Anyone else with Altered Taste All Day Long?

@neisie13 ,
I have suffered with a constant bitter/salty/metallic taste since Sept. 2023. I also had smell disorder. My taste of normal food was off too, but the worst was the constant bitter taste. Mine was much as you describe. Gum helps, but I still taste bitter as soon as I take it out.

Mine was diagnosed as post covid syndrome, but I had also taken an antibiotic and an antifungal. So, the exact cause of mine is unknown. I’ve seen ENT and 2 neurologists.

Mine has improved a lot lately! I have no idea why. I have had trouble finding much info about causation or treatments. It’s a bizarre thing that I never imagined I’d have. I pray it continues to improve. I hope you see improvement too! I know how stressful this can be. People can’t imagine how hard it is to face this day after day. It’s a struggle I know.

Thank you so much for replying. I have read so many articles about this taste disorder and there can be so many causes but I don't see many treatments other than what I am already doing. I have read about Covid possibly causing it but as far as I know I have never had Covid. I have stopped medications that aren't totally necessary in case they were the cause but that didn't help. I was really hoping that the Gabapentin would help but it's doing nothing... When I go back to my ENT I am going to ask him if he can do some kind of taste study which I have read about. Ugh....Right, no one understands how difficult it is to spend day after day trying to figure out how to get some relief. I'm so glad to hear that your taste is getting better though!!! Did the neurologists have any answer at all since I was told that maybe I should see one? I hate to start with another doctor... Thanks again for replying.

I don’t regret my attempts to get answers. I had other symptoms appear around the same time as the bitter taste appeared. And, it was right after covid. But…..it’s not certain. I was diagnosed by the second neurologist with Vitamin B12 deficiency. I went on mega doses by injection, then sublingual. (I don’t absorb it well.). I also had paresthesia in hands and feet, hair loss, fasciculations throughout my body, internal vibrations and sleep disturbance, So….it seemed like a lot going on. I had emg, brain MRI, blood tests, etc.

The ENT looked at everything and diagnosed post covid as cause. I took the smell tests twice. I learned smell and taste are related. Initially, I didn’t realize I had smell disorder, but when I began the smell test I was shocked that I could barely recognize any of the samples! I failed it miserably. It then made sense why I had easily lost so much weight. I was trying to lose, but had an easy time.

At the same time, I had a recurring, intermittent phantom smell. This frightened me since it can be due to brain disorder. It was a pleasant smell similar to fabric softener. It hit randomly. Thankfully, it faded away and I no longer have it!

My other symptoms have improved too, though I still have some symptoms. I could get hardly any information from any if the doctors about the odd taste. It hit suddenly after I took an antibiotic and antifungal med. Coincidence? Idk.

I would keep up hope. I have to believe it will recover. A second smell test months after the first one confirmed my smell had returned.

Please post your progress. I sure hope yours improves.

I had to read this carefully, because I thought I had written it. YES!!!! this is exactly what I have been suffering with for months. I've went to 4 different dentists. The last said to go see an ENT because it looks like I have a sinus infection. I went and she said to go to an Oral Surgeon because my sinuses didn't look that bad?? In 3 days, I am going to an Oral Surgeon as she suggested. But, I'm about to go Crazy!! Also, the upper teeth on my left side are bothering me. And I had them checked over and over.
Have you found anything out about your mouth??
I have also tried antibiotics and steroids to no avail. I have to eat gum or peppermint candy. And the taste is only gum while I have them or food in my mouth.

I'm going through the same thing. Mine started after the dentist cleaned out an old root canal and put a new cap on it. They used numbing shots and once that wore off I have never been the same. They don't know. I went to 3 different dentists after and no one knows.

