Curious Question

[Dave0168]

I'm wondering why tastes sometimes change after surgery.

The way I understand it, taste (outside of sweet/salty/sour) originates from our ability to smell but nothing in the olfactory sense is changed with this surgery.

 

[hilary1617]

I think most people undergo some bland pre and immediate post-op diet which probably renews tasting capabilities after prior desensitization.

For example, I used to love salty foods and probably developed a bit of a tolerance to it. Then I went on a bland, low-sodium liquid diet for almost a year. Afterwards, my sensitivity to salt was renewed / heightened and I found I didn't want as much of it as I once preferred....

Also, there is the possibility of conditioning. I had a negative reaction to runny eggs which I ate too early after surgery. I developed an aversion to them. Now it's scrambled or omelet or nothing....

 

[DianaCox]

I have no idea, past the first few weeks when the anesthesia affects our senses.

I still cannot (thank goodness!) eat a lot of sweets at once. Two small scoops of ice cream; half a slice of cake - and the sweetness overwhelms me and starts to gross me out. On the other hand, when I'm hungry, the vast majority of the time, I crave protein - my cravings match what my body needs, which makes this so much less of "living on a diet." I am NOT constantly fighting my cravings, but rather embrace them.

 

[robs477]

I just love it when Diana can’t explain something ,...lol, because if she doesn’t know the answer, there just isn’t one yet!…..PLUS, (even more importantly for me), It makes me feel so almost "not as stupid" again !!!

Dave…The changing of the “Taste Buds” question is something very close to me as you well know. I VERY STRONGLY believe it is the SAME Bio-Chemical Switch mechanism that is responsible for the diabetes reversal etc. I will post below what I posted right after my surgery. The changes were INSTANT and were un-flippin believable and are still with me 11 weeks post-op. Here are just some of the INSTANT changes:

1) Pre-op, I had arthritis in my lower back and legs. It really was pretty bad. By the end of every work day, I felt like a truck ran over me. I was 56 and felt 90. After surgery….GONE, NOTHING, NO PAIN. I don’t take my daily naproxen or muscle relaxers anymore and feel good enough to know get exercise. I have my life back and feel 20 yrs younger and that’s BEFORE the major WL started!!!
2) I had Psoriasis on my left elbow and right foot. GONE, again, instantly and completely gone.
3) Thyroid meds, GONE, no longer need or take and had my levels checked just last week and they are the same as the were pre-op with taking meds.
4) Type II Diabetes: Gone, my A1c pre-op was 5.8…Post Op, at 11 weeks was 5.1

My biggest question I guess is, what % of those changes come from the VSG part VS the DS part? If you look at other VSG only patients, they almost all have the similar Bio-Chemical Switch thingy’s as well, so I am leaning toward believing that the 2/3 stomach removal plays a larger role Bio-chemically than we even think, and NOT just because of Ghrelin.

Here is a cut a paste of an earlier post-op post:

I’m not sure what happened and why I feel so good so quick, but, I do have some compelling theories. We had many times before discussed how there are instant chemical and neuro-hormonal changes in the body right after WLS due to the reduction of ghrelin, leptins, peptins, including the reduction of both fasting and meal-stimulated ghrelin production and increased glucagon like peptide-1 and peptide-YY interactions as well as a host of other bio-logical chemicals and hormones not yet fully identified or understood. As you know, these same neuro-hormonal chemical changes are believed to be the same ones that instantly reverse diabetes etc, as they stop the insulin resistivity on the cellular level almost immediately. I think my metabolism had become so crashed over the years and was SO bad off, that this same neuro-hormonal chemical component instantly “re-set” or re-booted me on the cellular level and those instant chemical changes OVER compensated for a lot of those other normal post-surgical trauma’s normally experienced by people with more normal metabolisms, thus allowing for my minimized perceptions. In essence, my cells started talking to each other again and working on that proper cellular level again and for the first time in many, many years, I felt alive. As said, I feel 20 Goddamn years younger and have been full of energy since!!

