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Terbinafine will taste return

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mirving
mirving

Have been on 250mg for 5 weeks for skin infection. Have now lost all sense of taste and miserable as choosing not to eat as dull and boring. I am choosing to stop medication now as nothing is worse than this and i fly on holiday tomorrow. Does anyone know if my taste will return to normal and how long this may take? 😞

3 likes, 137 replies

137 Replies

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  • judith74960
    judith74960 mirving

    Posted

    I am from the US, am a female 66 years old.  I have been taking Terbinafine for 6 weeks and last Wednesday, 2/18/2015 I lost my sense of taste.  I cannot taste anything but I still have my sense of smell.  I discontinued terbinafine last week  after suspecting that it was the culprit.  I notified my doctor today and she tells me that there is nothing that I can take to speed up the process of regaining my taste.  I have read all the entries and am glad that all of you recovered so quickly but unfortunately, because of my age, I am afraid that I am going to have a longer recovery but it feels good to know that it is still possible that I may also.  There are cases of patients my age who took as long as 3 years to recover and some have never recovered.  This is frightening but I choose at this time to believe that I will recover quickly.  My problem now is that I cannot taste anything and so I have been forcing myself to eat and that is not going well.  Did you find that there was a certain type of food that helped you recover?  Maybe sour things?
    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judith,

      Horrible situation for you - I hope you recover your taste soon. I'm a week ahead of you (lost my taste 10th Feb) and I'm guessing I have some time to go. I haven't found any food or drink that tastes like it should - everything is salty. I have tried covering food in black pepper - that helps a little. I'm sure there will be others on this site who will be able to give you more information on things that might help. It is important to eat - even though there is no real pleasure in it - unless you're happy to lose some weight, but if not then try to force yourself to eat something - someone mentioned to me that they augmented their lack of food with protein shakes.

      Was your doctor surprised that this drug did this to you? It seems many doctors are 'unaware' of this particular side-effect.

      Good luck. I hope you see/ feel/ taste some improvement soon.

      Best wishes,

      John

       

    • linda06560
      linda06560 judith74960

      Posted

      I am also a 66 yearold female from the U.S.  Have you had any luck in having your taste restored.  I have been having this problem now for 2 weeks and have lost 12 pounds. Who would have ever thought that a drug would do this to a person.  I would have rather kept the toe nail fungus (wasn't that bad) than to go thru this.  I think doctors should not use this drug as first choice but try other methods. Then again I don't think doctors are really aware of the number of people this affects.  Thank you in advance for any info you have.

      Linda

       

  • judith74960
    judith74960 mirving

    Posted

    Hi John,

    Thanks for the best wishes.  I am so sorry to hear that you have this problem as well.  I have found for me that any protein is the worst tasting food of all.  My doctor was  surprised that I have this problem but she is optimistic that my taste will return before 3 months which is the average time to recover.  I sure hope that she is correct.Only a very small percentage of people who take Terbinafine have this side effect.  Actually the numbers are .6 - 2.8% suffer from this side effect.  The older you are the higher the risk.  My mother and father both took this med and neither had this side effect and they were in their 70's when they took it.  I told my doctor when she suggested it that both of my parents had taken this medication but she never told me that this was a side effect.

    Good Luck to You!!

     

    • mirving
      mirving judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judith, all to often we hear the same thing, rare side effect. Hmmm, not so sure about that. It was the worst thing ever for me. I ate the strongest curry and covered everything with pepper , not great when most food tastes of cardboard. I think 12 weeks is a good timeline to work towards. Sweet was last to come back, spice first. Keep your chin up, as John says, its a waiting game really,
    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judith,

      Thanks for your good wishes.  

      From my online research into this drug, I feel the patient advice leaflet that's included in the tablet pack (over here in the UK) understates this so-called side-effect and the number of people affected by it.

      I have posed Freedom of Information requests of our National Health Service concerning the reports on this matter. I'll post the results when I receive them. I appreciate that doesn't help the people suffering this problem now, but I believe wider knowledge of the taste loss amongst doctors will assist decision making on prescribing this drug.

      In the meantime, hopefully, the people suffering this debilitating problem will recover quickly and without too much weight loss or depression.

      Very best wishes,

      John

    • judith74960
      judith74960 john_34447

      Posted

      Hi John,

      After 2 months of taste loss, I have lost 16 lbs and have had a TIA.  The neurologist has sent me to an otolaryngologist to see if she can do anything for me and she has never heard of this problem.  She referred me to a hospital in Philadelphia that handles loss of taste.  I am going to call them to see if they can handle this problem. 

