Hello! I am wondering for those that experienced a change with your taste buds, did that happen immediately after surgery or at some point afterwards? TIA!

Have to admit I can’t remember exactly when it began after my sleeve surgery but I think it was pretty soon afterwards. It was very noticeable from week 3 when I was on puréed food because I had more food options for my tastebuds not to like. Prior to that I only had a protein shake & soup each day. The shakes tasted awful but they always did to me. I had some hand surgery this week & noticed the next day that water tasted awful. So I think anaesthetic is a contributing factor.

Immediately after surgery you are on liquid diet so you can't really tell tbh. But, the first time I had a protein shake a few days after surgery it was suuuuuper sweet to me, where before my surgery I didn't feel like it was sweet enough. So, by that I'd say yeah. Your taste buds do change almost immediately. At least by that experience. I hated eggs before my surgery... and I still hate them after surgery though so some things don't change.

I couldn't tolerate sweet protein shakes after surgery - and I think that was pretty immediate. Not everyone's sense of taste changes, though. For me, it was the intensity that changed (sweet things tasted sweeter - spicy things tasted spicier) - but some people's taste doesn't change at all.

Yes. Right away. Everything tastes extra salty and everything with sucralose tastes like an oil refinery. I switched from Protein2O to Isopure which is better.

My family had salmon one night and it smelled absolutely disgusting. They had burgers another night which smelled good but it was so weird to feel my brain go, “Huh. Burgers. Nah.”

I had zero change in my tastes. Now, I try not to eat many sweets or processed foods - but I didn’t have any aversions to the things I liked before nor did I start liking anything that I didn’t like before (broccoli I’m looking at you - still makes me want to gag when I even smell it). Now, tolerating things in my system - that has been a slightly different story. I had some Greek food and had a little tzatziki sauce on the meat (which I had had the meat plain no issue) - that did NOT sit well in my system. But my tastes didn’t change - the protein shakes I liked before I still liked and when I transitioned to regular foods - the stuff that tasted good before still tastes good. I was so worried about my favorite fajitas and salsa - now what used to be a meal is 4-5 meals and I don’t eat the tortillas but it still tastes wonderful.

I had zero change in actual taste. Tbh I was looking forward to it and thought it would be an aid in my new life, so I was initially disappointed.. but while my taste buds haven’t changed, my tastes (as in what I choose to like/dislike) has.

It happened right after surgery for me. Everything tasted too sweet or salty. All flavors and smells seemed to be exaggerated. Protein shakes absolutely had to be watered down, I would skip adding salt in my food. I can’t handle the smell of eggs. The change is still in effect for me (almost 4 yrs later)

Well, if by taste bud changes you mean changing from wanting to eat everything to nothing at all, then yes, for me it was as soon as I woke up from surgery.

I had like total food aversion for about 2 weeks....I barely ate anything (we're talking like 300-400 calories in a WEEK, yikes) It slowly got better, by around month 3 i would only happen maybe 1/2 the time.

Food aversion aside, I did notice immediately that I couldn't stand sweet stuff (i.e., that effing protein shake). Mind you I have been sorta cured of this by now (i'm almost 3 years out). I love me some desserts, but i prefer less sweet ones. If I do have a super sweet, say butter tart, I'll have like 1 bite, maybe 2. Any more and I'll get sick.

I also noticed that I reeeaaaallly liked salty stuff when a hint of an appetite made an appearance after 2 weeks (still like salty stuff today acutally).

And while I enjoyed the salads regularly pre-op, it is now my go-to meal. Used to like creamy dressings, now I only like vinaigrette. Started eating salads almost every day around 4-5 post op to today.

Thanks all! I have not noticed any change yet (sleeved 9/7) so I’m assuming I probably won’t. So looking forward to real food again though!! ?

It was immediate for me, the bone broth I loved and couldn't get enough of pre-op suddenly tasted like liquid pennies to me. In general, I'm not as huge of a fan of salt as I used to be and I've found myself craving spicy as opposed to salty.

I was hoping my tastes would change so I wouldn't like sweets anymore. Nope. My tastes haven't changed at all and I'm also hungry all the time. Three weeks out. It's been a real let-down.

Immediately for me. The sweetness of protein shakes which was a couple days out was horrible to me. That’s the only change I had though. I have even tried things I didn’t like pre surgery just to see and my tastes are the same.

It happened immediately for me. I found the protein shakes, which weren't too bad before, disgusting. I tried so many and they all tasted so gross. A lot of other things tasted weird too. It lasted probably the first months or so. I can drink protein shakes now and they taste fine!

Sweet things for me also. It was mild at first, but three weeks out and getting the protein shakes and protein water down isn't fun. I have a less sweet protein shake that's not as bad, but I really don't like sweet things at all. I have a physical reaction to them a bit like a blood-sugar dip, which is irritating because in order to meet my protein intake, I unfortunately need these drinks.

I was really hoping I'd start liking avocados and disliking pie, but no dice so far! Seems like it affects people most in the protein shake arena; I wonder if it's because there are so many things that go into them.