Steroids and taste

[mindyandy]

Is it me or has anybody else experienced this with steroids.....things dont taste as good. Don't get me wrong I'm eating everything in sight....but its like my taste buds dont taste the foods as well as it used to....?

[mk]

Could it be that you are having altered taste because of the AN? This can happen once it starts pressing on the trigeminal nerve. This was actually my first symptom, almost a year ago.
Why did you need to take steroids in the first place?

Marianna

[mindyandy]

Marianna
Wow that was actually one of my first sx also. Altered taste buds....Thats funny cause I havent heard too many people chime in on this one. I do believe it has swelled so that is why the steroids. I am tapering off now (they suck). I go in for MRI sometime next month so I do hope for something positive. I'm glad you chimed in so I dont feel so alone....

[mk]

Oh, the dreaded swelling. What kind of symptoms have you been experiencing?
Is this the first MRI that you will be getting post treatment? I sure hope that it will not show any substantial swelling. I would think that if the bad taste (or any other new symptoms) are due to swelling then the steroids should help you deal with them.

All the best,
Marianna

[Jim Scott]

Mindyandy:

FWIW: I had severely diminished taste as one of my primary AN symptoms.  It was so bad that I lost 35 pounds over six months because I simply had no appetite.  My stomach actually shrunk.  I lost my 'spare tire' rather quickly, which was great, but losing it on a regular diet -  like everyone else - would have been just fine.  I also had the steroids for 5 days after I was discharged from the hospital.  I had little problem with them (slept O.K., no appetite change that I recall).  My normal appetite came back rather quickly post-op, but no more than before the AN manifested itself.  I've managed to keep the weight off (easier than trying to lose it, later). 

Jim

[mindyandy]

Jim I'm glad to hear we arent the only ones....LOL

When I first discovered my AN sizes just over 1cm fairly small my first sx...oddly was loss of taste. Besides the tinnitus and other strange sounds.... but taste was my biggest complaint.

[Rex]

Prior to surgery, I had a slight metallic taste in my mouth on the AN side.  This went away after surgery.   I had a CSF leak in the hospital and was on steroids for two weeks (dexamethasone) post op.  My side effects were being hungry all time (ate 5-6 big meals a day) and insomnia.  I was only getting 1-2 hrs sleep per day.  The Dr gave me an Rx for Ambien which let me sleep 4-5hrs/day until I was off the steroids.

Rex

[marymomof3]

Hi - I had that metallic taste post op.  Funny, I always thought it was because of the surgery....  now to think that it may have been from the steroids I was taking.

I hadn't really held anything down during my hospital stay.  On the way home after I was discharged, I had such a craving for this Greek dessert for a specific bakery.  We actually stopped there on my way home.  I was sooooo excited to sit down with the box of pastries - but was sorely disappointed when it too, tasted metallly......

PS I haven't had a chance to get back to that bakery to try again!  HA HA HA!!

Mary

[Debbi]

I also know that facial paralysis can cause things to taste funny.  I have been quite lucky that most things taste fine, most of the time.  However, I get days where certain things taste very metallic to me.  My doc is related to my facial nerve problems.  I don't remember if it was worse when I was on steroids - I think everything felt so out of whack then that I am not sure I would have recognized one single thing like that...

Debbi

[chocolatetruffle]

hi mindyandy, my impact to taste was from the surgery, rather from steriods.  my left side of the tongue was numb for at least 3 mths (with no metallic taste) and i was not able to enjoy my food as i only tasted "half" of it - if this makes sense.  I am in my 7th month and my numbness is gone.  but i noticed that my "renewed" tongue is more sensitive than ever, ie for salty food, it tasted extremely salty and for sugary foods, it tasted extremely sweet.  in a positive light, i guess this helps me to cut down my salt and sugar intake!!

[bre2you]

hi mindyandy,

I had my surgery three weeks ago and my tastebuds are still off.  I think it is mostly due to the fact that the AN side of my face is stilll numb from the surgery.  I have lost 7 pounds so far.  I try to eat fruits and vegetables as much as possible to make sure my body is getting nutrients.  The fruit that I have tried so far that tastes pretty good are pineapple, watermelon and grapes.  I have a hard time with bread, so I don't eat it.  Pasta and rice dishes go over well, but I don't tolerate chunky pieces of meat well.  Spaghetti with meat sauce tastes pretty good to me and pasta dishes with shrimp.  Good luck to you!

[MStout]

My AN had "major stuff running through it" (it's on my brain stem) so couldn't be removed.  I had gamma radiation and was put on major steroids to reduce swelling.  I wasn't taken off steroids soon enough, so had to be hospitalized for a month, to be tapered off of them.  When I got home everything was tasteless.  My husband had to force me to eat because everything tasted like cardboard.  I was happy to see (here) that others experienced the same thing.  I'm also glad to see that it was temporary for others, just as it was for me!

[Mormor]

I'm coming up on 4 months after surgery and my taste buds are still not cooperating all the time. One day I'm doing just fine and the next day, sweets, salty food and especially Mexican food triggers the metallic taste. I don't think I had the problem while taking the steroids. I just ate bland food such as soups, yogurt, etc. until my right side of my face starting to come back.

The right side of my mouth is still partially numb and I sometimes have a hard time pronouncing some words properly.

I know it is one day at the time.