Again thank you for your very detailed response. Your findings have given me more things to discuss with my various specialists. Since I didn't have Covid I don't think they are connecting my disorder to that, but I did read in the news so often how Covid patients lost their sense of smell completely and it also greatly affected their taste. I did go to my kitchen spices to see if they smelled like they used to, and I could small them alright but of course this was not a true medical test so I will definitely ask the ENT about that at my next visit. Your phantom smell was very interesting to read about and at least it was a pleasant smell but still very odd!!! I did have one smell that occurred a few months ago but that went away. I have lost some weight also and I'm sure it's because food is just not that interesting anymore. When I eat, some of it doesn't taste 100% like it used to but it's more that after I eat, I am even more miserable since most foods make my taste buds hyper reactive and the sour or salty taste is worse than before I eat. We attend a monthly dinner and I notice too that even between course I have to somehow mask my taste buds with a drink or piece of bread just to get to the next course. When we are done I rush to pop a mint or piece of gum in my mouth and can't wait to get home to brush my teeth to get rid of the taste. Even brushing though only gives relief for a short time, but believe it or not, the only way I have survived this whole taste issue is to put in my old orthodontic retainer. I discovered it by accident. I don't know why I decided to wear it but it actually helped. I have googled it and there are multiple reasons why it can provide relief....the plastic could change the sensation in my mouth or it may keep my tongue quieter, etc. etc. but at least it gives me some relief during the day and I wear it for hours at a time. The problem is that I really can't wear it if I am going out to be with others since it slurs my speech. I do have neuropathy in my lower legs but have had that for years but I definitely want to ask about a Vitamin B12 test and maybe Zinc too since I have read that low levels of those can cause taste issues. Interesting that you did have a major lack of Vitamin B12 and needed infusions. I guess I'll continue to just keep ruling things out but at least you are giving me more questions to ask. Well have a pleasant week-end and again thank you so much for your support.

Thank you so much for responding. It doesn't seem that there are many of us with this issue or at least that I have found. I certainly hope with you that it's a dental issue that can be resolved by the oral surgeon so let me know what he says! My dentist said I had no dental issue but she thought the issue was dry mouth and gave me oral gels and sprays and rinses like Biotene but none of those helped me. The ENT said to drink more water which of course was not the answer but he did put me on a medication to increase Saliva to just try it out but it did nothing so the saliva is not the issue. You can read my notes back and forth with @celia16 to see what else I've done and what she has been through with this too!! We can all gain knowledge from each other to use during our doctor appointments and at least provide support. I have gotten Xylimelts from Amazon and those do help but of course only while they are dissolving. Please keep me up to date and thanks for writing!!!

I had my fair share of dental work before this hit, but it was months prior. Root canal, extraction wisdom tooth and a bone graft lower molar in prep for implant. Anyway…..the dentists are clueless and I think they are pretty smart guys.

The word neuropathy caught my attention because I have been evaluated for that too. Neurologists and multiple ortho and podiatrists say I don’t have it, but how is that possible? My endo and primary aren’t sure. I have had type 1 diabetes for over 20 years. Still…..with all the diabetics who have neuropathy, I’ve never read of anyone who had a bitter taste.

I’ve considered hypnosis. But since I’m improving, I may give it more to time.

I have an idea on the mouthguard being helpful. I feel like the surface of my mouth taste odd, so if there is less surface space available, the less odd taste there should be.

I don’t think mine is dry mouth. It’s much more involved than that.

It seems like our symptoms are so similar. I used to think mine was dry mouth, but I have saliva now since the implant. But, I will tell you when I was waiting for the implant and I wore an Invisalign, the problem was gone. I thought it was over, but 3 weeks after the implant it all came back again. This Dentist insists that I have a sinus infection. He has showed me twice on two different scans, but the ENT doesnt think it's that. I think I will see a different ENT also.

Have you had a CT scan of your sinuses? I had one plus a brain MRI to rule out a sinus issue or a brain tumor for this continued altered taste but everything came back clear. The dentist was sure my problem was lack of saliva since my eyes are also dry I tried both medications that increase saliva and neither of them helped with the taste issue or even seemed to provide more saliva. It sounds as if we are all going from doctor to doctor to find an answer but none of them as one!!!