      How are you doing? Have you regained your taste?

      Judy

    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hello Judy,

      I was so sorry to hear of what's happened. The TIA must have been terribly frightening for you and your family - I hope you have fully recovered from it.

      The weight loss is a problem that I have been experiencing, too, although not at the high level you have. I feel I should be eating more, but, quite honestly, I just don't feel like it as nothing tastes as it should - certainly nothing is appetising. I thought last week that I was getting a slight flavour of some really spicy food that I was eating, but it hasn't progressed to anything tangible. Chocolate still resembles axle grease and most drinks (including my favourite, Mocha) are devoid of any real flavour.  

      My tenth week of this problem has just started and I'm hoping some dramatic improvement is going to take place soon. 

      I do hope you gain some useful help and advice from the Philadelphia hospital that your medical advisor has suggested. Perhaps, if you get time you can let me know whether the hosital is able to assist you.   

      Best wishes,

      John 

    • judith74960
      judith74960 john_34447

      Posted

      Thanks John for your response and best wishes.  I have fully recovered from the TIA and am taking medication so I don't have another one.  i will let you know if I learn anything but after my discussion with the hospital representative, I am not real confident.  They basically told me that when you lose your taste due to terbenifine that it is mostly a waiting period until it returns and that the older you are the longer it will take for a recovery.  I am not giving up.  I read an article from a woman who was prescribed steroids for this problem and that helped her recover sooner than later.  I am going to try to find someone who knows about this.

      Please keep me posted on how you are progressing.  You have been going through this 2 weeks longer than I and we are about the same age so you should get your taste back first.

      Take Care!

      judy

    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judy,

      I hope you're doing OK.

      This week I've noticed a slight improvement in my taste situation. It's not great, but it's something. There's still no sweetness in anything and chocolate is not terribly nice at all, however, yesterday we took two of our grandchildren out for pizza - I had the hottest one available and that started to register - as did the Pepsi Max that I was drinking. It wasn't right, but it wasn't horrid as it has been. I just hope my taste fully returning doesn't take too much longer. It's been around ten weeks already!

      Interestingly, I've noticed that I'm forgetting what certain foods actually should taste like. I suppose that will be resolved when my taste returns - at least I hope so.

      Best wishes,

      John

       

    • judith74960
      judith74960 john_34447

      Posted

      Hi John,

      i am so glad to hear that a portion of your taste is returning. I would love to be able to taste pizza.  Right now anything with tomato sauce is revolting.  From everything that I have been told and from the research that I have done, this is a very good sign that your taste is returning.  They say that most have a recovery in 3 months and you are close to that mark.  From what I have been told, taste returns gradually for a couple of weeks and then a full recovery.  Don't worry, I have been told that forgetting what food taste like is normal and I am going through the same thing.

      I am very happy for you and this gives me encouragement that my taste will return within the next month.  I hope so because the earliest appt. I could get with the professionals is in July.  That is way too long to wait.  I have now lost a total of 18 lbs. and if I don't stop losing weight my husband says he will have to shake the sheets to find me.  LOL

      I will be waiting for you to tell me that you are fully recovered. Chin up!  It's coming.

      Take Care!

    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judy,

      I hope you're starting to find your taste is returning.

      I'm about to go into the 13th week and I believe most of my taste has now come back - I say believe, because I'm not totally sure I can remember the original true taste of everything I'm eating (how weird is that? Lol). However, I do know chocolate and sweet things are still not back. As an example - Jill and I went to Cornwall last weekend for a few days break and, in St Ives, after I'd had my fill of art galleries we bought two massive chocolate meringues (the size of melons!). I thought the sugar content would be kill or cure for my taste buds, but, depsite the fact that Jill was telling me how incredibly sweet and delicious hers was, all I got was salt. So, a way to go on sugary things. However, I had a great mocha in a cafe on the harbourside. I couldn't get all the flavour, but it was the best I'd had since this whole horrible episode started. 

      During this last few days I've started to write again too. For the last three months I have been opening my laptop and staring at my latest book, but just couldn't get into the editing I needed to do (I think the muse left along with my taste). Actually, I haven't felt like doing much of anything (I have a wall at the side of the garage that needs rebuilding, but hadn't felt in the mood to tackle that either).

      I'm hoping now that I can get my weight back up by half a stone to where I was before and get back to the gym - (another thing I haven't felt like).  

      I really hope you are on the mend - let me know how your doing.

