Is there any food or drink that tastes ok once you ge that metallic taste from your chemo. I have tried sweet, sour, spicy, etc and everything might taste good for 5 min and then back to the metallic taste
Am enjoying reading all the meal suggestions - as long as someone else is doing the cooking ha ha.
Hubby suffered with metallic taste problems during chemo and could only stomach (sorry) coffee if made with full cream milk. Found anything he did not like before much more palatable for some bizarre reason though his consultant and dietician had both pre-warned him that this could be the case. Salted peanuts, cashews and doughnuts were among some favourites and home-made soups were better than canned variety. Trial and error very much the key to finding what worked. He also found that fish and chips were fine. Jules
I'd agree with Jules on the home made soup. I had a background salty taste and a rotten meat taste. This put me off eating meat. Butternut squash and coconut milk soup was good and packed with calories. Cucumbers had a fresh taste and boiled fresh beetroot was quite palatable. In the end I couldnt eat much at all, the radiotherapy made my throat so sore. So I slopped down custard, rice pudding, cottage pie, fish pie, and those horrid thick supplements often taking an hour to eat a side plates quantity with sips of water between mouthfuls. In the end I lost all sense of taste and relied on nice smelling food to whet the appetite. Alcohol stung my throat so I abandoned beer, when I could drink it again, it tasted like fizzy water so I didnt bother. Hot spicy food was out too as it burned. However after a month taste started to return but everything tasted not as expected, eight months on I can eat most anything and get a good flavour from food.
The best drink I found was Cranberry Juice, it has a metalic taste to begin with, if its to strong try diluting it with sparkling mineral water or just plain water about 50/50. Also Lady Gray Tea, which has a orange taste to it, I found quite refreshing - drunk black.
I love coffee but could not drink it at all during my chemo and spicy food was a no no as it agrivated the pains in my joints (side effect). Tinned Tuna was Ok, I make it with onions, kidney beans, tomatoes and some dill, like a stew. Most beans tasted Ok (except baked beans) so I used those a lot
I found that foods with a slight sweet taste were the worst except for chocolate that still tasted fine.
I bought a soft tooth brush and used a small amount of toothpaste to freshen my mouth several times a day but dont overdo the brushing as it can damage your gums, brushing your tounge helps.
Fortunatly your taste buds do come back to normal after the treatment is over.
Unfortunatly I had to go on a low fibre diet during my radiotherapy and that was awful just eating bland boring food.
I think its a matter of trying things out, good luck
Hi , I was reading about all your experiences with certain foods and drinks , I have found that I crave salty snacks crisps and peanuts. I am a coffee addict so its very hard to find a cup I like at the moment m g4eat fun going around coffee shops trying though , I too have been making soups , pea soup was great for week 1 , week 2 was peper and sweet potato , week 3 vegetable .
I was given a great cooking book by macmillan its full of simple recipes and contains special diet changes for differant reactions to chemotherapy . Hope everyone starts to feel well soon x
Maybe I need to try more things. I was thinking of stopping chemo next week so I could enjoy food again. After 80 days of metal taste I think I have had more than I can take
I cannot talk from personal experience; just that of my husband's chemo treatment. He really hated the lack of enjoyment from food which he had always enjoyed (especially on his foreign business trips) and the metallic taste often used to make him 'gag' when eating. His treatment was not as long as you are having to endure (sadly other side effects meant his body could not cope and it had to be stopped) but he did say anything that could possibly give him the chance of being with family and friends longer was a bonus he could not deny himself (suspect our kids and grandkids were his only motivation by this point he felt so lousy). He did find it useful to have a constant pack of peppermint sweets by his side and used them before, during and after eating to help mask the horrible taste.
Hope you can chat your feelings through with your chemo/medical team before taking the step of having to halt treatment though I know a friend of mine did take a 'leave of absence' from her chemo treatment by mutual consent and was lucky enough to still be well enough to re-start a couple of months later though it slowed her recovery.
Sending a virtual hug and hope things improve for you soon. Jules
Thanks Jules. I have had the taste since my operation which is why I am frustrated. I do admit that if you have family and friends it helps but sadly none of my friends in the city have come to see me since my operation in July so it makes me wonder about longevity. I will chat with my chemo doc next Monday and see what happens
