POST SURGERY CHANGES ?

[selmaS]

Hi All....so fellow Zipperheads, did  or do ne of u notice a change in the way some foods smell or taste to u?I have noticed a drastic change in the way I even crave foods...things I loved...I have no desire, in fact eating is a chore to me......even all the cakes and cookies...don't thrill me like they used to.....

Just wondering has neone else noticed a change...some sweet things taste too sweet......my DH makes dinner and I just don't like it...lol....he is a good cook...I just not interested in the food and I think it is the taste.

neone??

[*Stormy*]

I have noticed that somewhat but I thought maybe it was due to still having some nausea. Sometimes, I really want to eat and other times I have to force myself because my stomach is telling me I'm hungry but I don't feel like eating (if that makes sense). For me, I had this problem before surgery too. The sweet thing is really interesting though because I have noticed sweet stuff does taste too sweet...I was considering that a bonus though, anything not to gain weight!!

[selmaS]

Well I hope this helps me lose weight.....and I am only eating bcuz I feel hungry too..and I used to like to eat certain things, but even the things I liked just doesn't do nething for ma and I stop eating b4 I am full as I just tire of the eating process...does this make sense?

When this all started I thought it was postnasal drip contributing to it,now I am not so sure.

[*Stormy*]

That totally makes sense to me, I find that I eat just enough to keep the hunger pains away most of the time...

I haven't found too much weight loss yet though...but I think that's b/c I seem to eat carbs (bread, crackers) when I do eat. I find it really hard to eat the right things b/c I don't feel like I have an appetite for them...

That post nasal drip thing is awful...I get it continually for awhile then it goes away and then comes back...I noticed that was worse post op

[selmaS]

Same here on the PND...was way worse after surgery to the point I mentioned it in ICU...I was told it was the oxygen, but it has continued after I was off the oxygen and at home...most later......my PCP wanted me to try and get a sample in a sterile cont to see if it had ne CSF in it...but it does not drain enuff for that- out my nose neway...more goes down my throat...gross I know I am so sorry...but u know what I mean.....

Yeah I go for pretzels, crackers or bread as I feel it helps with the acid reflux....I know not eating isn't helping with weight loss either, but I really just don't want to eat....

[*Stormy*]

I do know what you mean...mine mainly goes down my throat too...I tried to get a sample too one day but it always drips out at the wrong time!!

I read somewhere you can actually test it with a diabetes meter, I have one from my pregs (gestational diabetes) so I was tempted to try it but I thought maybe that's going to far over the edge.... something about if there is glucose in it then it would be CSF. Anyway it always seems to go away for awhile and then come back so I'm thinking it's just a Chiari thing..

[selmaS]

Yeah...now that I hear u also have this ...I tend to think the same...just a chiari thing.....so another thing to add to the manifesto !

[pdxmomof3boys]

I wish I would stop eating so much sugar! I think the meds are making me depressed (side effect of most muscle relaxers I guess) and when I am like that I want chocolate. I haven't eaten anything all day that wasn't sweet. Not helping with weight loss, but I have dropped 5 of the 15 I gained from stupid prednisone! I find that I'm happier and healthier and don't eat as much because I can do more than I used to be able to. I'm hoping the PND doesn't come back but I keep getting little scares. Is it sad how afraid I am of that one stupid symptom? It's the WORST! That's what used to trigger my cough all the time and it was miserable. IT IS ABSOLUTELY CHIARI RELATED as far as I'm concerned :) Hoping things mellow out for me in the sugar department. Hoping you get your appetites back -- at least enough to enjoy what you are eating, especially if hubby is cooking :)

[soccero]

I can't eat at certain resteraunts that I used to love before surgery ( chipotle, panera, and cosi) I used to live at those places and I can't go near them now. O and after surgery I did not eat for almost 2 weeks food just didn't sound good to me I eat now but it's a struggle sometimes but if ur looking to take away hunger pains I use a glass of milk or chocolate milk it fills me up and it goes down eaiser
Molly

[selmaS]

HI Molly...I was wondering about u.......so glad u found something that works...unfortunately milk and PND r not a good pair...dairy makes more mucus....so I avoid milk and dairy as much as possible......


ooooooooooo chocolate I love dark chocolate and I did not enjoy eating that either like I used to this is y I decided to ask.....

[shanmomof3]

Well, i haven't had surgery and i'm having this problem. Its probably the pnd and meds but nothing tastes right. Not even italian selma! The only things i seem to want are sweets which is not a good thing. So if it gets worse after surgery i dont know what i'll do

[selmaS]

Hi Shannon,

I went thru that prior to surgery with the sweets...but now it is like they r too sweet and I do not enjoy it.....I wonder if it is the PND??.....or Chiari.....or something entirely diff?

[*Stormy*]

I have to agree about dark chocolate...I do like that!! Probably because it isn't really all that sweet and no one else in the family likes it so I can hoard it all to myself!!!

I had appetite problems before too but usually mine were with nausea so I wondering if that contributed?

