I can no longer taste right and it sucks

Around the spring of 2025 I had what might have been covid (again). Since then, my ability to taste and has been mainly zero.

Back some 20+ years ago I had surgery which damaged a nerve in my face, that took away much of my taste too but I learnt to taste again, mainly through my nose (I didn't know the the nose had tastebuds either) but, this year, it's not got better.

I guess having two expensive all inclusive vacations wasn't the best idea given the circumstances.

Now and then I think I taste something else, I taste what feels like the memory of something and, quite often, I taste what I smell and that's bizarre if it isn't what I am eating.

I'm awaiting a call from the doctor just now but, this could be me and I don't like it.

This has made food unpleasant. I now struggle with the whole concept of it. If I smell something nice and see it, the reality is, I cannot taste it. This makes me socially incapable of food related conversation. It also makes it seem insulting when I have to ask someone to describe what the tastes should be.

I might try and discover something I can sort of taste and stick to that for every meal!

If I do taste something it's often the least pleasant ingredient of a meal like the fat or oil. Let me tell you, a Cornish Pasty and Pork Pie is totally disgusting to me now.

I cannot taste roast potatoes. Salmon now taste overly fishy and oily. THese were my favourite foods These I either cannot taste now or else, they taste horrible:

The Pork pie, I used to love one as a treat, all I get now is 'lard'

Shepherd's Pie, another favourite and I taste, perhaps, metallic tomatoes

Salmon taste too oily and too fishy now, I use to love the subtle flavour

Roast Potatoes, my life long go to comfort food, I now taste the oil it's cooked and and that's it.

Eggs I used to love, now they make me want to puke

Marmite on toast. I actually taste the Marmite only and then cannot get the taste out of my system for days.

The horrible metallic taste I get now and then. Could be my teeth but, I only experienced this recently so, a bit of a red herring for the taste loss.

A lot of perfectly non spicy food make me feel really hot and sometimes I sweat. This too has coincided with the loss of taste so, for months then.

Pork Adobo, one of my great comfort foods for the last decade now is totally disgusting to me. Do you know how upsetting that is?

You see, in fact, my life now, usually enriched by the taste of some many different flavours has become dull and boring. These two holidays this year, both all inclusive, had some amazing looking options, most of which I couldn't manage more than a few bites before they became inedible.

Can you imagine a wonderful food choice laid out before and discover, it either has no taste or, tastes disgusting?

In Spain I managed with just eating salad, the taste of that is all but gone now. Recently in france I could see so much wonderful looking food and, I just couldn't eat it. I am constantly hungry and eat now just because I should.

One of the buffet options at Disneyland Paris

I am writing this because, I have time to kill. This appointment over the phone with a doctor is any time from 1pm until they go home, whenever that might be. I desperately need to sleep but, I have to force myself to stay awake and so, here we are. What food would you miss if you lost your ability to taste?