      Best wishes,

      John     

       

    • judith74960
      judith74960 john_34447

      Posted

      Hi John,

      I am so glad that you are on the mend.  i also am getting back most of my taste.  I lost a total of 20 lbs. and now have gained back 4 lbs.  Happy Day!  My husband, Bill, was so happy to see me eating my first meal that he started to cry.  I still cannot eat sugar either but I can taste a little chocolate. I have been told that sugar is the last to return so it shouldn't be long.

       I had a stress test on Friday and the techs were very surprised at how well I did.  I was extremely surprised because like you, I have not worked out since this began.  Today, I will start working out again.  It's amazing how food effects our lives.  I won't take it for granted again.

      I have been gardening all weekend and it sure is great to get back into life.

      Take care and let me know when sugar returns.

      Judy

      PS Have you written anything that I may have read.  I love to read.

       

    • john_34447
      john_34447 judith74960

      Posted

      Hi Judy,

      Wow that is good that your taste is almost back too - so pleased for you. I can understand totally your husband, Bill's emotion at seeing you eating a full meal again. It's confirmation that you're back on the path to good health.

      I actually stopped my gym membership when this happened - and I'm now looking around for a gym closer to home. Rebekah, one of our granddaughters (she's 22) has suggested I go bike riding with her to get me back into the swing of exercising - I might take her up on it.  

      As for my writing, I write thrillers with a slightly supernatural edge. The Messenger is about a special services soldier who is plagued by visions of war dead. He's told he's suffering PTSD, but believes what he's seeing is real and becomes emroilled in a fight to stop the US and Iran going to war. 

      I don't know if they will allow me to put links on here, but I'll send a second post  with my email address and see if that gets through. I'll give you the amazon link for The Messenger and tell you about my current book via that.

      Take care,

      John 

        

        

       

    • john_34447
      john_34447

      Posted

      Hi Judy,

      My email is _______   -- hopefully you'll see this if it's allowed on the site.

      John 

      Emis Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. I have also deleted the other post trying to get round moderation. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

      http://patient.uservoice.com/knowledgebase/articles/398331-private-messages

    • john_34447
      john_34447

      Posted

      Hi Moderator,

      Thanks for the private message info - hadn't thought of that.

      Cheers,

      John.

       

    • nancy64374
      nancy64374 john_34447

      Posted

      I lost my taste two weeks ago. Quit taking meds last Wednesday, less than a week. It sounds like I still have quite a while before I can Taste again. I took terbinafine for about 6 weeks.
    • rob87282
      rob87282 nancy64374

      Posted

      Hi don't worry it took about ten weeks for my taste to return I had also taken the medication for about six weeks.

    • dee93947
      dee93947 rob87282

      Posted

      Hello Rob and everyone else on this thread:

      I'm just adding myself to the list of "victims" of taste loss from taking Lamsili (terbinafine) 250 mg. I also quit the same day I discovered I had lost my sense of taste, which was five weeks into taking the medication. I'm mainly relying on fruit/vegetable smoothies and Ensure/Boost chocolate shakes to get by. I can taste them a little but I'm mainly able to drink them because of the texture and temperature. I can also eat chicken noodle soup and certain hot teas such as the lemon zinger that is used with the Krups coffee/tea maker.  But I have a lot of trouble eating whole foods. I'm trying to take small bites when I try something and have a liquid nearby.  My main concern is that I'm 56 years old and I fear that I'm getting depressed over this. I'm worried about the length of time it may take me to recover, losing too much weight and/or becoming nutritionally deficient. If anyone can offer additional tips as far as what found they could eat/drink while they waited for their taste to return or encouragement in regards to the length of time it took to recover, I would love to hear from you.  I have reported this experience to several doctors and pharmacists and have yet to find any other local patients to speak to about it.  It's one of the most difficult health challenges I've faced.  

    • dee93947
      dee93947

      Posted

      I forgot to mention that I'm only two weeks into the process!  I stopped taking the drug last Monday, April 24th, 2017.

    • rob87282
      rob87282 dee93947

      Posted

      Hi Dee try not to worry I'm 55 and it took about eight weeks for my taste to return to normal.Its a very slow process but believe me your taste will return to normal.

    • marlene88784
      marlene88784 dee93947

      Posted

      Hi Dee

      I just saw the recent posts on terbinafine. That was 2 years ago for me. Thankfully taste does return, but I'll never forget that horrible experience of losing my taste while taking it. It does amaze me that many Dr's appear to 'remain in the dark' as to this drugs adverse effects!!

      Hoping that your taste returns soon! I still have nail issues, but will never

      again take terbinafine.

      From all posts I've read, we all regained our taste and appetites. I was 63 when I took it... took around 7 weeks to get back to enjoying eating.

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