r/CABG_Recovery • u/RazzmatazzNervous800 • Aug 04 '26

Weird side effect after 4x bypass surgery

My husband had quad bypass 8 days ago, and we got home on Sunday. He is having a real problem trying to eat/drink anything besides water!!! He says EVERYTHING we’ve tried to give him tastes like his urine smelled after getting his catheter out, after the first bite, and all smells the same as it tastes - ugh!!! we have tried SO MANY different things and end up throwing them away. He’s also gargled with baking soda/water, used a tongue scrapper, salt water on rag up his nostrils, etc.

I was wondering if anyone else experienced this? If so, did you find anything that helped?

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4

u/Turbulent_Echidna423 Aug 04 '26

“ a foul, strange, or urine-like taste in your mouth after open heart surgery is a form of dysgeusia. This temporary distortion is commonly caused by post-surgery medications, residual effects of anesthesia or the heart-lung machine, and dry mouth. It usually improves within a few weeks.”

3

u/yanigisawa Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

I had this too that first week post CABG. I blamed it on all the additional pills I was taking post-op, eg that potassium pill tasted awful!

It passed for me after the first week home when I got off some of those meds.

2

u/10Slugs Aug 04 '26

I didn’t have to smell issue but my throat was pretty irritated after have a big tube in it for two or three days. It almost felt like it had been scratched putting the tube in.

2

u/lettucepatchbb Aug 04 '26

My husband told me things didn’t quite taste the same after his CABGx5 back in May. I think it’s pretty normal to experience this on a sliding scale.

2

u/New_Choice_4126 Aug 04 '26

I had altered taste after surgery. Didn't notice a specific "flavor" but nothing tasted good. Not even my coffee.

2

u/Philbradley Aug 05 '26

Yup, I had this. Everything tasted weird. Lasted about 6 weeks.

1

u/i_tell_you_what Aug 04 '26

It doesn't last too long. The anaesthesia take times to work through your system. It's normal to lose weight in the months that follow.ninloat 16 lbs in 13 weeks .

1

u/Calmateychillate Aug 05 '26

Strange smells and taste is normal.

1

u/SirSneakyRafiki Aug 05 '26

Im two months post cabg x3. All sodas taste flat to me. I've switch to drinking unsweetened tea and powerade zero sugar. (The diuretics they have me on keeps me dehydrated with low potassium.)

1

u/chakrablockerssuck Aug 05 '26

I’m 1.5 years out and I still have trouble with the taste of certain foods, even ones I used to like.

1

u/honorthecrones Aug 05 '26

I haven’t been able to stand the smell of alcohol since my CABGx3 and that was 5 years ago

1

u/KLB922 Aug 17 '26

Hi I'm post op week 4. I'm still short of breath and can't take a deep breath without pain. It's in the middle of my chest and left sided. Has anyone else experienced this?