What can help change in sense of taste?

[Ginny365]

I’m hoping to find out about what to expect now my dad has been discharged home. He had massive heart attack on April 13th 2022, had two surgeries and was kept intubated & sedated for almost two weeks. He was discharged home on May 4th. In particular his sense of taste has changed and everything tastes horrible which in turn makes him nauseous so he has no appetite. I’ve read that this isn’t uncommon following heart attack and can also be linked to medication. Is there anything that can help with this please?

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Dear Ginny365

Hello to you and so sorry to hear that after all your Dad has gone through that he now has something wrong eating food.

Please remember that I am not medically trained but this is a very common affect of not so much the drugs but more to do with the shock of the operations.

While he was in did they put home on high calorie drinks? {bit like a milk shake} if he tolerated those you can either buy some or get them on prescription for him.

His taste will return, to what normality will be unknown, but I found that a little extra spice here and there helped me get through the first few months.

Some people {my nurse said} really get a sweet tooth as they can taste this, luckily that didn’t happen with me.

Phone you Dr/heart team they will be able to advise you more.

I wish Dad well with his recovery, almost certainly the nausea will stop and he will again be able to eat well, but that maybe different taste than before.

Take care

[Ageingfast]

This is not uncommon. If Dad knows about the changes to appetite or taste then he will probably recover within a couple of months. When I suffered a stroke I became far less fussy over food. I enjoyed the hospital food. But roast beef tasted disgusting. It really didn’t matter. So when I had open heart surgery I wasn’t surprised about the change of taste. I was in a private hospital with menus for everyone. But I stuck to ensuring I had nourishing food and that worked fine.

Best wishes

[Exie8]

Change in how food tastes is not uncommon after open heart surgery - my husband suffered much the same but things did gradually improve and after 2 years he is now eating well again. Interestingly he will now eat things he really disliked before! Maybe ask for some advice from a dietician through your GP or cardiac team? Good luck and best wishes to your Dad.