Food tastes too sweet?

[MyalgicE]

Recently food is tasting too sweet. Vegetables taste like they’ve been coated in sugar. Making eating more difficult.

My basic research hasn’t found much except it could be related to hypothyroidism (which is being treated) and neurological. Any pointers on research, or anyone else experience this?

It is coinciding with more severe cognitive problems and I’ve been getting worse the past few years, from severe to cusp of very severe.

 

[Amw66]

Gut dysbiosis?
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-40374-3

 

[ME/CFS Skeptic]

Sorry to hear you're getting worse.

I'm afraid I can't help much but my initial thought is that if a change in taste is a symptom of hypothyroidism perhaps that means this isn't being treated well enough.

 

[boolybooly]

https://www.healthline.com/health/sweet-taste-in-mouth#causes

• Metabolic problems, such as diabetes, ketosis, or a thyroid disorder. Metabolic disorders can affect the body’s ability to taste, causing a background sweet taste in the mouth and large preference for very sweet-tasting foods.
• Neurological problems, such as stroke, seizure disorder, or epilepsy. A sweet taste in the mouth can be an early symptom of neurological issues.
• Viruses that attack the body’s ability to smell. Disruptions in the body’s olfactory system — the system that allows the body to smell — can result in a sweet taste in the mouth.
• Infection in the sinuses, nose, and throat. Certain bacteria, especially pseudomonas, can cause a sweet taste in the mouth.
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Stomach acid backs up into the throat and mouth, causing a sweet taste.
• Small cell carcinoma in the lung. A sweet taste is an early symptom of this condition.
• Pregnancy. Many women experience a strange taste in their mouth in the early stages of pregnancy. Some women might describe it as sweet or metallic.

It could be a bug. I remember you made a post about having severe multiple chemical sensitivity which sounds like CFIDS of some kind.

Do you have any dietary restrictions like ketogenic diet which mean you are not getting much carb? My background thinking about that is that our body probably changes the way it senses the taste of foods depending on what we need. So if we need sugar then our senses will tune to the taste and we will notice it and like it. Even starch only foods can taste sweet because salivary amylase will liberate sugars from starch even while we are chewing it.

IMHO - its probably worth asking how confident you feel about hypothyroidism diagnosis. I have a form of CFIDS with raised allergies and sensitivities but extrapolating from my own experience is not necessarily accurate for you. However IMHO hypothyroidism is often hypothesised as a contributor to ME patients by people trying to understand it from the outside but without personal experience. People have said this to me but I have tested it using armour beef thyroid and found no effect and in IMHO my experience of ME CFIDS suggests hypothyoidism is not applicable and I reckon it is a misperception of the condition. Depending on how it is done, trying to boost thyroid could possibly end up like taking a stimulant, when this is contraindicated for ME CFIDS with metabolic dysfunction, e.g. caffeine, guarana etc is usually a big nono. For the same reason S/SRI antidepressants also not a good idea. So I am wondering if that treatment could be upsetting your metabolic balance and may ironically be pushing you into more severe territory if the metabolism cannot keep up with demand due to stimulation which would eventually lead to crashing. It might make you feel zingy for a short period but then there could be a payback. Just saying it might be worth thinking about and maybe get a second opinion.