Hi um.... I just had surgery on my tonsils and adenoids and the surgery day was February 5th and only 2days after those are the only days that I could taste can you let me know when am I gonna get my taste back I haven't ate in a long time I still because I can't taste
It's person's healing process is different. It could take up to month, or even a year for your taste to come back. It took mine a month and a half until it returned to normal. In the meantime, try to find something that you can taste to hold you over. For me, it was anything with fake cheese (like Cheeto snacks), lol. Hang in there, you got this :-)
26 M here I had my tonsils out last Tuesday (Day 9 recover). Everything went as it should have with no bleeding or infection. Asif the pain was not enough I too am not tasting food to anywhere near what I could before the operation. When I put something in my mouth I get a slight (about 10%) taste of what it used to be like at the tip of my tongue but as soon as I start chewing it dissapears and turns into a beige unappetizing taste of either salt, sweet, sour or bitter (depending what it is) with absolutely no detailed flavour at all. I'm finding it really hard to eat even a quarter of a meal because of this and am worried about how I will consume enough calories to function. For some reason I can clearly taste ginger but can't really base everything I eat on that.
I have ordered some Zinc to start taking and am considering starting Huel (a complete nutrition drink)in the hope that i can stay nourished until my taste return.
I know that I'm very early in my recovery but the thought of being like this for 6 months let alone permanently really scares me. I would have never of had this done if I knew that this could happen I'm such a foodie at heart.
I had no idea how profoundly depressing it would be to lose taste.
Does anyone know the prognosis, do most people get the taste back? I know it's a very individual thing but a little reassurance would be great. Stay strong everyone.
I have ordered some Zinc to start taking and am considering starting Huel (a complete nutrition drink)in the hope that i can stay nourished until my taste return.
I know that I'm very early in my recovery but the thought of being like this for 6 months let alone permanently really scares me. I would have never of had this done if I knew that this could happen I'm such a foodie at heart.
I had no idea how profoundly depressing it would be to lose taste.
Does anyone know the prognosis, do most people get the taste back? I know it's a very individual thing but a little reassurance would be great. Stay strong everyone.
Absolutely almost everyone gets their taste back. How long it takes depends on the person. It took me about a month and a half until I realized that my sense of taste was starting to normalize, and it was an awesome feeling!! 4 months later, I was back to 100%. When you go for check up, ask your doctor, and he/she will tell you that this sometimes happens, and not to be worried. It's terrible not being able to taste your food, but you've got hang in there :-)
Here's your assurance: My situation was exactly like yours in terms of tasting my food on the tip of my tongue only, and and the rest of my tongue would respond to my food with a "bleh" taste. Like you, I also sought out fortified beverages, and that helped since I didn't feel like making full meals (why would I if I can't taste it). I also sought foods/snacks that I could still somewhat taste. For me, that was anything with fake cheese (Cheetos, cheddar crackers, cheddar popcorn, etc...). Since you seem to be tasting ginger alright, maybe you can eat more dishes with ginger. Other than that, take your zinc supplements. I'm honestly not sure if zinc works, but it didn't hurt me (I took a low dosage), and it made me feel a bit more positive thinking that was going to help.
Here's your assurance: My situation was exactly like yours in terms of tasting my food on the tip of my tongue only, and and the rest of my tongue would respond to my food with a "bleh" taste. Like you, I also sought out fortified beverages, and that helped since I didn't feel like making full meals (why would I if I can't taste it). I also sought foods/snacks that I could still somewhat taste. For me, that was anything with fake cheese (Cheetos, cheddar crackers, cheddar popcorn, etc...). Since you seem to be tasting ginger alright, maybe you can eat more dishes with ginger. Other than that, take your zinc supplements. I'm honestly not sure if zinc works, but it didn't hurt me (I took a low dosage), and it made me feel a bit more positive thinking that was going to help.
Thank you, I really appreciate you getting back to me so quickly. Ive literally read every response on here looking for answers. I'm going to try a variety of foods to see which ones can break through the 'bleh' barrier. I will try and turn this into a positive and use this opportunity to get my summer body sorted. I will post back with updates to hopefully reassure anyone in the future that is worried about their own situation.
No problem! I too came here for answers when I was going through my tonsillectomy recovery. I got through mine and I too come back here to try and assure people that they'll be fine, like I eventually was. Unfortunately there are a lot of scary testimonies to be read in this forum, but I'm sure that they are a part of a very low percentage of those that had permanent complications, and that sucks. I tried not to focus on those too much for sanity sake, but that was tough.
Yeah, work on that summer bod! I lost about 10 - 15 pounds on the tonsillectomy diet :-). That's all come back of course, but no need to talk about that!
Yeah, work on that summer bod! I lost about 10 - 15 pounds on the tonsillectomy diet :-). That's all come back of course, but no need to talk about that!
Can any of the commenters below tell me if their sense of taste came back eventually? I am only 1 month post-op but cannot taste anything. It is miserable. Help!
