Taste after Facial Paralysis

[CROOKEDSMILE]

Well, I always wondered why food hadn't tasted so good since paralysis.........AND why I cough like crazy when I clean the inside of my ear on the left side with a Q-tip. It triggers a horrible response.
An article that I just read had this information:
Facial nerve palsy occurs when there is damage to the seventh cranial (facial) nerve. It is a type of mononeuropathy. The seventh facial nerve is located in the skull. It controls movement of the muscles of the face. It also affects feeling in the ear canal and the sense of taste.
Angie

[arkansasfarmgirl]

I had the cough and gag thing when I cleaned my left ear ever since I was a kid, but it's now gone.  My taste is a little off though.  I used to love Cocoa Crispies and Raisin Bran Crunch but now can't eat them because they taste too salty.  :-(

V

[nancyann]

Well,  I just ate a Snickers with Almonds bar & I could taste it ! !   WHOO HOO for me !  Wasn't able to taste chocolate for almost 2 years post op - only the really really dark chocolate.
My taste is still poor when it comes to meat (which is a good thing, I guess).
I can taste vegetables & fruit.  But all tastes seem 'far away', lessened/diminished,  if you know what I mean ...
& I can't stand salty foods too - my mouth is dry enough with 1/2 my salivary glands working.
I don't add salt to my cooking or otherwise (except to lightly salt a pot of boiling water for pastas).

Always good thoughts,   Nancy

[Jim Scott]

Angie ~

I lost almost all sense of taste in the months before my AN diagnosis.  I began eating less and less and lost over 30 (unwanted) pounds but was on the edge of being underweight.  Within 48 hours of my surgery, my taste returned. 

Now, 3 years out, my sense of taste seems sharper than ever.  Of course I'm delighted but this seems to be the opposite of what some AN patients experience.  Go figure.    

Oh, thanks to a life-long high basal metabolic rate, I've kept the all but a few of the lost 30 pounds, off.  My wife won't let me talk about it. 

Jim

[nancyann]

Jim:  I had no problems with taste (or anything other than hearing loss & tinnitus) before surgery.
It is strange how some are affected with taste issues & others are not.
Well, then again, some are affected with headaches & others aren't, so there you go - I answered
my own question !
You are a lucky man to have a high metabolic rate !
When I exercise mine goes up like mad - hence the word 'when' ! !

Always good thoughts,  Nancy

[Seal]

Hi Guys,

The taste thing is the only thing bugging me right now after the operation on Monday.    Thanks to my family and friends for all the prayers because I came out with little or no facial weakness.     The facial numbness has mostly subsided already by about 80%, and the balance issues are there.    Somehow though I already feel more stable and steady right now than I did before.    Each day is getting better.    So I"m just going to wait and hope that I get back a good portion of the taste.    In the summertime, my wife is a gournet cook, and I bring back some extraordinary fish, fresh from the sea.   The best meals in our house are served on Monday evening when the fridge is stocked from the weekend fishing.    So here is to hoping that it does come back.        If its connected to the facial nerve, then I should get most of it back.       Have fun in Worcester today!

Steve

[NancyMc]

So, Monday, the 4th of May, works for me.  Send directions, please!
I'd trade taste for facial, as my figure could use the calorie break and my face could use the smile, but you get what you get and are happy with it!
BRUNCH!!!!!
Nancy

[Patti]

i lost 24 lbs in the months following surgery.  i know some of it was because i couldn't eat food for 2 weeks and then had a hard time eating with out drooling or choking.  it took me a while to get back my eating habits.  even with half of my taste gone, i eat normal now and have gained all the weight back, much to my dissappointment.  i do lots of exercise and eat ok..  my weight dissappoints me, but i am alive.  patti

[lori67]

Steve,

Monday evenings, you say?   

What time should I be there?

Lori

[Seal]

Uh oh>...............  "yes dear, these are just a few new onlines friends that I made recently.    They were on the way home from a brunch and decided to stay over for some grilled mahi-manhi filets tonight with the lemon grass vinegerette"..................

[lori67]

Mmmm.... grilled mahi-mahi - my favorite!   

Tell you what - I'll bring dessert!  And since I'm coming from Nashville, you'll have plenty of time to get that grill fired up!

Lori

[MAlegant]

My taste is affected also, maybe because of the facial weakness, but more so from the trigeminal issues.  The right side of my tongue is numb and so therefore are my tastebuds.  The left side seems to be compensating just fine! But the ear canal thing is very interesting and explains a lot.  Until about 2 months ago it felt like I had a tube in my ear.  I asked the neurotologist about it and he assured me that there was nothing in my ear.  Now at least I know why it felt that way!  Thanks for sharing that.  This also means that some of the trigeminal issues are getting better and that is difficult to notice because it happens so slowly.  You've made my day!
Marci

[Tamara]

my mouth is dry enough with 1/2 my salivary glands working.

Sorry for the hijack, but I seem to have the same issue.  I am wondering if there are any tricks you might know for dealing with this.  I find I need to rinse out my mouth frequently so it isn't so dry.  Not normally a problem, but is difficult when I try to exercise and am breathing through my mouth.

Best wishes,
Tamara

[Kaybo]

I don't really remember having taste issues, but Dave says I did - NOTHING really tasted good.  I just know that I lost about 50 pounds when I had surgery.  I was always a "big" girl so I was glad to lose it - just not exactly the way I did!!  I remember eating - just probably not a lot!!  I had surgery in Houston (we lived in Austin) & stayed there for several weeks.  I remember that his parents were REALLY into the whole fat-free stuff and that was when it was still pretty new - cheese didn't melt and all that.  Anyway, I just got really mad that all they had was all this fat-free stuff and here I had lost all this weight.  I think I blamed the taste on that a lot and it was really probably ME!! 

K

[LADavid]

This is a weird thing.  For about the first 3 or 4 months, I really had no taste -- except for Greek Dolmades. (?)  Then it gradually started coming back.  But over the past several months, I've noticed a lack of taste.  I'm realizing that I'm putting extra spice in foods just to taste them at all -- a lot of pepper and Tabasco sauce.  My favorite food, pizza isn't even doing the trick.  I do taste sweets -- but everything else is pretty bland. Shredded wheat is just plain ugly.  Hmmm, suddenly I'm craving a dill pickle.