I'm 3 days post op and NOTHING tastes good. I dread drinking anything. I'm so miserable.

You're still in the throw's of dealing with surgical medications with which they put into you, such as anesthesia. Theis can mess with your taste buds dramatically for a week or two, longer for some folks.

Thus, I suggest you keep trying your favorites. You're no worse off than you are now, with a better possibility of success in drinking.

Also, pay attention to what you think you may like at the moment, even something for which you never cared. This actually worked for me: For some weird reason I had a sense that something I never liked might taste good, and lo! I gave it a shot and I very much enjoyed it, and it still remains something I drink often.

When all else fails, water may be what works. Again, I was never a fan of water as it upset my stomach when I drank water in any appreciable quantity. Post-op, in trying to figure something out, for whatever reason water worked well. No one was more surprised than me.

Keep an open mind and keep working at it until all the anesthesia and other drugs leave your system. Fluids may help flushing the stuff out of your system.

Hang in there.

Good luck,

Tek

Yeah, you are way early on. I don't think I thought about food until a few weeks later. Main thing to really work on right now is to stay hydrated. Unfortunately for many, taste buds are often skewed for awhile. The protein and everything else will fall into place as you heal. Feel better soon. Congrats on your surgery.

Welcome to the other side!

i’ll just reiterate what the others have said, it just takes time. As your body adjusts and heals things will get better. The human body is a remarkable thing. It will find its way and take you along with it, lol.

Hang in there, keep drinking and get your protein in. Right now think of it as just being a machine who needs to do these things to heal. Taste will come later.

I struggled with being able to drink anything during the first few days- and found that warm things actually appealed to me more, and leaned into broths— they count as liquids and had some flavor. Try varying temps- and it will come.

Thanks, everyone. It's been really hard getting in fluids and protein because the taste makes me nauseous. Plus, I'm not hungry AT ALL. That doesn't help either. I have set timers to remind me to drink. I'll keep plugging away and soon enough will graduate to the next faze.

The temporary changes to your taste buds &/or sense of smell can make enjoying food difficult even the shakes you have to drink at your stage. Many find the shake flavours they drank before surgery are disgusting after surgery. I agree try (thin, strained) soups like broths & consommés. And I too found warm drinks more soothing & easier to tolerate. I’d warm my shakes, drink room temperature or warm water & drink green tea (herbal if you prefer).

Give it time. You're still healing.

At that stage about all I could get down was tea with a little bit of honey. Everything tasted awful. It will get better, though. Your whole system is extremely confused right now so be patient.