When will my taste buds return after transplant?

Mine did. I was a big eater pre liver transplant. But food just did not taste the same after. Even what I liked best. Did not like the taste of water either. But Zevia , a no calorie , no artificial sweetener, soft drink (many flavors) helped with that. Even read science articles that said it lowers both A1C and blood pressure. But eventually the taste/food/water all came back. About 3-4 months was it ? Don't have the why it happens to some of us but it did wear off for me. Best of luck.

According to the ALF: "Taste buds are frequently affected after a liver transplant primarily due to strong anti-rejection medications (immunosuppressants), malnutrition, and the lingering effects of anesthesia. These factors, particularly medication, often cause a metallic taste, dry mouth, or reduced taste sensitivity (hypogeusia), which generally improves as dosage levels decrease over several weeks to months."

I didn’t have much desire to eat for a couple of months I liked Ensure and other protein drinks and a sandwich once in awhile nothing really tasted good for many months and all my favorite foods weren’t anymore, I was 123 lbs from 190 and it took a long time to gain back weight plus I had to learn how to walk again which took 3 months for the second time, food was the least of my worries it still isn’t, I have a restricted diet, all very healthy foods no fast foods and eating out ever, I m back to 185 and feel better and swimming almost everyday accelerated my recovery big time. I don’t walk very much because after my transplant neuropathy effects my feet so swimming takes the weight and pain away, it took me 2 1/2 years to finally feel a little normal

Thanks for sharing your journey and i am grateful you are getting back to
your normal.

Thank you for the good information. Praying things turn around for me soon.

@ejames81195 It took me 4 months to taste and smell again. I was asking the same question in August 2024 after my 12.5 hour liver transplant. I too have been told it is a function of anesthesia and my 4 months is on the high end of things. It really stinks, but when taste and smell return your life will get better quickly.

I forgot to mention that I read an article on retraining your sense of smell and started doing the exercises a few weeks before my taste and smell returned. It involves smelling a battery of pungent foods and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, lemons, coffee, etc. I can't say it is what did the trick for me, but think about trying it. The approach was used to help people regain their taste and smell after COVID. And I will never forget when I finally was able to taste my first item again... ketchup!

I am willing to try it. Did you sniff something different everyday, and if
so for how long?

Thanks for sharing, i am counting down the days.

@ejames81195 I created a lineup of things to smell twice a day. Pick pungent things you are used to smelling and get your nose really down close to the item.

Aside from the smell retraining, another thing that really helped me was eating things with recognizable texture and imagining how they should taste. One of those things was lasagna, which I liked but it wasn't really a favorite prior to my transplant. The feel of the noodles, meat and cheese were very recognizable to me. I imagined how each element would taste and it kept my interest until it was completely consumed. This worked so well for me that it was one of the few meals where I had seconds. As you know, this is huge for someone who panics at meal time because you know you desperately need calories, but have a new found disdain for eating. Another example of the texture and imagining approach I used was with chunky peanut butter and banana stuffed French toast (Bobby Flay recipe). Maybe try this approach with things you normally like? Whatever it takes, get as much food down as possible. Your body desperately needs calories to do the internal repairs. Treat it like a workout and push yourself harder each day until the scale starts to go up and the healing is complete.