One of the side effects that has grown progressively worse is the deadening of my sense of taste. Of the five basic tastes, sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami, it’s salty, umami and sour that seem to register at all. The sensations are dull at best, and often just numb. Sweet registers the least, so that foods that normally would be extremely sweet, or what I’d call “too sweet,” have a kind of other, weird, flavor. It’s actually uncomfortable to eat.
Unless I eat something that specifically features one of the three tastes, salty, sour or umami, I can’t really taste it; I can only detect the sensation of food in my mouth. Potato chips (which I don’t normally like); Chinese dishes with sauce that includes soy; soup that has a dollop of yogurt or sour cream; tart frozen yogurt with fresh cut fruit that is also very tart. Those seem to be the foods that work. Otherwise, I eat just for nutrition. Foods I typically eat, which include eggs, whole grain bread, dry or cooked cereal, veggies, beans, pasta, grains and fruit, all resist detection. Today I really wanted something sweet and ordered coffee and an apple fritter that got rave reviews from staff and customers at the counter. Because I could barely taste it, I left most of it uneaten, figuring that if I couldn’t enjoy it, I didn’t need to consume the calories.
So, the only way to deal with it is to eat foods that are nutritious and to stop trying to taste any of it. I eat small meals, and Marvin has brought me some bottles of meals that pass through the palate without a lingering aftertaste. Although I cannot taste what I want to taste, I have this sickeningly metallic, foul taste that lingers. Sour candies seem the best in helping to replace or disguise it.
Such an odd side effect: distorted taste sensations despite a rather normal appetite.
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copyright 2009 Donna Peach
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