My husband is 12 weeks post op from having his esophagus removed, he had barrets esophagus and high grade dysplasia, he has no appetite ,

[cobaltgal]

nothing tastes right. he's never hungry, his taste was coming back now it's totally gone...will this all come back?

[RobinAylott]

I'm seven months down the track and still don't feel hunger, and my tastes have changed a bit. It was at least 6weeks before I could bear the taste of wine (thank goodness that came back!), and there are some things that I don't like any more. Everyone is different of course, but I'm sure things will settle down in time. There are times when I look at a meal and have to force myself to eat, but that is becoming rarer. My surgeon says the hunger will return eventually. Sometimes I think it's a pain in the proverbial, but then I think of the alternative, and there's no competition! Be positive, stay well and the rest will take care of itself! All the best, live long and enjoy life.

[geranium1111]

I am nearly three years post opp. and remember feeling exactly the same and could have given up eating completely.

It does change gradually - I found eating stronger tasting food helped and started to enjoy mild curries which I didn't like prior to the opp.

My wife encouraged me to have a small drop of rum prior to eating and it did help my appetite

Don't despair - I am sure you will get a number of replies from people having experienced the same problems.

My only other advice is when you find something you like don't buy in bulk because something you enjoy in the morning you can often not bear it in the afternoon.

I can now eat pretty much anything and do get hungry and enjoy food but find that if I miss a meal for any reason the weight drops off and is difficult to put back on.

Good luck

Mick

[DaveChuter]

Hi,

I'm 7+ years down the road and do remember feeling the same issues as you mention, it does come back slowly and you may find that tastes will have changed slightly, I prefer white wine now instead of red, dark chocolate rather than white and a mild curry instead of Chinese sweet and sour.

Give it time it is still very early days still.

Do try stronger tasting foods or add a little bit spice to bland food i.e. nutmeg in a rice pudding, mint or parsley to mash potatoes, add mature cheddar to mash potatoes and scrambled eggs, Green and Blacks dark chocolate grated on ice cream, etc...

Best wishes

Dave C

[haward]

After my operation and for many months I had no appetite. I ate because I knew I had to. recently my appetite has returned ; so that took around seven - eight months. In the immediate aftermath of having my oesophagus hauled out strange things happened. I couldn't bear raspberries and hot chocolate tasted like mud. But it all came back over time. It's very odd eating when you're not hungry but it's kind of essential!

[hilr]

I too struggled to eat post op, no taste, no appetite etc. Like other so forced myself to eat little and often. I am positive it's psychological too, the fear if dumping syndrome etc. Like others my taste and appetite has gradually returned, with many blips along the way. I found I would have little spurts of improvement, first the lumpy feeling at the back of my throat went, then dumping reduced, and now I am proud to have a "grown-up" plate again, and if I eat too much I get a tummy pain for 10-15 minutes.

Agree with all about trying stronger tastes, and re-trying things as your tastes and desires can change frequently. Hang in there and things will improve. Never fully back to normal but how lucky are we all to be here discussing it!!

Good luck, hilary