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Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

wsj.com

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Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#91

Post by alasdair_ »

philliphaydon wrote: post #71
bashinator wrote: post #9

I lost my sense of taste a few years ago, from a combination of extreme stress and the flu. Lasted about a week, and it was utterly terrifying. I first noticed it when I tried to eat, iirc scrambled eggs, and couldn't stop gagging on the texture. Once I figured out what was going on, it took a couple days to figure out what I could eat without retching. I ended up being entirely vegetarian - meat without taste is a h…

About 5 years ago I got a cold or flu while travelling. I flew home (3 hour flight) when my head was at its worst, eyes wouldn't stop watering, blocked up nose, sore throat. When we came into land my left ear didn't pop and I went completely deaf in my left ear. I was so freaked out by it. If I snapped my fingers next to my left ear I couldn't hear it at all. Doctor told me to not worry, it will come back, asked me t…

> About 5 years ago I got a cold or flu while travelling. I flew home (3 hour flight) when my head was at its worst, eyes wouldn't stop watering, blocked up nose, sore throat.

Just a polite reminder to people to please stop doing this. The flu kills people. Stay out of aircraft if you have it, please.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#92

Post by billpollock »

john_alan wrote: post #84
billpollock wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lost most of my sense of smell a few years ago. I've lost much of my ability to differentiate tastes as well. As a former supertaster, lover of bourbon (I used to be able to tell my bourbons apart by smell), serious cook, and total foodie this has been the most depressing experience in my life. Think about the experience that you have when you walk from one room to another, or into a field of flowers. I can't smell…

So so sorry. You really articulate how hard this is on you. How did you end up Losing it?

The thought is a virus or bacterial infection years ago. My understanding is that both can destroy the nerves in the sinuses that allow us to smell.

Monell is one group that studies anosmia. There is as yet no known cure.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#93

Post by disillusioned »

I had Covid-19 (confirmed antibodies test, wife had confirmed PCR) in early March. Lost my sense of smell and taste _completely_, almost immediately. I've lost some smell before with bad allergies or a congested nose. This was otherworldly: no smell, at all. Not solvents. Not strong fragrances. Nothing. And this, with a perfectly clear nose. It freaked me out.

It lasted for about 2.5 weeks. Around week 3, it started to very, very slowly come back. I went from literally 0.0% to about 10%-15%. I could smell traces of things if I inhaled very deeply. I was super paranoid it was gone forever. I can't tell you how joyless eating becomes when you have ZERO sense of taste or smell.

Finally, around the end of week 4, I was probably close to 75%. I'm _finally_ back to 100% today. This virus sucks.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#94

Post by asdf21 »

ttul wrote: post #72
Mikeb85 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I had it. Literally every symptom except loss of taste and smell (but had some other rarer symptoms like the pink eye thing). Also had a cough for like a month, and loss of energy and breath for about a month and a half. Only just recently feel 100%. While it was shitty and lingered a while the worst of it wasn't actually that much worse than a flu for me. Somewhere between the flu and bronchitis on the scale o…

I had the worst cold I've experienced in a decade or more. Absolute loss of energy. Terrible aches; temperature all over the place. This was followed by two months of bronchitis that is still ongoing and failed to respond to two different kinds of antibiotics (the implication being that it's not bacterial). I never got tested because testing was not easy to get in early March; serologies aren't being done yet where I…

Yeah, probably.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#95

Post by thombat »

disillusioned wrote: post #93

I had Covid-19 (confirmed antibodies test, wife had confirmed PCR) in early March. Lost my sense of smell and taste _completely_, almost immediately. I've lost some smell before with bad allergies or a congested nose. This was otherworldly: no smell, at all. Not solvents. Not strong fragrances. Nothing. And this, with a perfectly clear nose. It freaked me out. It lasted for about 2.5 weeks. Around week 3, it started…

Very interesting description, since the early casual discussions of this symptom assumed that it was simply mechanical ('flu symptoms, inflamed mucous membranes, stuffed nose, of course they can't smell). Later I saw it described as a neurological issue and so potentially being a lot more serious, which your experience seems to support.

Other than the concomitant anxiety and stress ("freaked me out") did you notice other neurological symptoms?

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#96

Post by jmnicolas »

bashinator wrote: post #9

I lost my sense of taste a few years ago, from a combination of extreme stress and the flu. Lasted about a week, and it was utterly terrifying. I first noticed it when I tried to eat, iirc scrambled eggs, and couldn't stop gagging on the texture. Once I figured out what was going on, it took a couple days to figure out what I could eat without retching. I ended up being entirely vegetarian - meat without taste is a h…

FWIW critical lack of zinc is associated with loss of smell and taste. Apparently the body consumes a lot of zinc to fight viruses. You might benefit of supplementing for while.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#97

Post by bmikaili »

bashinator wrote: post #9

I lost my sense of taste a few years ago, from a combination of extreme stress and the flu. Lasted about a week, and it was utterly terrifying. I first noticed it when I tried to eat, iirc scrambled eggs, and couldn't stop gagging on the texture. Once I figured out what was going on, it took a couple days to figure out what I could eat without retching. I ended up being entirely vegetarian - meat without taste is a h…

Imagine thinking only animal products have taste. Try that steak without any sauce or seasoning.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#98

Post by jpxw »

protomyth wrote: post #57
kibwen wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious, my partner is also extremely texture-sensitive and has not been able to stand eating eggs or meat for as long as they can remember, but can definitely sense smell and taste. I wonder if there's some interesting connection there.

I know a few people that really have an adverse reaction to oatmeal. The texture makes them nauseous.

This is likely because the consistency is somewhat like the consistency of vomit.

I like oatmeal (or porridge as it’s called here), but I can understand why people wouldn’t.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#99

Post by humanrebar »

bmikaili wrote: post #97
bashinator wrote: post #9

I lost my sense of taste a few years ago, from a combination of extreme stress and the flu. Lasted about a week, and it was utterly terrifying. I first noticed it when I tried to eat, iirc scrambled eggs, and couldn't stop gagging on the texture. Once I figured out what was going on, it took a couple days to figure out what I could eat without retching. I ended up being entirely vegetarian - meat without taste is a h…

Imagine thinking only animal products have taste. Try that steak without any sauce or seasoning.

That's an odd standard. I don't like carrots without salt either.

Re: Some coronavirus patients haven't gotten their senses of smell or taste back yet

#100

Post by bryanrasmussen »

self_awareness wrote: post #73
jliptzin wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does toothpaste burn your tongue

Yes, ceedan says that somewhere in the world there is a toothpaste that if you use it, it will burn up your tongue and you will loose your sense of taste... yet doesn't provide the name of the toothpaste. WHY?

I actually read it not as:

Toothpaste burned my tongue, therefore I lost my sense of taste.

but as:

I lost my sense of taste, therefore toothpaste burned my tongue.

which might not make so much sense as an affect of the losing taste, but does explain why they don't name the toothpaste.

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