Posted on 06/27/2022 11:11:37 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The antiviral treatment for COVID left a monstrous taste in my mouth. Cinnamon candies were my savior.
If you know anyone who’s taken Paxlovid, a popular prescription treatment for COVID-19, you’ve probably heard talk of an awful side effect: the Paxlovid aftertaste. But “awful” is an understatement. And, really, so is “aftertaste,” because it’s not just a bad flavor that lingers on your tongue for a few minutes after swallowing a pill—it’s a disgusting, invisible monster that occupies your entire mouth for five straight days.
Paxlovid is an antiviral treatment in the form of a five-day pill pack, and though it comes with the unfortunate mouth monster, I’m still strongly pro. In December, Paxlovid was authorized for emergency use by the FDA for mild to moderate cases of COVID, and it’s recently become more widely available. While it won’t cure COVID, it can make symptoms less severe, and in clinical studies it drastically reduced hospitalization rates.
Other than the possibility of what the CDC calls “COVID-19 Rebound” (symptoms reappearing after completing the Paxlovid course), the most common side effects include an altered sense of taste, digestive issues, high blood pressure, and muscle aches. Those are all preferable to many of the COVID horror stories I’d heard and read, so when I finally tested positive a few days after my unvaccinated toddler picked up the virus from daycare, I texted my husband a picture of my positive test with an impressive series of expletives. Then I called my doctor to request Paxlovid.
The COVID symptoms started to hit me hard right around the time my mother-in-law dropped my prescription on my front porch, so I immediately popped the first three-pill dose. It certainly wasn’t good—similar to an uncoated aspirin but more bitter—and washing it down with a lemon LaCroix only intensified the bitterness. I didn’t think much of it, though, figuring the flavor would fade quickly. Instead it morphed into something worse. So much worse. Others have described it as “metallic grapefruit” and I guess that’s accurate if you also throw in notes of “dry dog food” and “over-stuffed dumpster on a hot summer day.”
I chugged water to try and wash away whatever was happening in my mouth and went about the business of trying to remain upright until I could put my kids to bed and take up semi-permanent residence on the couch. But the horrendous taste remained, no matter what I ate or how much water I drank or how many times I brushed my teeth or even used my favorite magic mouthwash. At some point I stumbled into the kitchen to take my second Paxlovid dose of the day (which was just as foul as the first) and went to bed. I fell asleep right away, but the taste was so horrid that it woke me up in the middle of the night. Twice.
By the next morning the fever and chills had passed and my short-lived cough was gone, too. Thanks to modern medicine, after one night’s sleep I had gone from feeling like death to feeling like I had a bad cold. But notes of death remained in my mouth. Sure, I was fatigued and had a dull headache, mild muscle pain, and a constantly runny nose, but I hardly noticed any of that because my senses were completely overwhelmed by the putrid, bitter taste of Paxlovid. And I still had four more days to go. It was so unbearable that I—a person who lives to eat and writes about food and cooking—began to wish for the variety of COVID that would make me lose my sense of taste and smell.
I started desperately searching for remedies for Paxlovid Mouth and eventually found a thread (I think on Reddit but I can’t be sure; COVID brain fog is real) where someone claimed the only thing that helped mask the Paxlovid taste in their mouth was cinnamon candy. Cinnamon happens to be my favorite kind of candy, so I asked my husband to pick some up.
Image may contain: Confectionery, Food, Sweets, Brochure, Paper, Advertisement, Flyer, Poster, and Candy Red Hots Cinnamon Candy $14.88 AT AMAZON (12-PACK) The 7-Eleven generic Red Hots he bought actually worked—as long as I constantly had one in my mouth. By the time I finished off two big bags, my husband had tested positive for COVID too, so when a friend texted asking what they could drop off on our porch, I replied, “BRING ME ALL THE CINNAMON CANDY, PLEASE!” It was the absolute best thing anyone could have done for me.
The day after I finished the meds, most of my symptoms were gone, and so was the aftertaste—although some report their Paxlovid Mouth lingering even after they’ve finished their regimen. But I’m not sure I would have been able to finish the pill pack without that cinnamon candy. So if you happen to be picking up a Paxlovid prescription for a friend or family member, be sure to grab a few boxes of cinnamon candy or gum while you’re at it. Better yet, stockpile some now just in case you take the antiviral drug later. Even if you get lucky and don’t end up needing Paxlovid, you’ll still have a stash of cinnamon candy—and that’s never a bad thing.
So true - but it is an awesome drug - I was feeling better in two days. For those that don’t know, it prevents Covid from replicating. So your anti-bodies build up and destroy the Covid before it can spread all over your body.
Not taking any form of covid treatment.Dont wear a mask either.
Most people I know who have had covid this year started
feeling better after 2-3 days, without Paxlovid. It was recommended to a relative by a doctor not to eat sugar when
they had covid. No sugar, no carbs. Sugar can cause inflammation, so that makes sense.
Same here. Will not wear mask or prescription. What happened to the flu. Amazing how nobody gets that anymore
Without meds I gelt better in 2 days. That second day was really bad, but then again I have only had a cold twice and never the flu until this monster was created.
Jolly ranchers are used by chemo patients for bad tasting therapy.
I guess those with diabetes are just going to have to forego this advice since the sugar in the candy would blow their glucose control of the chart.
so is ivermectin. cleared me up in 48hrs
Stops covid from replicating... So, it is just like ivermectin, but expensive.
Thanks to modern medicine, after one night’s sleep I had gone from feeling like death to feeling like I had a bad cold.
She wants and needs to believe she dodged a bullet. How serious is Covid for her age group in the first place? She describes picking up Covid fromnher “unvaccinated”toddler. Yeah a vaxxed toddler couldn’t have picked up and passed Covid…oh wait.
“so is ivermectin. cleared me up in 48hrs”
Ditto.
Hydroxychloroquine plus Zinc also works by stopping viral replication, but there is no aftertaste.
I was prescribed an antiviral that was created 10 yrs ago - not sure I would trust anything from pfizer.
VERY minimal covid issues. Aches, weakness, slept much of the time. NO aftertaste or any other issues.
I don’t know if I actually had the coof, but during the Omicron peak, I woke up with a significant sore throat but no fever. In my case, a sore throat always precedes a cold which would develop over the next week or so.
It receded, but I felt lousy all day. The next day, I still felt lousy, so I took a dose of Ivermectin. Within a couple of hours, I felt great, with no more symptoms of whatever it was that I had.
No nasty taste in my mouth, but Altoids cinnamon candy would be my choice if I did!
My “horse paste” only leaves a after taste for about 10 seconds...
At 83yo they put me Plaxovid I didn’t have any concerns as stated in this piece I didn’t think it helped that much as I coughed so hard for days at one point I thought I was going break a couple of ribs. Doctor cleared me saying 10 days without a fever I’m good to go, that will be tomorrow.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.