Hello Elizabeth,
I'm two months after surgery and I'd say there is slight improvement (I'm the 26 M guest which commented above). When I first had the surgery I lost nearly all taste and really struggled to eat however now I have found some foods that taste pleasent. I've also found that taking a relatively high dose of zinc helps me to taste a bit more however I'm nowhere near back to normal I'd say I can taste about 30% of what I could before.i understand that I'm still classed as being in the relatively early days of recovery. My ENT surgeon said that he's done 1000s of operations and hasn't had one patient with permanent taste loss which was encouraging to hear. He said it would probably take 6 months for me to get more back to normal.
I'm two months after surgery and I'd say there is slight improvement (I'm the 26 M guest which commented above). When I first had the surgery I lost nearly all taste and really struggled to eat however now I have found some foods that taste pleasent. I've also found that taking a relatively high dose of zinc helps me to taste a bit more however I'm nowhere near back to normal I'd say I can taste about 30% of what I could before.i understand that I'm still classed as being in the relatively early days of recovery. My ENT surgeon said that he's done 1000s of operations and hasn't had one patient with permanent taste loss which was encouraging to hear. He said it would probably take 6 months for me to get more back to normal.
Thank you for this update!! Im almost 1 month post op & was hoping to stumble across some good news about this taste issue.
Hello. Has your taste returned? Im 1 month post op and I have to agree, I dont know of I would have moved forward with the surgery had I known lost of taste was a side effect. Im also a foodie & this is hard to deal with.
Hello all,
If you have come across this page, then like most people here you probably are suffering from the unfortunate loss of taste after having a tonsillectomy surgery.
As I’m writing this it is 18/06/2018. I had my tonsillectomy just over a year ago on 31/05/2017. Today, I just had a biscuit and thought to myself... I CAN totally taste that!!! And with that thought I decided to write this to give you all some encouragement and to assure you that it may be difficult now but – as I experienced – there is light at the end of that tunnel!
Rewind back to about a month after I had my tonsillectomy, I was absolutely distraught!!! I had had a successful surgery. The tonsils were successfully removed (albeit it being the most agonizing thing I had EVER been thorough - I might make a separate post about the actual surgery). But upon my recovery from the pain and being able to eat normal food again, I discovered - to my horror - that everything I ate was either tasting BLAND, or I could not taste it at all.
Here are the things I noticed:
I could not taste sweet things (i.e. Coca Cola, biscuits, chocolates etc). These were all just very bland and I couldn’t register the sweetness at all.
Savoury foods (which I LIVE for) all tasted very strange! Very distorted from what they should have normally tasted like.
Ultimately, the process of eating food was just not a pleasant one anymore. Sure, we need to eat to survive but I LOVE eating and not just because I have to. I LOVE the taste of food and the taste accounts for about 80% of the fun of eating. You can imagine then how sad and upset I was about this.
I researched as much as I could to find something… ANYTHING that would help. But it was not easy. I found in my medical pack from when I had the surgery that recovery time from this issue does vary depending on the person. For some it can be 6 weeks… for others 6 months… And for very few up to 18 – 24 month. You can only imagine my horror!
So you all might want to know HOW LONG TILL I TASTE AGAIN THEN? Well, my manager who had the same surgery about 2 months before I did had hardly any problem at all. She said that her only issue was that she couldn’t taste wine after the surgery, but this cleared up after about a month. That was it!!!
For me – on the other hand – it took a while. I know for a FACT that for at least 3 months, I could not taste things well. But, slowly the taste began to come back. Savoury foods slowly but surely started to taste like normal again. I know that sweet foods took longer (e.g., it took a while before I could enjoy Haagen Daz Cookies & Cream again). But I can assure you, I do now.
So my message to you all is this…
There was a time about 2 – 3 months after my surgery, when I was CERTAIN that I wasn’t going to taste food as I used to. It was challenging and frankly, quite possibly the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in life! But, please be reassured that it WILL get better. For me, thankfully it didn’t take as long as I could have done. I believe that EVERYONE will have this issue if you’ve had a tonsillectomy, but I also believe that EVERYONE will recover from it (unless there truly was a complication during the surgery). You might not even realise that it has got better. For a while, I was questioning whether I could actually taste things again or whether I was just used to the fact that I can’t taste. Thankfully, I can report that it’s the former and not the latter.
So hold your head!!! You WILL get through this rough stage. Remain positive and before you realise it your taste will come back. Everyone is different, so everyone will experience different recovery times. BUT YOU WILL RECOVER!!!
And lastly, I will like to encourage you to write about your experience when you do recover just to add variety and to let people know how long it took you.
Thanks… and remember…. There is a light (and taste) at the end of that tunnel!
Christopher
If you have come across this page, then like most people here you probably are suffering from the unfortunate loss of taste after having a tonsillectomy surgery.
As I’m writing this it is 18/06/2018. I had my tonsillectomy just over a year ago on 31/05/2017. Today, I just had a biscuit and thought to myself... I CAN totally taste that!!! And with that thought I decided to write this to give you all some encouragement and to assure you that it may be difficult now but – as I experienced – there is light at the end of that tunnel!
