recurrent loss of taste and smell
Hello everyone. This is my first post since being diagnosed March 17th 2018. Did 20 weeks of neoadjuvant therapy - 4 rounds A/C followed by 12 weeks of Taxol. Mastectomy of right breast in October followed by 16 radiation treatments in November - December. Taste disappeared during Taxol period but returned by start of radiation. But then in January taste gradually began to disappear again and is now completely gone. Sense of smell is greatly altered as well. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced a second loss of taste after radiation treatments. Thanks!
Comments
-
My sense of taste has changed since I started eribulin. I don't taste sugar the same way. Much food tastes dull, so I use alot of siracha, ketchup and salsa. I've once lost my sense of smell while i was on A/C (adriamycin/cyclophosphamide). It came back.
-
SofiaKatz:
I would lose my sense of taste for a few days on taxotere and carboplatin. Most of the time things just tasted bad though. I once lost my sense of smell completely for about a week due to a virus though. It was a strange experience.
-
Shippinggal, I also have altered senses of smell and taste. Noticed it was severely affected immediately after finishing chemo last year. Took several months before regained some sensation. But nowhere near normal a year later. Normally should regain by 3-6 mos post chemo, but there appears to be a subgroup who take much longer. Still waiting...
-
Finished chemo March 2018, and completely lost my sense of smell in June. I still can't smell anything at all, and taste is drastically altered. At this point, I don't expect to get it back. I've had a brain mri, eeg, seen the neurologist and ENT. Consensus is that this is a very rare side effect from taxotere. In 21 years of practice, my MO has never had a patient lose their sense of smell like this before from taxotere. He could only find one colleague with one patient who also lost her ability to smell. I can literally chew up and swallow raw garlic without tasting it. New party trick!
-
My taste never came back after chemo. It's been over 2 years.
Meowmmy65, I went to University of FL last week for a smell/taste conference. Heavily on smell. I would reach out to them to ask any questions. They are at the forefront of research. There is a thing called smell retraining which has been shown to help improve smell loss. Everyone there had a smell loss except me. My neighbor just came back from there because of a sinus infection that took her smell/taste. She is being treated and will go back in a few months after she does her treatment. Of course our sensory loss after chemo is TOTALLY different from the sinus problem people but maybe they've seen this before and can tell you your chances of getting it back.
-
Hi everyone...I never had chemo and I have lost my taste for sugar. It should be a good thing but a little sugar/candy is my only vice. I think it might be related to me taking antihistamines but not 100 percent sure. Interesting to see others have the same thing. Good luck to all navigating this complicated disease.
-
Hi I'm new to this group. I have not been able to taste anything unless it's extremely salty or spicy and it's the side of my tongue that rate it. It's been about 3 weeks. I thought it would get better but it's not. I can smell. I can eat textures. That is it. My protein is very low, calcium very low and potassium super low. I was diagnosed with triple + metastatic breast cancer with bone mets in May of 2018. I had a 6 course regimen of taxotere which finished in October. (I lost some taste during this but it came back by Christmas) then I did 10 rounds of radiation to my hip while also having a lumpectomy to remove 5 tumors from left breast and removal of lymph from my auxiliary. Followed by 6 weeks of radiation to breast. In May of 18 I had the time removed from home and by Christmas the screw was working it's way out of my body. My femur and genial head were constantly breaking. On 4/23 I went into the hospital and had total hip transition. I gained 50lbs water weight in 3 days. I was discharged 5/15 and lost sense of taste 2 days later. It's a horrible struggle to eat. My regimen of meds is lupron every 3 months and letrizole every day. Herceptin and perjeta every 3 weeks. I'm just at a little of what might be causing this. Someone mentioned that it be better allergies. I've had a drippy nose since I was diagnosed. But side from no taste I can hear myself echo in my head like my ears are plugged. That's been about a month as well. Any suggestions
-
HI Kristianna, and welcome to Breastcancer.org,
We're so sorry to hear of your journey but we're really glad you've found us. You're sure to find others here who are managing similar situations. In fact, we have a very vibrant Stage IV and Metastatic Breast Cancer forum where we encourage you to introduce yourself and share your story -- there's always someone here to welcome you and try to help!
We look forward to hearing more from you soon and hope you find relief!
--The Mods
-
yes I also suffered several times loss taste and smell I even had mouth sores but all dissipated after all treatment and got my smell and taste back slowly hang in there.Back to normal and Praise God now a 25yr Survivor. msphil idc stage2 0/3 nodes 3mo chemo before and after surgery Lmast adriamycin cytoxin 5fu then we got married was planning at diagnosis then 7wks rads then 5yrs on Tamoxifen.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team