I would take zinc if I were in your situation. I take it now actually, for immune system. The thought of losing my sense of taste and smell is as scary to me as not being able to walk! Zinc is supposed to help prevent loss of smell and taste and may help with the metallic taste you've had. Worth a try.

ColleenDonnelly I don’t remember having issues after my harvest But after my chemo Nothing tasted right for weeks I can’t remember how long it lasted but I do know it felt like forever. I got a very sore mouth also Good luck hope this gets better soon Emma

Colleen, When you harvest cells it is dehydrating and you should be drinking extra fluids. Having a dry mouth you can have chemicals seep into the tissues and you can taste it. I didn’t have that problem after my harvest but did have it after m6 SCT. Please talk with your doctor it could be something else entirely. It doesn’t hurt though, in the meantime, please drink extra fluids. Love, Marcia 🌸

Hi Colleen, I had lots of bone pain and did have a weird taste in my mouth during harvest, kind of like a metallic taste and food just tasted gross. I drank lots of water, took Claritin and walked as much as I could, up to 5 miles during harvest and btw 1-2 miles a day after transplant. I also did a lot a meditation which helped me with the pain.
Wendyn, I didn’t change my bandages myself. I had to go the day after the cath was out in my chest, and then every week after that. I only flushed and changed the caps at home. I did have a nasty experience when I had one of the nurses flushed my cath. Evidently the saline hit a nerve near the aorta and really messed me up. I wound up in the ER because I seriously thought I was having heart failure. Turns out this can be a normal reaction if the flush hits that nerve so no harm done, just a big scare. I found that flushing at home was just more convenient for me than going to the hospital every day as I was outpatient for my SCT. I would talk to your doctors about every little symptom you are feeling. All questions are valid and they have a lot of experience and have probably seen something similar to what you are experiencing.
Good luck to you both and please keep us posted!

I had no weird taste or smell after harvesting, but I did after transplant, which was due to the preservative they use in the harvested cells. Claritin helped me with cramps I had from neupogen prior to harvest.

Three things helped me get through the whole process with a minimum of ill effects: I drank LOTS of water, I walked at least a mile a day and also climbed stairs, and I took sntinausesnts proactively.