To summarize, I think I feel the benefit the most because I was so bad off. From my very first postings on this site, I told you guys how I could NOT eat over 800-1000 calories a day without gaining weight and my body and back pain was really bad . My “metabolism” had ceased to function. My cells were not talking to each other and giving the send/receive signals needed to do many of my major bodily functions. Again, I think it’s the same or similar related Bio-chemical mechanism responsible for the cellular resistivity absorption issues that occurs with diabetes which is known to be reversed after most WLS, again, my cells are all back happy, endorphins being turned on, everybody’s talking and happy.

Essentially what I am saying is, you can have two exact cars with the same engine in it but in one of the cars, the engine is barely running and will hardly start and run. You do the same exact engine re-build on both cars, they both get the same exact benefit, BUT the car that had the worst engine that was broken down the most has the highest percentage of improvement because it was in the worst condition. That same relative perception of improvement is what I think has happened here to me. Whatever it is, I’ll take it!!!!!! And I’m pretty for sure it’s here to stay! Thxs for reading and I hope this BOOK helps somebody someday! Rob

My point is Dave, YES, the changing taste buds are definitely a challenge and a pain in the ass sometimes, but are really a MINOR inconvenience, (that I STRONGLY believe are part of all the above bio-chemical changes that have happened), BUT…are SO insignificant compared to all the other INSTANT life changing and immediate benefits I got from the surgery. Sorry for the book, hope it helps.
Rob

 

[robs477]

I'm wondering why tastes sometimes change after surgery.

The way I understand it, taste (outside of sweet/salty/sour) originates from our ability to smell but nothing in the olfactory sense is changed with this surgery.

And also...YES...a lot of it is rooted in the "smell part". I can be craving something and then cook it and then by the time I sit down to eat it, cant eat ONE bite without feeling horrible. I usually just save it until the next day and then Im fine. Smelling it while cooking sets off that "Bud changing" trigger about 70% of the time for me. Since I do a significant amount of the cooking at my house, Ive just learned to adapt and accept what my bodies telling me, laugh about it and then pull something else out of the fridge to microwave...LOL

 

[southernlady]

And also...YES...a lot of it is rooted in the "smell part". I can be craving someting and then cook it and then by the time I sit down to eat it, cant eat ONE bite without feeling horrible. I usually just save it until the next day and then Im fine. Smelling it while cooking sets off that "Bud changing" trigger about 70% of the time for me. Since I do a significant amount of the cooking at my house, Ive just learned to adapt and accept what my bodies telling me, laugh about it and then pull something else out of the fridge to microwave...LOL

The smell part didn't come into play for me until I had jaw surgery...my surgeon monkeyed with both upper and lower jaw and that included my sinuses. I had no problem with protein powder prior to that but after, most made me gag from the smell. It has been a real effort to find one I can tolerate due to the smell AND the texture.

When I saw Michelle (Vitalady) this past summer, she said she never understood the "smell" issue of protein powders until she experienced it herself about 2 years ago. She said a light bulb went off as to what others were telling her about the different powders she carried.

That is why when people ask which protein shake/powder, MY answer is "one you can drink and can afford".

 

[Munchkin]

A bejillion years ago I worked as a researcher. One of my projects was intestinal hormones and figuring out specifically where they were produced in the gastrointestinal tract. One thing I can tell you for sure is there is still a lot about the body we know nothing about and don't understand.

 

[duh_Mom]

wow, just wow...

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I KNOW WHY!!!

It's magic!!

 

[JackieOnLine]

A bejillion years ago I worked as a researcher. One of my projects was intestinal hormones and figuring out specifically where they were produced in the gastrointestinal tract. One thing I can tell you for sure is there is still a lot about the body we know nothing about and don't understand.

this right here

when I had my tonsils out a long time ago I woke up with way too much of a gag reflex - it was hard for me to brush the back of my teeth, especially in the mornings. I did it anyway but it was uncomfortable and I sometimes had to stop and gag. uck.

when I woke up from my VSG that was gone. I asked the surgeon about and he said he had no idea why.

I know it's off topic but still - nobody knows!

 

[newanatomy]

For me, it was partly due to the blood in my throat and nose (nasal passages?) for a while after surgery. Everything tasted like blood for a while. I was blowing and hacking blood for days after. I think he used a chimney sweeper to shove the bougie (sp) down my throat to measure the stomach. What they did to my nose is a mystery!