His doctor told him nothing can be done - but he is a GP so I will continue to look for answers. It was hit or miss - sometimes he would be able to taste then next day, same food - but no taste. He was still able to get full taste in beets and sweet foods. Now - absolutely nothing. He is very depressed and I can't blame him. I am at a loss - I don't know what to do for him. He did have his nose cauterized because of nose bleeds and he's on cumiden. Could this have added to the problem?
My husband lost his sense of smell completely when he developed Lewy Body Dementia. At first this really impacted his appetite as nothing tasted good. I think he gradually got used to tasting without smelling, he added a lot of "hot sauce" to nearly everything, and became less depressed about it.
I hope that your dad will also gradually be able to enjoy eating at least some foods without being able to smell them.
There is a peanut butter test that I found interesting. I haven't tried it, MIL's personality and dementia wouldn't give allow her to give me a straight answer anyway. It goes like this: "A sure sign of Alzheimer's is the loss of sense of smell, always more severe in the left nostril than the right one. This can be detected by the recently-proposed so-called "peanut butter" test whereby closing one nostril at a time (with the eyes closed), the test-giver brings a blob of peanut butter near right nostril first (and measures at what distant the smell is recognized by the "blinded" person), and then near the left nostril. If the smell in the left nostril (with right nostril closed) is detected at a much shorter distance than for the test with the right nostril, Alzheimer's is indicated. The physiological explanation is based on the nerve endings in the left nostril connected to the areas of the brain active in sense of smell, and damaged for the Alzheimer cases."
I don't know now where I got that, I had saved it to try it out. I just thought it was very interesting. I do remember as my dad got older, he would season the heck out of food to the point that we could hardly eat it. He loved using Lawry's Seasoned Salt, and never thought anything was too salty. Our sense of smell and taste are very closely related, they say that if you hold your nose, you can't tell the difference between pear and apple. Haven't tried that experiment, though.
Actually, Mayoclinic.com says that Coumadin can affect the way food tastes, and the nasal cauterization possibly does. Nosebleeds can be a side effect of the Coumadin. There are a number of food and drug interactions to be aware of. Maybe there is a different anti-coagulant that wouldn't cause the same problems. Good luck.
Really???? Does it only work with peanut butter, or can you use other distinctive scents too? I am doing this. I will report back. Possibly I will report back that my mother says "get away from me you are a loony" - but I am doing it.
Ref. the taste and smell connection, generally speaking, if your nose is out of action you should be able still to taste sweet, salt, sour and bitter but you won't get any actual flavours or aromas. If the basic taste groups are absent too, then that is a different problem and not very hopeful-sounding. The only thing I can think to suggest that remains is texture? If your father is able to chew and swallow well, crunchy or crisp foods, or other favourite 'mouth-feels' (as they say in food manufacturing circles), could still give him some enjoyment, perhaps? I feel for him. Miserable.
I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get MIL to even accept a blindfold or even close her eyes on command. She is contrary, to put it mildly.
My dad would put Tomato Catsup and Sour kraut on everything - before his stroke. After his stroke, everything is too sour or too salty. Currently, he's on the sweet tooth stage. But it seems to be changing because he loved to eat that buttered bread. Now, he's beginning to complain that it's too sweet. So, his taste buds are changing. You may need to keep trying until you find what would hit your dad's taste bud. Remember, this will eventually change, and you will need to go back to square one.
Angel