Terrible appetite

[TomD]

I have been home for 6 days now and I have zero appetite and most all foods taste terrible to me. Even something I loved before is difficult to choke down. Prior to surgery I loved a variaty of foods.

A blood test on Monday said I was slightly anemic so I have been trying to eay and drink things like Ensure and stuff with protein

Anybody else experience this? How long did it last.

Thanks,

Tom

 

[briansmom]

Loss of appetite seems to be common post surgery. It does not continue forever. I don't know if you are on coumadin, but beware that ensure has A LOT of vitamin K in it.

Please be patient, you will feel better soon.

 

[Rich]

It's very common Tom.
A lot of us experienced the same thing.
It will return before you know it.
Rich

 

[thenewmarket]

My husband's appetite returned about three weeks after surgery. Just be patient with yourself and know that food will taste good again. Also, my husband experienced problems with anemia for four long months. Anemia is a common problem, but our experience with this was longer than most. He takes 65 milligrams of iron daily and we still closely monitor his number. If memory serves me correctly, your hematocrit should be 42-45. After surgery, his hematocrit was 26! He ate enough spinach to become Popeye (he's not on coumadin) and it was a long journey. We were headed to a hematologist but thankfully, his number reached a normal level.

I truly don't think your experience will be like his but follow the advice of your follow up docs!

 

[Bina]

For a long time after surgery I ate 5 times a day in small amounts.
The trick is to not eat junk and make a point of eating only good foods.
Yogurt, fruit, home made soups, eggs, lean beef or chicken or fish, potato, veggies, and drink generous amounts of water.
Check out the vitamin K content on the Ensure drinks so that you don't get any INR surprises.
You may need to adjust for it.

 

[TomD]

No appetite

No appetite

Thanks for great responses, encouragement and the tip on Ensure. I am taking Warfarin so got to watch that.

 

[marie]

My taste is only returning now and I am five weeks post op. So the taste does return but for me it took awhile.
Earline

 

[netmiff]

nearly 6 months, and occasionally some things still taste funny - not chocolate, though unfortunately ! Most things started tasting OK in a few weeks, the first being Graham crackers my usual Diet Coke . I remember in hospitl thinking that the water they served in polystyrene cups was awful, and got my family to bring me in a few bottles, thinking it was the polystyrene, but the bottles tasted just as bad. I also remember getting an orange on my tray one day, and it was just wonderful!!!

 

[Susan BAV]

Hi Tom -

It's nice to see you posting! Most peoples' taste buds seem to be confused for awhile. I think it was about two or three weeks post-op before food began to taste much closer normal for me. Maybe longer. But it'll get better. It'll be normal again .

 

[WayneGM]

Ditto. I ate like a bird the first few weeks, and my taste buds were out of wack. It was about a month before I started eating normal again.

 

[Philip B]

Taste

Taste

As noted in previous posts, it's quite common for your sense of taste to be screwed-up after OHS. It took about a month for mine to start returning to normal. I really had to force myself to eat during the weeks following surgery.

During my hospital stay, they initially had me on a "cardio diet". I couldn't tolerate the stuff they expected me to eat. They quickly switched me over to a regular diet and it worked much better for me.

-Philip

 

[Ross]

Thanks for great responses, encouragement and the tip on Ensure. I am taking Warfarin so got to watch that.

Be sure your consistent in the amounts you drink so that the coumadin can be adjusted for it. So if your INR is low, you now know why.

 

[tobagotwo]

Food seems to be tasteless for a while after OHS. Most of us blame it on the lingering chemicals from the anesthesia, which can take days to even a few weeks to leach out of the body.

Unfortunately, your sense of taste and appetite will return, possibly with a roar, once your body clears itself. Enjoy the effortless dieting, as it won't last. Do make sure you get the nutrients and protein you need for healing.

Best wishes,

 

[CHDDoug]

Normal...

Normal...

I know you've gotten lots of responses, but I'll echo them and say that loss of appetite is normal. I'm 17 days post-op and I still don't have much of an appetite. Also, like you say, some of my favorite things before surgery taste terrible now. Even Mountain Dew (my favorite drink) doesn't taste right. I guess we'll just stay the course and hope the taste buds get 'reset'.

Hope all is well.

 

[ruth]

Same here. I think for me it went away roughly at the time I went off the painkillers, about 2 weeks out. Coincidence or not, I don't know. I ate whatever did taste good to me or whatever I craved, for example I really enjoyed canned fruit and jello, two foods I didn't eat much of before or since.

I would hope the anemia would alleviate in time, the pump beats up our blood pretty much and I personally suspect that a big part of recovery is allowing our bodies time to make a "fresh batch" of blood to replace that which went "through the mill" so to speak.

I wish you all the best in your continuing recovery.

Peace,
Ruth

 

[ALCapshaw2]

One surgeon told me to eat "anything that appeals to you" just to get me eating after surgery.

Ditto on the Vitamin K warnings about Ensure and other 'energy drinks'. Be sure whoever is managing your Coumadin is aware of your consumption of those drinks.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[cjune1961]

Hi, upon my release from the hospital, I begged to go to a convenience store on the way home to get some sprite. Had a six pack a day habit prior, but it tasted so bad, as well as Arbys after that. I was not a happy camper for several weeks and then my appetite came back with a vengeance. To this day, 13 months later, I still cannot smell or want to taste either. Good way to break bad eating habits the hard way. I hope you soon return to normal and recover quickly.

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Tom

My husband, Tyce, had absolutely no appetite post op. He, too, was anemic and was told by the surgeon that that's perfectly normal for about 3 weeks to a month. By the end of two weeks, though, his appetite had returned and his anemia was basically gone. I would make him anything he wanted to eat.....or thought he wanted to eat.....and literally MADE him eat some of it. This from a man who has a gigunda appetite and never gains an ounce. He did like juices and popsicles and pudding, though, which was a help.

It will just take time and you'll be back to normal.

Watch the ensure, though.

Evelyn

 

[Granbonny]

Same for me..but one night ..about 4 days home..a neighbor brought over several carton of juice..the kind you find in the section..with other cold juices...They tasted great.. ..Like all above have said..you will get your appetite back.....just takes a few weeks......Bonnie

 

[Trish]

No taste

No taste

I kept telling everyone that I needed something to " give me a new taste" because the one I had was metallic and yucky. Even tooth paste tasted bad. I had fifty bites a day of fifty different things. I still lost five pounds. Yes, graham crackers and bubbly soda was like ambrosia the fist few days. Now pizza, chocolate, etc. hold no allure. But a bite of each thing works well.
Trish