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Loss of taste after liver transplant

Transplants | Last Active: May 23 7:48am | Replies (42)

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@rosemarya

Welcome, @sandy123. Congratulations on your liver transplant!
I am a liver and kidney transplant recipient and I also remember lack of appetite after my transplant. It was concerning to me because my transplant team told me that I needed to gain weight and muscle mass. I was totally shocked at how thin I was after the ascites and edema disappeared after the surgery - I was skin and bones and it hurt to sit in a hard chair wothout a pillow on the seat.
In my pretranplant period, I was on dialysis and on a restricted diet. I also had no sense of taste, except for lemon or cinnamon which I added when appropriate. I also ate only because of a threat of a feeding tube. I was amazed that immediately after my surgery that some tastes came back, but I could not tolerate the smell or taste of red meat or pork! And I still tend to shy away from those meats.

Our medications do affect appetite and I'm not surprised that they can affect taste. I commend you for trying to eat, even when you don't taste because you do need the nutrition.

Have you discussed this wiith the transplant team? They might be able to offer suggestions or to let you know how long this might be a problem for you. (because each one of us responds differently to medications) I suspect that overtime, as your meds are adjusted, that your tastes will return to normal.
How long ago was your transplant?

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Replies to "Welcome, @sandy123. Congratulations on your liver transplant! I am a liver and kidney transplant recipient and..."

hello, @rosemarya
Thank you so much for your reply. My transplant was 1yr ago yesterday. I’ve had so many of the same reactions that you’ve described. The weight loss, worrying about a g-tube, the smell of meat. I can’t watch fast food commercials without having a gag reflex. Also, whatever I’m eating is dry and makes it harder to get down. Your reply made me feel much better. That it’s not in my head. I don’t remember telling the team about these reactions but my 1 yr visit is in 2 weeks and I will bring them up after getting your reply. Thank you again. I did pursue the problem with my hearing loss but it kind of felt like they thought I was a little crazy. However the tests did show loss which was sort of a two edge reaction. I felt better that I was validated but not that much better because I would be wearing hearing aids from then on. Life.
Have a very pleasant day @rosemarya. I was thrilled to see your reply.