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Terbinafine Loss of taste

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jonathan21989
jonathan21989

I had taken terbinafine for about six weeks for a toenail infection when my sense of taste pretty much completely disappeared over the course of 3-4 days.  I have a vague salty/bitter taste in my mouth, but nothing tastes of anything....sweet, salt, bitter...all gone.  I can put pure sugar on my tongue and not taste a thing.  That refreshing zing you get from toothpaste?  Gone.  Everything tastes grey at best, or just nasty at worst.

The infection responded well to terbinafine - I have about 4mm clear nail now, but I've decided to stop taking it as nothing is worth this cost.  I've switched to Loceryl lacquer but I don't even care about the nail anymore.  I just desperately want to be able to taste things normally again.  I can completely understand how this can cause weight loss and depression.  My advice would be to avoide terbinafine.

13 likes, 364 replies

364 Replies

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  • alan54321
    alan54321 jonathan21989

    Posted

    Hi Jonathon. I am having similar taste problems after taking Terbinafine and have up to now been worrying that it will not recover. After reading your post and the replies that taste does eventually come back, I'm feeling a little more hopeful. I was prescribed to take Terbinafine for 3 months but after about 3 weeks I started to notice my Guiness tasted like Budwieser (Like slightly bitter water) and thought the beer had not been handled properly. The next day a bacon sandwich after a game of golf tasted flat and I simply coudnt taste the Heinz tomato ketchup I had judiciously applied. It took another few days before I realised what might be causing the problem and immediately stopped taking the drug. The effect for me is that I cannot taste sugar at all, (I can however taste Saccharine (Hermesetas) and other sweeteners which I normally use in my tea but they do taste strange in some way) my salt taste is impaire  but to a lesser degree and bitter and sour jigged a little.  All of my food tastes bland and slightly metallic. I am a 65 year old retired food professional and have always had very good taste ability but this has blown all that skill away. When I realised what was happening I went to see my doctor and explained the effects, he seemed surprised and told me he had just started using the drug himself for a skin rash (must have been fungal). He did mention that he didnt think I'd had a stroke, which I can heartily confirm as I am reasonably fit and havent had any strange effects to my capabilities at all. I have looked this all up and there has been some research published (Link here:   https://www.med.upenn.edu/stc/documents/Objectiveassessmentofterbinafine-inducedtasteloss.pdf) which supports our findings. I wonder though how many other people experience this effect but it simply doesnt get followed up and the manufacturers of the drug ignore/conceal any advice they are getting back for legal and financial reasons. I am really anxious and annoyed about the debilitating effect and hope all our findings are of help to others.
    • mirving
      mirving alan54321

      Posted

      Hi Alan, it infuriates me that most of our GPs dont realise how serious the side effects of this drug, I was borderline depression after losing my taste a year or so ago. This forum and us helping each other went a long way in soothing people's minds and fears. The loss of sweet, savoury, salty water seems consistent with all of us, tha'ts why I started a diary for my 8 or so weeks without taste. There needs to be some clear education to our health professinals and as you have intimated, patients need to be advised of this so called small sided effect which causes us all so much pain....Only light at the end of the tunnel, it does seem to come back to most of us on this forum

      thanks, Michael

    • laura05231
      laura05231 alan54321

      Posted

      Any change with your taste buds? Still no luck here. Sometimes I can

      taste a few things, but not much.

    • alan54321
      alan54321 laura05231

      Posted

      Hi Laura

      Am beginning to taste sugar and other things, it's by no means back but I am a bit more hopeful. At this rate I think it's going to be the new year.

      Regards Alan

    • millie-rose
      millie-rose laura05231

      Posted

      Hi Laura 

      don't fret your taste will return.  Mine has taken 9-10 weeks off the drug.  I have had a gastoscopy because my doctor took it all very seriously and thought the drug had caused my stomach to produce more acid and causing the very bitter taste pproblems I was having.  It is difficult to descibe to people how debilitating it is and that everything trastes foul.  Most things taste okay to me now apart from chocolate and tea.  Ironically really bland things tasted better to me, white fish, brown/white rice/pasta/new potatoes and salad. No tomatoes though!  Good luck!  I became very depressed by the way - make sure that we report to the drug and food agency by filling in an online yellow card.

