Everything tastes gross and I do NOT have an appetite

Hello, everyone! I am new here. I had my surgery on January 29, 2016. The pain is manageable and taking a little longer to go away due to a couple of the surgery sites are infected. I still have about 15lbs of water weight (feet and legs) out of the 33lbs of fluid they loaded me with in the hospital. My main problem is no appetite. None. And whatever I eat tastes wrong or gross. The second problem is my vision is changing, which is a pain. I figure it's probably due to my blood sugar change. The 3rd problem is I can't stomach any of my meds and literally gag each one down. To me, that's weird. They are the same meds that I've been on for months/years. Even though this is happening, I am compliant with what I am supposed to take. 

Anyone else having these problems?

~Donna 

I suspect you may be dehydrated.  It causes nausea and fatigue in the early stages.  64oz of fluids is your daily goal the minute you get home. Anything wet counts right now, so if you're not accomplishing that - there's your first goal.

Next, on the taste thing - it's going to go on for a while, I'm afraid.  It was nearly a year before anything really tasted good again.  

For me once I got over the having to eat so I don't die phase even though it all tasted gross, food tasted SO MUCH BETTER. It's a phase. Remember hearing that growing up? "Oh, she's going thru a phase"? Anyway, for me, it got better after about 6-9 months, and like I said I tasted more. Food that wasn't good before was suddenly amazing. I could taste seasoning, all the parts of it. I love it. 

But drink your water. I had an infection on a site as well, got penicillin, got C-DIff, got dehydrated, ended up in the hospital for a day because of being dehydrated. If you can't do water try other liquids. For me it was about a 50/50 mix of apple juice and water. And before surgery apple juice tasted yuck. I don't recommend full strength, but do experimen****er tasted gross to me to. Or sugar free popsicles, or jello. Something. It will get better but you have to be stubborn and know you have to do this. You'll get there, chin up.

This will change.  Just keep on doing what you are supposed to do.  A little SF gatorade would be good so you get your salts too/

I agree with the previous posters but wanted to give you some other liquids to try.  I had some swallowing problems so I actually spent most of my first 2.5 months on the liquid diet.  I remember I had this concept of "a perfect day".  That was a day I took all my vitamins, walked at least a mile, drank all of my water and ate all of my protein.  It took me just under three months before I actually had one of those.  Many people do a lot better at that than I did, but you might be slower. 

 

Just be kind to yourself and try to remember, especially during these early days, that your health comes first.  If the only thing you can hold down is orange juice, then do it.  The fat-dropping engine that is the DS will wait for you to heal.  (Probably the acid in the OJ would make that the last drink you would want, but YMMV.)

 

Soups, Broth or Stock:  Either from the cubes or best yet, homemade.  Ask an Asian restaurant for some if you want a slightly different taste to it.   In the early days I also liked any of the coconut milk based soups in Thai restaurants, even though I left the solids alone.  There is a duck soup that many Taipei restaurants make that will hit the spot too.   

Half and Half:  I couldn't deal with milk or heavy cream, but for some reason I could deal with them mixed together.  Go fig!  There are a lot of these kind of weirdness's you will discover about your new body this year.  And then next year, they will all change again!

Heavy Cream Yogurt:  I had to make this for myself, but it really isn't that hard to do.  It has less carbs and less lactic acid, but also it is way, way, way more yummy.  Add water to keep it more of a liquid.

Watermelon or Watermelon Juice:  I can't remember when fruit comes on the approved list, but on my really rough days, nothing would sooth my whole body like watermelon.  I would go from horrible to "doing ok" in 20 minutes. 

Ho****er:  Think tea without a tea bag.  Another 'Go Fig' one.

Chamomile Tea:  Supposedly very anti-inflammatory.  I drank enough of it my first three months that now more than a year later I don't even want to smell it.

"OhYeah!" Protein drink:  This is a pre-made one that you buy at the grocery store.  It was the only brand I could deal with for a while and I've read that this has been true for a few people.   Try different brands and forms and expect your tastes to change dramatically as you heal and get sick of them.

 

 

About your meds:  Can you take a break from them for a while?  With my GP's permission, I went off everything and we were going to test and add them back in 6 mo.  Turns out I did better without them!