My DH says everything tastes funny or smells funny.He also says something is wrong with our towns water supply and thinks that is the reason.We had it tested and they said it was all right.I never thought it wasn't okay.
For many people (my husband included) AD starts in an area in the brain called the olfactory bulb. (I think it's right behind the eyes.) That's the area that controls smell, and of course, taste is influenced a lot by the sense of smell. Steve's earliest symptom--years before his short-term memory issues became apparent--was that he "couldn't taste anything". I was quite distressed when I Googled "loss of sense of smell" and one of the causes was AD. Turned out that was it. Ann, I think there are prior threads on this issue.
MarilyninMD, my husband lost of sense of smell many many years b-4 being DX with FTD/AD. He is now complaining that things "don't taste right". Despite this he has a huge craving for sweets especially ice cream. I wonder if the sweets they crave block out this "funny taste"? Just wondering because this seems to be a common denomitor with FTD.
My husband always complained that food tasted bland (no matter how much spice I added). It soon became apparent to me, that he could only really taste salt and sugar. Ice cold was good for him also. Loved ice cream. He was also hooked on the goldfish crackers. At that point in his life I gave him anything he wanted.
My Jim is the mayo man. Mayo on everything -- soup, bread,veggies -- it's the combo of sweet and salt and fat I guess. But mostly he wants sweets. Makes it tough because he is also diabetic. I try to limit the sweets but my heart isn't in it. It is one of his few pleasures and even if it adds to his illness at least I don't feel like I'm taking happiness from him.
The other day he refused to eat jam, saying it tasted off. My jaw dropped on the floor. But today he was loving it again. Loves ice cream, too and can't smell anything.
My Dh lost his sense of smell early on. He also developed the fondness for sweets.
You should check your DH’s oral hygiene, though. My DH had not been to have his teeth cleaned in years and years. I got tired of urging him to make an appointment and I finally just had the dentist call him. He was furious with me, “How dare you!” blah blah blah… He sheepishly apologized when he looked at his reminder card that he kept on his desk and saw that it was 5 years old. Anyway, turns out his oral care was so bad that they couldn’t clean his teeth (sent him home to use a water pick and return later); he was well on his way to gum disease. If your DH got a small piece of onion or garlic caught between teeth that could cause a funny taste and smell.
Despite brushing his teeth were a mess. He thought his teeth were great and that dentists never found a problem. I got him to a dentist after moving him closer to me and it took 2 visits to clean his teeth. Even when seeing the dentist more than twice a year teeth cleaning was a major task. I bought my father an electric tooth brush, that didn't seem to help. But I wonder how well he cleaned his teeth, every time I visited him (usually weekly) his toothbrush would be caked with toothpaste.