who had fluid retention go away on Lyrica or Neurontin. It is a given for the
drugs. Some have extreme effects..some less so. But there is always some.

Sodium is the most plentiful mineral in food. You can't avoid it.
But avoiding artificially high items like salt bagels, pickles, and canned soups,
is basically what the low sodium diet is geared for. Not salting food is another way to avoid high sodium. But there is substantial sodium in all dairy products.
This is because milk to the young animal from the mother, is vital. So dairy has sodium.

No doctor expects you to go below 2 grams a day.

You might want to give Alan a zinc supplement. OptiZinc is the best one out there and not expensive. Low zinc levels usually cause taste/smell perversion.
Low zinc also affects HEALING and zinc therapy is a cornerstone for wound management. So with both taste problems and a poorly healing wound...zinc would be a good idea for Alan! I would start at one a day. Bring this up with the doctor...if he wants a higher dose, he can recommend that.