    • alan54321
      alan54321 laura05231

      Posted

      Hi Laura

      Just to let you know that after 6 weeks of coming off terbinafine my taste has now returned to normal. A huge relief!

      Best regards

      Alan

       

    • laura05231
      laura05231 alan54321

      Posted

      Great news! My tastes also came back. It took 10 wks to really notice. I am SO happy! I would say I have 90 percent back, Best Wishes! 
    • andrew1672
      andrew1672 laura05231

      Posted

      How cool is that.  It took 13 weeks for mine to come back and it is so great. It makes me think God every time I eat something in taste it.  I am really happy for you and everyone else that has gone through this and got it back.
  • alan54321
    alan54321 jonathan21989

    Posted

    Hi All

    At 5 weeks after stopping Terbinafine after 1 month of 1 a day...... Am beginning to taste sugar and other things, it's by no means back but I am a bit more hopeful. At this rate I think it's going to be the new year.

    Alan

    • millie-rose
      millie-rose alan54321

      Posted

      Hi Alan

      Your taste WILL return but slowly and it can plateau for a while.  It has been 9 -10 weeks for me and now my taste is 90% back.  Don't let this news dishearten you because it may be a speedier recovery for you! Most things taste as they should now apart from chocolate and tea however some days are better than others.  After 5 weeks like you are now I did not have much taste sensation at all so you will probably be ok for Christmas!   

    • alan54321
      alan54321 millie-rose

      Posted

      Hi Millie

      Just to let you know that after 6 weeks of coming off terbinafine my taste has now returned to normal. A huge relief!

      Best regards

      Alan

       

  • alan54321
    alan54321 jonathan21989

    Posted

    Hi Jonathon

    Just to let you know that after 6 weeks of coming off terbinafine my taste has now returned to normal. A huge relief!

    Best regards

    Alan

     

  • WendyCKT
    WendyCKT jonathan21989

    Posted

    I know exactly how you felt, Jonathon after taking Terbinafine. It is not just loss of taste it is how everything that goes into the mouth is absolutely disgustingly foul. More saliva is present and it is slick and thick and all one wants to do is eat anything to rid oneself of the disgusting foul taste that is in the mouth. I thought I could simply eat something that would 'wash' away the foul taste. It is neither a bitter taste or a salty taste, it is just foul. I have never eaten a rotting dead animal but the smell of such decomposed flesh is how I feel the taste would be, and always in my mouth without let up. Some days I cannot bare living with my own mouth. I go from here to there cramming in anything and everything to try to rid myself of it. I was never one for sugar and would only have one level teaspoonful in tea or coffee and found that too sweet but since I used terbinafine for 26 days from my birthday as it happens (and what a horrific birthday present that was) I have piled in my tea 5 heaped spoonfuls and STILL I cannot taste the sweetness. Things like ice cream and chocolate are the pits, its not just the foul taste that is generated from them it is the slinky slimy texture. The saliva just converts everything into horror in the mouth. I gained weght at first by eating everything and anything to try to get rid of the bad taste, but all to no avail. Now I just eat when I have to. Fruit a veg makes the whole mlouth worse, and I became ill due to not eating fruit and veg. I have to force myself to eat an orange a day now purely to keep up the vitamin C level to avoid getting colds. I used to be able to eat 5 or more oranges in a day, and a host of other fruits and veg, I simply loved them, but sadly not anymore. I am constantly thirsty but cannot bare to drink anything until my thirst gets beyond me. When I lick my dry lips, my lips taste foul. I guess its all to do with the tongue really, but I find that one corner of my mouth seems to ooze this foul saliva and today in desperation TEN weeks after finishing the course of Terbinafine, I was so desperate to rid myself of the taste I scrubbed the inside of my mouth with a toothbrush and my tongue too and made it bleed, and the blood tasted like pure salt!! How the hell can I live the rest of my life like this? Friends tonight brought me some edible peppermint oil thinking that would mask it. It didn't. I did not even taste it. I could smell it but it had no taste at all, my tongue tingled but no more than when i tried a very hot red chilli for breakfast in desperation a few weeks back all to no avail. I have been to an Indian resturant and ordered the hottest meal on the menu. It could have been cardboard. Only the next day on its exit did I realise how hot it was!!! What can we do about this? Will it stop? Does it get better? I am so depressed about it, so fed up, I just long to taste food again. Does anyone have any ideas? I tell myself I am not alone and other people do know how it feels but no one else does and it is so hard trying to explain to other people what having no taste and distorted taste is like to live with every second of every day and night.
    • laura05231
      laura05231 WendyCKT

