as metallic or dry.  For any of you who have ever had a hangover or a smoker's mouth the morning after, that is sorta what it tastes like 24/7.

I have no problem with taste of foods and have had I think, every possible test run to find the cause, i.e., upper and lower GI; endoscopy; colonoscopy and swab cultures of mouth.  Lastly, I had a thorough dental check-up to be sure it wasn't due to 50 year old fillings leaking.
The dentist didn't rule this out, but the only way to resolve it was to drill out all old fillings and replace with new substance.....too costly!

Anybody have similiar symptoms or suggestions to get rid of?  I will try almost anything at this point.

Keepingthefaith

Jim Scott:
Keepingthefaith ~

About 9 months prior to my AN diagnosis I began 'losing' my sense of taste. In effect, everything I ate, even my favorite foods, tasted like 'cardboard'.  My body's reaction was a severely diminished appetite that caused me to lose over 30 pounds over the next 9 months.  Fortunately, I had 30 pounds to spare - but not much more.  Within a few days (following my AN surgery) my taste returned and has never changed, since. 

I'm not a physician and cannot offer credible medical advice but I believe an acoustic neuroma can involve the 7th cranial nerve that affects taste.  Unfortunately, AN removal can sometimes generate an issue with taste.  I can only hope that in your case, removal will positively affect your sense of taste because I don't know of any other remedy, although other folks may.

Jim 

mk:
Strange taste, or a feeling of "burnt" tongue is an indication that the trigeminal nerve (or 5th cranial nerve) is affected by the AN. This was my first presenting symptom and I didn't have a clue what it was (neither did my doctor), until the sensation progressed to the entire right side of my face, triggering a referral for an MRI.  The trigeminal is a "sensory" nerve, with three branches. From what I understand the "odd taste" is due to altered sensation to the tongue. There is a separate  cranial nerve that controls taste, but this is way further, so it cannot be affected by the AN.
The only thing that confuses me is that your AN is small, and as Jim pointed out as well the trigeminal nerve typically is affected with larger ANs. I guess it is always a question of location.
The sensation may, or may not go away after surgery, depending on the extent of damage to the nerve and how it is decompressed.

Unfortunately as far as I know there isn't much you can do to get rid of this symptom - I found that salty and sugary foods taste the worse, so I avoid them. I can tell right away if a food has too much sugar or salt, from the metallic taste that it causes.

Marianna

keepingthefaith:
Dear Jim and MK,

Thanks so much for your thoughtful responses.  Your comments only add to my thought that this taste problem must be related to the AN.

Jim, coincidentally, my appetite has diminished somewhat, however, unfortunately it has not resulted in a 30 lb. weight loss, which I could definitely benefit from.

MK, strangely, neither salt nor sugar (splenda) affects this taste.  That said, I do crave the crunchy/crewy foods!!

Really appreciate both of your thoughts and I am now shopping around for the best Dr. and treatment.....I need to just move on and try and preserve what hearing I have left.

Keepingthefaith   :P

Donna R:
Yes, I also have that, very dry mouth, especially through the night, and when I eat something, it just doesn't taste right. During the day, I usually chew a piece of gum for the bad taste in my mouth. My tongue feels as if I burned it.   I am hoping this all subsides after surgery.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page