Post op ongoing struggles

Hi all, I lost the dehydration battle and had to get some fluids today, but I will win the war! I am really having issues with taste and mouth dryness or something. Everything tastes strange and nothing tastes good, even water. It is water my goodness. I am forcing fluids and puree food mostly chicken and soup. I have a few more days before I can go to soft foods but I am concerned as nothing tastes good and the sweet stuff (shakes, protein water) really increase the nausea. I am hoping this is still temporary as I have no interest in eating or drinking so it is forced at this point.

Sorry that you are struggling a bit. Sadly you just have to make it your job to get the fluids in. Can you flavour the water with something? Lemon, cucumber, a little juice? I'm not familiar the products in the US (I assume you are there!) but I think there are clear protein drinks that you could try - if you haven't already.
It might not seem like it now but it will get better!
Hang in there.

Thanks, today is the first day that I have felt half way human!

It may seem odd but is there any chance you have developed thrush? I experienced the same taste changes the first 7-10 days post op and it was attributed to thrush. Once that was treated my taste buds worked fine.

Sorry to hear you're struggling with the water/hydration. That sucks. Have you tried sugar free pops? The unflavored protein by Unjury is great and dissolves easily in soups and shakes. Wishing you the best of luck!

mark, that's a keen observation you're making about thrush. Many patients develop this after surgery including myself when I had it 8 years ago. The taste buds do change and it's a challenge to keep trying new liquids, but a necessary evil:) I have been offering our patients some very lightly colored decaf after surgery when they start liquids and it's working great, in fact; they often move on to regular liquids sooner. I believe the warmer beverages go down easier in the beginning and we're finding that too much "ice chewing" may cause heartburn.
Continued success!

Thanks everyone I am feeling better. Still struggling a little but normal vs. what I a was experiencing last week. Onward and up or downward with the scale.