A steroid shot wrecked my sense of taste - will it likely come back?

October 29, 2023 4:44 PM

I have had a number of steroid shots in my life with no side effects. Five weeks ago I received a steroid shot in my shoulder due to persistent pain. The next day I found that my sense of taste had drastically changed for the worse. I can still recognize foods, but the tastes are odd and muted, and there is a chemical/metallic overtaste to everything.

It hasn't gotten any better in the five weeks since the shot. I found one internet comment that this steroid shot/taste alteration is a known interaction, and that taste sometimes reverts to normal after weeks or months. Have you experienced something similar? Did your normal sense of taste return, and, if so, how long did it take?

posted by Jackson to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

You don't say, so I have to ask: have you tested for Covid?
posted by cooker girl at 5:04 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yes, I'm Covid free.
posted by Jackson at 5:40 PM on October 29, 2023

Response by poster: What I should have said is that I tested negative for Covid the day after I got the steroid shot, since there has been much written about Covid affecting senses of taste and smell. Tested negative.
posted by Jackson at 5:50 PM on October 29, 2023

Oral steroids mess with my sense of taste but usually only during ourse of treatment if I'm lucky and a and a few days after if I'm not. Injections tend not to impact me as much but there is a data point that it sometimes can happen.

Edited for clarity
posted by AlexiaSky at 6:11 PM on October 29, 2023