[shanmomof3]

Well, i've never been a huge fan of dark chocolate or any chocolate for that matter. But selma keeps talking about dark chocolate so i decided to try it again and i LOVE Dove dark chocolate! :) lol i've crossed over to the dark side selma lol

[selmaS]

Dove dark is the best and what's even better it is good for ur health......

my family all have switched over to the dark side as well Shannon resistance is futile : D

[northernstarmn]

For me before surgery eating was extremely difficult, it litterally made my face hurt- so i stopped since surgery i find that i eat less then what i use to also- food i just have no desire for.  the smells of some foods just turn my stomach, like walking in or around a mall and smelling the umpteen million of different foods OMG thats awful...and then mix that smell with the smell of real leather-- GAG--  but anyway

like many food is just not cutting it these days. and my husband thought i was picky before..LOL...I do not have PND-so that is not a factor for me-
~TC
Lisa

[*Stormy*]

He he.. sometimes Santa brings dark chocolate to the kids for Christmas by "accident" and then of course I have to eat it!! I am keeping my family away from the "dark side" for now or my gig will be up!!

[selmaS]

Lisa...yeah the smell of food is very unappealing too.....hmmmmmm u don't have PND....I eat very little and only so I have some energy...and relieve the hungries.....and I too was always a picky eater...lol....so my DD is having a time of it as he is also the cook...and he likes to experiment with spices and try diff things, but I am finding it diff to eat and thought at first it was him slipping me a surprise dinner....lol......


As for the Dark Chocloate ...I always made sure DD and DH had their milk chocolate...but it didn't work as they slowly ate mine and now that is what they want...even DD's fiance wants dark now  : )

I started eating dark chocolate when I was little...my grandfather was from Austria and dark was all he ever had and I developed a taste for it then.....and as I tell Milk chocolate lovers....when u make choc chip cookies what morsels do u use?...Most use semi sweet......they now make milk, but they always used the semi sweet ad thought they were better...well guess what...that is dark chocolate folks...and I get this look of disbelief ....I love it......lol.......

[northernstarmn]

hi, no i dont have post nasal drip but i have an awfully stuff nose sometimes
i do have alot of ear wax and wetness in the ears often..

tonight i made porkchops smothered in those durkee onions mixed with bread crumbs hubby came home and said MMMMM smells so good outside, i was like something a lil different.

i have some issues with smell, and found that my ears are even more sensative then they were before...but anyway

dark choclate never done anything for me,
but dang do i love milk chocolate and nuts its odd...

[selmaS]

Lisa...we will convert u....do not try Hershey's Specials and think u tried dark...cuz that is awful waxy junk...lol......u need to try really good chocolate to see a difference : )

Like Dove Dark : P

Yeah my ears feel wet sometimes too...I get to where they hurt and I think I must have an infection or too much wax...and the dr always says it is clear.

"selma"

[northernstarmn]

LOL....convert me..LOL..

the problem i have right now with any sweets is that remember the thrush i had, well i still have that burning sensation in my mouth after i eat something sweet so while i love chocolate and bubble gum lately ive been stayong away because i dont like that burning feeling in my mouth,,,ELLCHHhh...its really weird cuz like i can eat a kit kat bar and have slight burning but then if i eat like M&M's the burning is instant. I think its the sugars that cause me issues i believe M&M's coating has a different type of sugar in it...and if i drink lets say a sip of hubbys diet coke OMG the burning is even worse...ELLLCCHhhh---- so iam learning while i love these things its best i stay away from them

i had my vit K checked at the doc because i remembered one of the nurses saying that if i continue to have issues with the burning to have it checked and it came back normal too while my doc thought i was nutz for making him check that he did what i asked....

[northernstarmn]

forgot to add this

my ENT always says my ears look good too when i see her except for the large amt of scar tissue ( I was born clinically deaf and had MANY MANY ear operations as a child) but i can stick a Q tip in there and get out some wax and wetness...i even took them too her once and she had them tested or something i dunno what she really did with them never heard anything from it..now that i think about it.

[Spaceystac]

Just a thought, you could be allergic to the preserves in the candy. Maybe kit kats have less on them then m&ms.  My mom gets this with anything with these preservatives in them. You could experiment by trying something natural or organic to see if you still have this same reaction.

As for eating, I couldnt imagine It getting much worse. Let alone having surgery. I have had IBS for a long time, also gastritis.

The other day I was lying in bed, a I could have sworn that I smelt a huge breakfast cooking. With bacon, sausage, eggs, I could smell it all. I thought our roomate was making breakfast. I want up stairs to check it out, and there was nothing. Not sure what happened there but sometimes I think there is just smell coffee brewing, and there isnt.

[*Stormy*]

Oh...the wet ears...I don't know how many years I went to my GP telling her that I had fluid in my ears. I could feel it squish in there and there would be moisture coming out, I also got constant pain in my ears like an infection or something. She kept telling me that my ears looked fine but that's what sparked the whole headache thing being allergies and sinus issue and I went on rounds of different allergy meds..Once again, so amazing that this is something else that we all have!!

I have to remark on coffee..I am a self proclaimed caffeine addict..and sadly it seems lately that it doesn't taste the same (Selma I thought of this after the original discussion). Of course, I'm still addicted so I down it anyway but I have noticed the change..I do like it very sweet though so that could be why, maybe need to cut down on the sugar.

Lately, my tongue has had this weird taste on it too, sort of burning and dry making me want to drink something to relieve it so that could be contributing. I always would get that from time to time and it drives me nuts b/c it just tastes so gross!!

[selmaS]

I wonder if we all may have a tad bit of thrush......

Lisa........I wonder if u may need a bit more antibiotic for that....and if u r like me.....u may also get a yeast infection from the antibiotics...if so ask for Diflucan to take after /with the antibiotic...I also found using a mouthwash helps get rid of this as well.

If ur tounge is white and pasty looking call ur dr.

I know sugar breaks down into yeast......or vise versa.....