Question:
How badly will I be effectd by the smell of food be after surgery?
I am concerned that after surgery I will lose my sense of smell and taste. As a chef, I cannot afford to lose it forever. I have heard that I will have a "metal" taste for awhile. As long as it goes away I can deal with it. I also am concerned that just smelling food is going to cause nausia. Presently I do not really like to smell food cooking (strange for a chef, I know). I own my own restaurant and do alot of the cooking and baking. I fear that I will not be able to be around the smells. I am having the surgery done laproscopically and intend to go back to work ASAP. Even if I am just working the register, the smell of food is a major feature in my shop. People love to smell the bread baking and soups cooking. I fear that I will be green all throughout the meals!!! — jeh (posted on January 14, 2004)
January 14, 2004
My surgery was open...I have never heard about the metal taste you speak
of. The smells of food didn't make me nauseas either.
— Lois B.
January 14, 2004
Everyone is different if smeels make you feel icky it more than likely
won't last long, and the metallic taste is from your body being in ketosis
which will not last forever either......GOOD LUCK!!!!
— Saxbyd
January 14, 2004
Just the opposite, the smell of food was greatly enhanced for me almost too
strong for several weeks, now I love the smell of food cooking its like my
sense of smell is satisfied instead of eating alot of food..strange but how
it was with me..
— Kathy S.
January 14, 2004
i had VERY strong aversions to food smells for about 2months. the reason i
am being honest with you is i am also in the catering business and i was
not able to actually be around smelss for a while. i am 4 and 1/2mths. out
now and food doesnt bother me at all.....i also had lap rny and because i
had nausea, it took me longer to get back on my feet. i took zofran, an
anti nausea medicine the surgeon gave me. good luck on all counts and i
hope you will be a lucky one who doesnt have any problems. xoxoxo,mimi holt
— mimi H.
January 14, 2004
There is the possibility that your sense of smell may 'wander' a bit, it
happens to some, not all, and as far as I know, if it does occur, within a
matter of a week or two, your sense of smell begins to return to 'normal',
progressing daily. Two possible explanations for why you smell things
differently. First and foremost, anesthesia does some really strange things
to the body, after surgery. It could take a couple of weeks before the
effects of the anesth. wear completely off. The other reason you may smell
some really odd smells, or odors is because there is a nerve called the
vagus nerve, that starts in the cerebral cortex and makes it's way down our
spinal colum and eventually end up entwining our abdominal area. This nerve
controls a number of different function, based upon the spinal location of
the particular receptors. Higher up, near the neck and shoulders our sense
of balance and stabalization is controlled. Get in an accident, damage the
nerve, you may have a staggering walk, or suffer from unexplained stutters,
etc. The surgeon may or may not decide to nick or sever the vagus nerve on
the abdominal cavity. This location has a tendency to control our
'cravings' reaction to certain foods, or yearnings or head hunger. If it is
nicked or severed, our sense of smell seems to become very acute
immediately after post op. You may not notice it right away in the hospital
because it is meant to be a 'bland' area, scent wise.For me, it was phantom
rotting smells, for about 3 days. Not all the time, but every so often and
always in the same place. Something just turned in me and I could hardly
stand to be there at the moment. This goes away with time, perhaps a week
or so. The reason we have this nerve is because millenia ago, when cavemen
'ruled
the earth, it was the vagus nerve that picked up the scent of rotting
carrion (where it said...don't eat that!) or ome aroma sends us completely
the other way. I don't remember that it lasted all that time, just have to
be aware and prepared.
— track
January 14, 2004
Hi I was in the same boat F&B Director - and food made me very nauseaus
for about 3 months after surgery especially plate up in the kitchen once I
started taking compazine it went away
— Neese B.
January 14, 2004
I had a problem for about three weeks after surgery...everything smelled
like garlic. It will go away and you will be back to normal.
— debmi
January 14, 2004
I had RNY. I've never experienced trouble with food smells, other than
being jealous that I couldn't eat the wonderful food I was smelling, in the
beginning. I think the metallic taste you're talking about is the funny
taste you can get from your body going into Ketosis (fat burning mode).
It's normal, and it will go away with time. Breth mints help. Also, a
trick I found, if you find that you feel nauseous and have to be to
work...smelling all that food won't help your nausea. So, I kept mint tea
around. You can carry a mug of it, mint helps with relieving nausea and
had a powerful soothing smell for overcoming other smells. Just a thought.
Good luck to you.
— LMCLILLY
January 15, 2004
My only real "problem" since i had surgery has been my bionic
sense of smell. It got better after the first 6 weeks. I still ocassionally
gag but it's a small price to pay for how good i'm feeling in other aspects
of my life. I found that smelling rubbing alcohol really helps. I'm sure
you'll be just fine:)
— Maria G.
January 15, 2004
Smell after surgery was greatly heightened for both of us! It was pretty
bad for about 2 weeks or so, than began to steadily decrease. One
particular funny incident happened the first week we came home from the
hospital: my husband and I were both sleeping in recliners when all the
sudden we both awoke to the smell of rotten cantalope. We figured someone
had thrown the old fruit in the garbage and asked for the garbage to be
taken outside. My husband's mother looked at us as if we were both crazy
and commented that she just got back from the grocery store and put the
not-yet-ripe melon in the refrigerator! So, yes, for us smell was
definitely heightened, but only temporarily. Best of luck to you and your
upcoming surgery!
— [Deactivated Member]
January 15, 2004
I was much worse related to food smell and taste sensitivity when I was
pregnant than when I was a post op. I didn't want to eat certain things
post op, but no loss of taste.
— Fixnmyself
January 15, 2004
I didn't have a problem seeing or smelling food after my surgery. I
recovered for a few days at my parents house and would stay in the kitchen
and talk to my mom while she cooked dinner. It did smell good, but it
didn't bother me at all, I had no desire to eat at all.
<br><br>
as for the metallic taste it can be from going into ketosis (where your
body is burning fat for fuel) drinking more water will help this go away.
It can also be from the chewable vitamins with iron. After a couple of
weeks I switched (with my doc's permission) to a regular (non-chewable)
Multi-vitamin since the flinstones complete chewables left an awful iron
taste in my mouth. Ick!
— Patricia T.
January 15, 2004
I am almost 2 month post-op. I love to bake and cook (not professional like
you) but my sense was smell did not leave - and I never taste my own
cooking - I use my kids and hubby. But a friend of mine who is a
professional chef - claims he got his "MOJO" back - after 3
weeks. Good Luck.
— Anna M.
January 15, 2004
Most people have already expressed their opinions about the temporary
heighten sense of smell after WLS. I had similiar experiences. However,
what bothered my the most, especially while I was on a liquid diet, was
that I didn't realize how many food commercials there are on TV. I guess
I used to ignore them, but it definitely gave me the impression that every
food company and restraunt started advertising the day I got home from WLS.
— rleffler
January 16, 2004
Thank you all for responding. I realize that all of this is totally
do-able. I was just concerned about how my work will be effected. My
whole life has been in Food Service and after finally getting my own
restaurant I do not want to jeopardize it. My health is important but my
job is equally important to me. By the time I get my surgery, I will have
only been open 1 year. Thank you for all the great info. I will print
this out as a reminder for me. (I have a surgery folder for important
"stuff"!!) I know I will be able to survive the smells and metal
taste. I just worry alot. :)
— jeh
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