Bad taste in mouth along w/ decreased smell- don't want to eat

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Hi all

I had gastric bypass & hiatal hernia surgery in June . Not long after I got home and started eating again I had painful symptoms and an endoscopy revealed a large stomach ulcer. Ever since the bypass I have had a severe decrease in the ability to smell and a bad taste in my mouth. I cannot taste food. For weeks I could not taste anything and now food I eat tastes just like the awful taste that lives in my mouth. I am having trouble eating anything because everything tastes bad accept fruit. I am only averaging about 700-800 calories a day and that is with concerted effort. When I first start to eat the bad taste is so bad that I feel nauseous. Anyone else have trouble with a persistent bad taste (not a metallic taste that I can discern although its hard to tell since I cannot taste much of anything else), not being able to taste food and having a decreased sense of smell? I am sort of happy that I cannot smell or taste food because it's another mechanism that will keep me from overeating but now the bad taste is overpowering and making me miserable.

[christalyn89 4]

I had this same bad taste and loss of smell when i was sleeved in 2013. It seemed like it lasted forever, but it lasted about 6 to 7 months after my surgery. Longest 6 months of my life! I literally had to force myself to eat anything..and when i did i became nauseous. I PROMISE you that this goes away. Your body is just trying to get used to this huge change you have made and alot of your bodies chemistry will change with it. Some foods that you loved before will taste different than they did before surgery. My taste buds seemed to completely change. You just have to make sure you are getting the nutrition you need and the Protein you need along with not getting dehydrated

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[James Marusek 5,244]

I suspect that this is a side effect of ketosis. A high-Protein, low-carb diet can put your body into ketosis -- a state where your body is burning fat instead of glucose for energy. When you limit your carb intake, your body has to use stored fat for energy, which can be a way to lose a pounds. When your body burns fat, by-products called ketones are released. You'll expel most of them in urine and perspiration, but some will be expelled in your breath -- and ketones don't smell good. There are two phases after surgery. These are called the "Weight Loss" phase and the "Maintenance" phase. As your weight loss comes to an end and you slide into the "Maintenance" phase, I suspect that this problem will ease up significantly. I had RNY gastric bypass over 3 years ago. I transitioned into the "Maintenance" phase at around the 7th month.

I could never smell my bad breath during this stage, but my wife did. She said I smelled like death itself. So maybe your inability to smell, might actually be a good thing.