Rewind back to about a month after I had my tonsillectomy, I was absolutely distraught!!! I had had a successful surgery. The tonsils were successfully removed (albeit it being the most agonizing thing I had EVER been thorough - I might make a separate post about the actual surgery). But upon my recovery from the pain and being able to eat normal food again, I discovered - to my horror - that everything I ate was either tasting BLAND, or I could not taste it at all.
Here are the things I noticed:
I could not taste sweet things (i.e. Coca Cola, biscuits, chocolates etc). These were all just very bland and I couldn’t register the sweetness at all.
Savoury foods (which I LIVE for) all tasted very strange! Very distorted from what they should have normally tasted like.
Ultimately, the process of eating food was just not a pleasant one anymore. Sure, we need to eat to survive but I LOVE eating and not just because I have to. I LOVE the taste of food and the taste accounts for about 80% of the fun of eating. You can imagine then how sad and upset I was about this.
I researched as much as I could to find something… ANYTHING that would help. But it was not easy. I found in my medical pack from when I had the surgery that recovery time from this issue does vary depending on the person. For some it can be 6 weeks… for others 6 months… And for very few up to 18 – 24 month. You can only imagine my horror!
So you all might want to know HOW LONG TILL I TASTE AGAIN THEN? Well, my manager who had the same surgery about 2 months before I did had hardly any problem at all. She said that her only issue was that she couldn’t taste wine after the surgery, but this cleared up after about a month. That was it!!!
For me – on the other hand – it took a while. I know for a FACT that for at least 3 months, I could not taste things well. But, slowly the taste began to come back. Savoury foods slowly but surely started to taste like normal again. I know that sweet foods took longer (e.g., it took a while before I could enjoy Haagen Daz Cookies & Cream again). But I can assure you, I do now.
So my message to you all is this…
There was a time about 2 – 3 months after my surgery, when I was CERTAIN that I wasn’t going to taste food as I used to. It was challenging and frankly, quite possibly the biggest challenge I’ve ever faced in life! But, please be reassured that it WILL get better. For me, thankfully it didn’t take as long as I could have done. I believe that EVERYONE will have this issue if you’ve had a tonsillectomy, but I also believe that EVERYONE will recover from it (unless there truly was a complication during the surgery). You might not even realise that it has got better. For a while, I was questioning whether I could actually taste things again or whether I was just used to the fact that I can’t taste. Thankfully, I can report that it’s the former and not the latter.
So hold your head!!! You WILL get through this rough stage. Remain positive and before you realise it your taste will come back. Everyone is different, so everyone will experience different recovery times. BUT YOU WILL RECOVER!!!
And lastly, I will like to encourage you to write about your experience when you do recover just to add variety and to let people know how long it took you.
Thanks… and remember…. There is a light (and taste) at the end of that tunnel!
Christopher
THANK YOU for posting this!!!! I am in the stage where I can’t taste anything and it is terrible. This gives me hope!!!
Thanks! A little relief...
It's kinda disappointing not to able to taste anything. It's been 2 weeks since I undergo the procedure. I was able to eat a little more solid food. I was really looking forward to eat a little more normal foods after all the cold soups these 2 weeks. But when I tried eating other dishes, I wasn't able to taste anything. I thought the food was just cooked bland, I only realized it when my mother saw me putting up too much salt on my food, and said it was already too salty. I really love coffee and when I tried to buy my usual iced coffee yesterday, I was so frustrated not to taste anything. I'm hoping it won't be too long to get my sense of taste back.
It's kinda disappointing not to able to taste anything. It's been 2 weeks since I undergo the procedure. I was able to eat a little more solid food. I was really looking forward to eat a little more normal foods after all the cold soups these 2 weeks. But when I tried eating other dishes, I wasn't able to taste anything. I thought the food was just cooked bland, I only realized it when my mother saw me putting up too much salt on my food, and said it was already too salty. I really love coffee and when I tried to buy my usual iced coffee yesterday, I was so frustrated not to taste anything. I'm hoping it won't be too long to get my sense of taste back.
Thanks! A little relief...
It's kinda disappointing not to able to taste anything. It's been 2 weeks since I undergo the procedure. I was able to eat a little more solid food. I was really looking forward to eat a little more normal foods after all the cold soups these 2 weeks. But when I tried eating other dishes, I wasn't able to taste anything. I thought the food was just cooked bland, I only realized it when my mother saw me putting up too much salt on my food, and said it was already too salty. I really love coffee and when I tried to buy my usual iced coffee yesterday, I was so frustrated not to taste anything. I'm hoping it won't be too long to get my sense of taste back.
It's kinda disappointing not to able to taste anything. It's been 2 weeks since I undergo the procedure. I was able to eat a little more solid food. I was really looking forward to eat a little more normal foods after all the cold soups these 2 weeks. But when I tried eating other dishes, I wasn't able to taste anything. I thought the food was just cooked bland, I only realized it when my mother saw me putting up too much salt on my food, and said it was already too salty. I really love coffee and when I tried to buy my usual iced coffee yesterday, I was so frustrated not to taste anything. I'm hoping it won't be too long to get my sense of taste back.
I have a taste in my mouth that tastes something like aspartame. I am 66 years old and into my 6th month post tonsillectomy.