Has Anyone Else Gone Off of Food?

Do you know, I was heartened to read your post. I feel exactly the same - there is very little that appeals to me, and I'm eating less and less. (Not losing weight, though) I just don't think about food and would go all day on a couple of biscuits or a snack, if it wasn't for my OH. He spends a lot of time cooking and sometimes I can get through half of a small portion and don't want any more, which upsets him. I don't feel ill (except for a lot of arthritis pain) or that there is anything wrong with me but it is such a contrast with how I used to be - if there were any goodies in the house I couldn't rest until I'd eaten them all now I forget they're even there, it's not down to memory, just no inclination.

I am on morphine 24/7 its a weekly patch its not affected my taste buds at all.

I am on morphine 24/7 its a weekly patch its not affected my taste buds at all.

I agree with others here, go see your doctor and see if you can find a reason for this. I don't know about morphine, but I do know from experience that even a slight change in hormone levels can affect your sense of taste.

My husband had the same thing on oral morphine other treatments have the same effect. There is book called the chemo receipt book that is full of recipes and advice to compact this problem you can adapt favourite dishes with a few simple changes. Obviously it was designed for people on chemo but I still use it. But I do agree you should speak to a doctor about this. Hormones can apparently effect taste buds too. I hope you get it sorted.

Morphine can cause a dry mouth which can cause a change to your sense of taste.

When I was on Lanzoprazole for acid reflux I noticed a change in my sense of taste. It came on gradually after some weeks. We were in France on hol and I found red wine tasted horrible- I could just about drink white! I also didn't enjoy many other foods. I stopped taking the med because of other side effects and taste came back to normal. So it could be from medication. I read all the leaflets with meds.

Could it be that medication is causing this? Some medicines leave a metallic taste and sadly, nearly everything you eat can be affected which is very off-putting. Hope things improve for you.

coco51.You mention arthritis pain, are you on medication for this as I am awaiting a hip replacement and on medication for the pain I am experiencing
I too find food less appealing and even tasteless and
I rarely can finish a meal..

I've heard of this problem before, and if I remember correctly, it was either a vitamin or a mineral deficiency that caused it. Something like that, so do ask your GP about it, as it should be something that can be rectified.

I'll tell you what happened to me. AFter I got to about 60 I realised I had gone back to only liking the same foods I did as a child. It was after I reached my teens I started enjoying more weird vegetables and different tastes, then after I got past childbearing age I gradually just reverted all my adult diet back to preferring cakes and sweets and chips and fish fingers etc lol

NudeJude has your sense of smell altered at all?
My MiL complained that she had lost her sense of smell and short time later her taste sense also went

I have a friend undergoing chemo who has also lost his sense of taste.
Can only taste very spicy or highly seasoned food.

Thank you all for your input. In answer to those who asked, no I haven't lost my sense of smell, but it seems that the general consensus is that I should get it checked by the doctor, which is sensible I think. Unfortunately, every trip to my GP is a nightmare, as my back condition is so unpredictable, that even getting there can be a major ordeal, but I think perhaps this is something that requires me to put up with the pain in order to find out what's going on.

Once again, thanks to everyone who took the trouble to respond.

DH used to have the same problem. It was very frustrating. Sometimes reducing some dosages on medication helped but I learned in the end it was often a sign that he was anaemic. Iron supplements sorted things out. So a visit to your GP for all the possible reasons posted here seems a good idea. Eating is important!

I lost most of my sense of smell years ago and crave salty and sweet foods which I can taste. I wish to God it had affected my appetite but I'm still greedy, eat too much and am very overweight.

This has happenwd tome recently since abt june.I have lost nearly 3 stone in 12 weeks wirhout trying.II have M/EAnd Fibromalayia, among 4 othet auto immune diseases The first 2 have a terrble sleep disturbance where the delta sleep deep sleep has gone completly .I ended up on sleeping hynotics Zoperderm.A horrble drug, but necessary , as from march i was hardly sleeping at all.I believe its the lack of sleep or /and this medication that has caused the very same symptoms that nude jude has .Its awful .

I am glad It has not happened to me

I am not on any medication at all, but my appetite has just gone
All can put it down to is being stress related, i have lost just over a stone in weight, and was only just under 9 to begin with
I dont know what to eat, dont fancy anything really
Going to ask at the chemist if they have anything that would help bring my appetite back

In hospital after a serious accident last year and on tramadol, I lost my appetite; but the catering manager threatened me (literally) with her protein shakes if I didn't eat more ("and you don't want that!") which was the kick I needed!

If you're losing weight though, maybe a proprietary brand of supplement e.g. Complan would be a good idea til you can sort this?

Have you been checked out, Valerie?

Thank you for your replies, yes i have regular blood tests as i have Haemochomatosis[verload of iron] only had one a few weeks ago, all was fine
I really think its down to stress, family problems and every household thing i have going wrtong or breaking down, including my newly serviced boiler leaking badly ,having to wash everything in my airing cupboard,and being without hot water for a week, laptop, breaking,[on my sons jusy now] lawnmower, not working, and other stuff all at once, son having TIAs etc, and imk a worrier,
I easily lose weight, [lucky i guess] but struggle to put it on
Although now going for scans etc, due to bleeding cervix, which i dont think will be serious, bad case of cystitis at the moment too,
Might get some complan actually

I still love the cooking, but I have no interest in eating much. I put it to age.

I had the same problem last year, everything tasted strange such as bread which tasted like cardboard. I also found my tongue seemed quite sore and I couldn't comfortably eat anything spicy. A blood test at my GP surgery showed a B12 deficiency. I had a two week course of injections (6 in all) followed by one every three months. MIRACLE CURE. All now back to normal.

Same here Luckyfour, I didn't go to the Drs but read up on it , article said lack of B12 , which I now take & feel much better

I lost my sense of smell 6 years ago and that affected my taste - if I could taste anything it was definitely not 'right' and some things were positively disgusting. I would also urge you to get it checked out although I agree it's probably the morphine.