metal taste help please

[Bonnie]

hi
i just wondered if any one could help
i have this horrible taste in my mouth and i just wondered if anyone
can give me any ideas how to get rid of it as i have it all the time
and it seems to be getting worse. along with feelins sick
any help please.
thanks
bonnie

[Cheryl in CT]

Hi, Bonnie -

Oh, can I empathize with you! During the 6 months before my transplant, I ALWAYS felt as if I had a mouth full of tin cans and aluminium... The taste was horrid, and no amount of brushing, tongue scraping or mouthwash would make it go away. (I was always afraid that my breath smelled horrendous, too, altho my husband said it didn't. I'm not sure if he was just trying to be nice, or if it was indeed JUST taste and not smell...)

In any case, with my nephrologist's okay, I developed a heavy-duty ALTOIDS additiction... Well, he may not have approved the "addiction", but he did say okay to the Altoids! (You know Altoids, right? Those "curiously strong" little mints?) Now, Altoids contain sugar, so I imagine that they're not okay for diabetics, but my doc said that there wasn't anything in them that I couldn't have. Of course, they're not so great for your teeth, but thankfully, I had no problem with that. I had an Altoid in my mouth almost all the time during that period. It was the ONLY thing I found that masked the awful metallic taste. I STILL carry Altoids with me at all times, altho I don't dip into them anywhere near as often as I used to!

The metallic taste itself is something that often goes along with renal failure, particularly as the failure progresses. As I recall, you're still pre-dialysis, but between the taste in your mouth and the overall "feeling sick" that you mention, it might be getting close to time to start.

Bonnie, please check with your neph before you try anything "new", even something as seemingly plain & simple as Altoids.

I'll be thinking of you and wishing you nothing but the very best.

Cheryl (Connecticut/USA)

[hyperlite]

Before i started dialysis i had this really wierd feeling in my mouth...i actually cant remember what it was like, but it was really wierd. Plus the insides of my mouth were "sloughing off", and my breath really stank. But as soon as I started dialysis, it went away instantly.

[amanda in CA]

I can empathise with you with regard to the horrible taste. It does get better once you start dialysis. I'm on PD and hardly get a bad taste at all. I expect on HD when the toxins start building up just before you have the next session then the taste may be worse. I'm not sure if mine ever tasted metallic, mine tended to taste of ammonia (not surprising because of the build up of urea) particularly if my mouth was dry. Even now I sometimes get a strange taste, usually like an antiseptic taste, again usually if I am thirsty.

[Elaine]

Hello Bonnie can empathise with you about the metallic taste. My daughter had it from just not too long before she she started going into renal faiulre etc a build up of toxins high urea as kidney not functioning fully. As others' have suggested DO let Drs know etc as tehy will hopefully be able to ehlp. I also remember it frustrating as a carer as even preparing fav ourite meals my daughter would say this doesn't 'taste' right ...... Her appetite and food she ate changed soo much wanting stronger flavours spicey to take that metallic taste away. When sopeaking to renal nurses they said its VERY common and they see most people wanting something like pizza or spicy sauces to try and taste food etc.

Also Drs can prescrimed meds to try and settle the sickness feeling too.

Good luck to you and nice to see you posting here ;D


Elaine

[Bear]

Ah yes - my taste altered drastically as I went into ESRF - I was losing the taste for almost all my favorite things!!! Couldn't drink _any_ soft drinks (except "V"), hated beer, got a taste for lucozade (so my wife started getting it in the groceries) - then turned against it. I was down to drinking those 'infused teas' - the ones with virtually NO tea in, at the end. Right off food also. When I started on P.D., I got by one one or two energy drinks (I got from the dietician) and one small meal a day!!!
NOw....2+ years later, I've been on Haemo nearly 12 months and am eating like a horse!! ....like beer again, tho can't have much! I'm
forced to watch footbal with wine or whisky & dry!!!

[jenjen]

Hi Bonnie

As others have said, its very common when in kidney failure to have a metallic taste in your mouth.

I have gone right off beer especially, its one thing I just think tastes totally awful. Good job too as I'm on fluid restrictions now

It also went away for me when I started dx -- this is evidenced in my blood results where my urea went from 35 to an average of 18.

[Mike]

Hi Jen

I was exactly the same as you, I completely went off beer for several months before starting PD and only started having the odd occasional one a while after starting PD. I wasn't on a fluid restriction on PD so beer wasn't a problem. I still to an extent avoid alcohol although I had one pint a couple of weeks back but it didn't taste that great.

Mike

[R30]

I went off wine completely before and during dialysis; having had my transplant, all wine tastes vinegary to me and I still can't drink the stuff - except expensive champagne of course !!

My taste seemed to change radically on dialysis and I found myself eating very little as I either wasn't hungry, or food just didn't really taste of anything. My sweet tooth also disappeared - sadly this has now returned, and I'd like to thank The Chocolate Tasting Society for helping me to put back on the two stone I lost...ahem.....

Ruth

[marky]

same here - seemed to get better after dialysis though. Same for sickness and loss of appetite although just prior to transplant it reared it's ugly head again

Marky

[Helen Rambaut]

in the immediate pre dialysis phase I just got tireder and in the morning I felt as if I had a hangover (even though I hadnt been on a bender). At night I fell asleep on the sofa and couldnt eat all my supper - the appetite just wasnt there. I dont remember the metal taste but I was drinking a lot of juice diluted with water. This turned out to be good for me because I was judged potassium tolerant when my blood was analysed to determine the diet on PD.

I started PD at the end of March 04 and when the hot weather started I got a metal taste. I was told that I was dehyrdrated and should drink some water. On Pd I drink as I feel I need to and have never restricted the fluid. It seems to have worked for me. Also I dont need to take laxatives because I am drinking and eating fruit and veg etc. Appetite has returned although if it is hot I dont want to eat much. But that was the same pre PD and ESRF.

Helen

[amanda in CA]

I had an appointment with my neph. today and one of the things that we discussed was poor taste and lack of appetite. I have been advised that I need to start a day exchange because the appetite issue is generally indicative of inadequate dialysis.

[nycpetit]

I always felt like I had a metal bar in my mouth. Things I loved (as others have mentioned) before I began to dislike. I needed very intense flavors, like super hot cinnamon gum. Coffee and chocolate, and soda, and many other things just tasted sour. And others mentioned that my breath had a slight sweet smell to it. It is from the rise of toxins in your bloodstream. I think mints, gum, and some experimentation will help you to find what works best for you. The metallic taste is normal, but what works to help offset it is quite personal through trial and error.