      Posted

      Hi Wendy,

      I know exactly how you feel!! My taste returned at the 11th week mark. It gradually comes back. I lived on Ramen noodles, baked fish, and other bland foods. It seemed to help a little. That gross taste in your mouth will fade. I feel I have about 95 percent of my taste back. I will pray for you!

      Laura

    • WendyCKT
      WendyCKT laura05231

      Posted

      Thank you, Laura.

      A friend of mine works for doTERRA who make edible pure essential oils and she gave me a bottle of pure peppermint for Christmas and made me open it before the event so that I could taste Christmas dinner as it takes a few days to kick in. She instructed that I put one tiny drop on the back of my hand and lick it. I did this and she and her family and my husband waited for my reaction. I used 3 drops. They stared and said 'don't you feel anything?' I said what am I supposed to feel?  Her partner said 'that amount would usually blow your head off.' I didn't have a reaction at all. I couldn't taste it. However they also advised that I placed one drop in a pint of water and drank it. I just used one drop in a tumbler of water and drank that instead and I got a bit of the taste straight away. I found over the next few days that if I drank a tumbler like this before meals I could taste the food, not distinctly as before Terbinafine but to a degree and each mouthful was so pleasurable. Terbinafine side effects teach one to appreciate the taste buds when they return. Teach one to enjoy every single mouthful of food, to savour it slowly and appreciatively. In a round about way it is the one lesson that is good for us to learn. Everyone should try it, but I wouldn;t wish that they used Terbinafine to experience it due to the gross taste in the beginning weeks.

      Last night my son's girlfriend had a tummy ache and I gave her some peppermint oil for it helps purify the digestion too, and then gave my son some to try, and I had some again on the back of my hand, and all of us tasted it. It almost took my head off! So after using the peppermint oil for just a few days my taste is obviously returning. However I am into my 11th week now, so likely it was returning anyway. What I would like to know is, if anyone in lesser weeks of it reads this, if they would try the peppermint oil and report back to say if it is effective just a few weeks into the loss of taste.

      Another thing if you have blocked sinusus, use the peppermint oil, it will blast away the blockage! No more than one drop though okay? Or your eyes will water and your ears will ring - lol only joking about the ears.

    • Pluc09
      Pluc09 WendyCKT

      Posted

      Please tell me the taste came back for you. It's been three weeks. And I'm losing my mind. You couldn't have summed it up any better. I'm 28 years old. And I hate this feeling.

    • rob87282
      rob87282 Pluc09

      Posted

      Hi it took about 2 months for my taste to return believe me it will return.Im a lot older than you they say the younger you are the sooner it will return.
    • gina7523
      gina7523 Pluc09

      Posted

      Hi there - can you tell me how long it took for your taste to come back? I am also 28 and have had loss of taste for a week now after stopping taking Terbinafine. Most of the other posts I've been reading here have been from people a bit older than us and I'm desperate for more info...any tips or anecdotes you can share would be helpful! Thank you!

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