Everything Taste Terrible

Todd just finished 1st chemo and is in finishing 2nd week of rad. He has bad neusea even though he is takiong Compazine. He says things taste bad therefore he is not eating. I got him to at leaset take some Boost and he is drinking water, but I would like to see him eat more expecially since he still can while his throat is ok. Any suggestions?

My husband took Zorfran for nausea - I don't think Compazine cuts it - and I have read the same from other people.  Ask about Zofran.  He never got sick and had 35 treatments of cisplatin and tarceva.  As far as taste - there really isn't much you can do.  Eventually my husband just tried to stay hydrated and used his PEG tube for nutrition.  Due to the mucositis, mouth sores, sore and swelling throat and lost of taste, nothing worked.  If the mucositis gets to be too bad (it was causing my husband to throw up - ask for a suction machine - next to his PEG tube that was his other "best friend".

Hi. I am 2 wks into rad and have had 1 chemo (cysplatin). I know about the taste loss. I just wanted to post that it is nearly unexplainable the change that comes in tastes. As of last Saturday I was eating ok. Starting on Sunday everything changed and I've been stuggling a little with nausea and the simple fact that nothing tastes edible. I have had luck with eggs over easy in the morning. That is about the only thing that tastes like it is supposed to. I really had no idea how much I took taste for granted. The main reason I posted was to say this. For me this has been really confusing and unsettling. I read alot about what I had to look forward to and felt prepared. I am still suprised at the change I have taken and so quickly. The one thing that people keep doing to me is run a grocery list of ideas by me. For me this does not help. It makes me sick to my stomach and bugs me alittle because it reminds me of how much I can't eat. I'm going to go with the suggestions of finding something edible and using boost, ensure, or carnation instant breakfast. At this point I know that won't make me throw up. I hope I don't sound negative, that is not at all what I intend. I just wanted to give the view and feelings from this side. I hope and wish that each and everyone of us, patients and caregivers, have a peaceful experience throughout. And will pray for strength and courage for us as well. 

Lee   stage 4a, T2 N2b M0 primary left tonsil, multiple node invovlement. Treatment sched. 6wks rad/ 3 cysplatin treatments   

Hi Linda,

For background, last fall (06) I went through 6+ weeks of IMRT's to both sides of my neck, along with weekly chemo with Cisplaten and Erbitux (7 total treatments).  I also had daily Ethyol shots.

I had a great deal of trouble eating fairly soon.  My wife was making all sorts of things for me to try, but I just couldn't stand eating them - and wouldn't.  So I finally made up a simple daily diet:  3 meals a day, each consisting of 2 Boost Plus (360 cal. each), an egg-beater omlet with cheese and sometimes ham, and tea with honey.  About 2700 calories per day.  I took less than 1 tsp. per meal of a throat numbing medicine my dentist made for me which helped when eating the eggs.  With this meal, I lost very little weight and avoided a feeding tube.

So my suggestion is to try to find a very, very simple diet that has enough calories for maintaining weight.  As with other things, it's a trial and error process - only Todd knows what works for him, so it's important for him to communicate what is not working and be willing to try other things to find an acceptable solution. I had a number of side effects, and the treatment for each one involved trying more than one medicine.

Regarding nausea, the first pills I tried (promethazine) did not work very well, and I ended up on Zofran, which was acceptable.

Best wishes and good luck.

 Chris

The Compazine is useless. I am ino my 3rd chemo sith Ciplatin. Zofram Adivan is good stuff. Marinol with help with the nausea and with help you want to eat.

 

 

Just read your message and need to say that I just hope that things improve real soon, this CANCER is so cruel a disease, had my sister recently diagnosed with MM.

If you ever feel like it, please let me know how you are doing, really trust that you manage to find something, even in liquid form, that is non nauseous.

 Wishing you all the very best and SAWADEE from Phuket, Thailand.

 

 

Ensure is a good thing to try.

I have mostly been drinking frozen drinks made from shaklee meal shake with various other ingredients. like a smootie.....

bananna, 2 strawberry milk, ice , vanilla meal shake, blend until smooth.....

depends on the tastes he can tolerate. seems that chemo kills off the taste buds that taste the good stuff, and leave the ones that taste the bitter taste.  

Almost every food has a bitter component.....it takes experimentation to find the ones you can tolerate.

my web site about my disease

http://www.lishosting.com/allen

 take care and the very best to you.

 just read about AHCC....think I will try it....