COVID-induced Parosmia

 It's always something weird, aint it?

Parosmia, Anosmia, Dysgeusia, Ageusia and Parageusia. 

Unfortunately, I've got them all. 

Basically... I have at one point not been able to smell or taste anything. Then for weeks, everything smelled and tasted absolutely, mind-boggling GROSSE. And over the past few days, I'm back to the lack of smell or taste, with just a few smells - some normal, some weird, but not horrible.

I'm not alone. I've found a few support groups on Facebook filled with 20 thousand plus people. I just don't find the groups to be much support - more of a place to whine and bitch. It was helpful for me at first, just to hear other's experiences and learn that I was not going through this on my own. 

I've seen my Ear, Nose & Throat Dr to see if there was anything that I could do to help myself heal quicker.  She said that my sinuses were pretty swollen and put me on 15 days of steroids, ordered a CT of my sinuses, ordered allergy bloodwork, told me to a start an allergy nasal spray and encouraged me to start "Smell Therapy".  I go back for a follow up after 1 month. I also started myself on Zinc daily.   My dermatologist explained that COVID attacks only the sweet and salty nerves, not bitter and sour. He said that he was not surprised bu the fact that I am eating ice like it is going out of style and that my Hgb levels are fine. He said that it is similar to Chemotherapy patients - they also crave ice and have anomalies with their taste and smell. So, I have stopped bombarding my body with Iron pills.

Our entire family (except Jennibelle) picked up COVID starting on March 8. Each week another one of us got sick. We all had very different symptoms.  Jason was first to get sick (from our only wrestling tournament). COVID went straight to his lungs. He coughed and wheezed for 3-4 weeks straight despite being on multiple inhalers and steroids. He had intermittent fevers and lost his taste for a few days. I got it next and slept for 8 or 9 days straight, I had occasional headaches and my skin itched horribly for 2 days straight. I remember being pretty dizzy sometimes, but I also wasn't eating- just sleeping. I lost my taste on day 3 I think and it was gone for weeks. Jimmy complained of a sore throat for approximately 3 hours so we got him tested and sure enough, he was positive. Jaylee had been living at my parents, trying to stay from our germs. But after they picked it up from Mandy's family, she moved home and started with symptoms the next day- Mandy's family had come to have dinner with them 4 nights prior, so she was already exposed and just waiting to get sick. She was sick for about 2 weeks -never very ill, but never very healthy. Occasional body aches, fever, headache, malaise. Jack was rolling around the ground complaining of a horrible headache one night so I knew he had caught the bug. Luckily, that was the only night he was in terrible pain. He was actually asking to go to the ER. However, he then had daily headaches for over a month. Luckily, he never got a fever and his kidneys did beautifully. Jennibelle was probably tested 10 times and they were all negative. She never had any symptoms. She may need to be studied by the government! 

After 2 months, I remember my taste starting to come back a little bit but everything was really dull. Then one random day around May 25th, everything suddenly tasted like chemicals. A few days later, things started to taste and smell like rotten human flesh or feces. Luckily, not everything- just most foods. Even my toothpaste was nasty, luckily I could get through it. I could not get through eating any sort of meat or cheese though- or chocolate, yuck! I could stomach ice cream because it was tasteless, so I ate it daily, to get protein. The worst of it lasted appx 1 month. I mostly can't smell or taste anything right now. I can taste lemonade, but it is tart, not sweet. And I tasted and loved a fried pickle the other night - it tasted just like it should, and I loved it, even though I don't even like dill pickles!!  Parties have been fun because I can down my drinks without even grimacing:)You literally could give me a mixed drink and I wouldn't know- until I felt it. 

I do find this interesting... somewhere in the middle of all this... I'd say early May, I took the boys to Isaac's deli and ordered a hot hand/cheese sandwich and their potato salad. I tasted both- exactly the way I knew they tasted. I was SO EXCITED.  At dinner that night, nothing I made tasted like it should and I was a little disappointed - a lot disappointed. So... I went back to Isaac's with Jennibelle 1 week later and ordered the same items. That was my very first experience with the rotten flesh taste. I almost vomited at the table. I discreetly spit it into my napkin. I was so confused. Then on the way home, I said "Jenni... what is that smell I smell? THAT is what my sandwich tasted like to me!!"  She looked at me in total disgust.  It was SKUNK! To me it was a sweet, nasty smell... I would have never guessed skunk. 

I wouldn't wish this on anyone else. Apparently, the smell therapy is helping to reprogram my brain remember what smells are. At this point, I think that TIME is the only thing that is going to fix this- IF it gets fixed. Unfortunately, I have heard from many people, that theirs eventually fixes itself until they get sick with a cold, and then they are right back to where they started - NO!!!!!

Update… August 7, 2021…

Smells are less offensive to me now, but I certainly don’t smell what everyone else smells. My taste is still screwy too- I haven’t found anything yet, that tastes good:( 

This week, I added a new symptom: my tongue is pale/white. It’s not thrush. There’s nothing to scrape off. It’s not sore or swollen. Just white.  I googled a bunch of stuff and apparently there is a Dx. of “Covid Tongue”! About 6 weeks ago, I also had painful sensation on my tongue that I had burnt it badly- but couldn’t ever remember actually burning it. It last 10/14 days or so. I didn’t think anything of it, until I was researching my new, white tongue. The painful patches are referred to as “geographic tongue” and are another s/s of COVID. 

This virus sucks. 

Update January 6, 2022… my smell is starting to come back as smelling things normally!!!  Woohoo:) my taste is coming along nicely too. I still can’t stand chocolate, peanut butter, Coke or ice cream. I was able to enjoy Christmas dinner though. On Thanksgiving my taste hasn’t returned much yet.