Hi Anne, check out my FAQ at http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/ViralMick.htm

It will relate to you I think.

Mick

> ----------
> From: dysosmia@yahoogroups.com on behalf of annegian
> Reply To: dysosmia@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2008 3:51 PM
> To: dysosmia@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [dysosmia] New member introduction
>
> So I'm not crazy. It's good to know.
>
> My story. About a year ago, I had a terrible cold including such a stuffed up
head I
> couldn't breathe. After about 5 days of being unable to pull any air through
my nose, I
> went through 5-7 days of having absolutely no sense of smell or taste - nada -
zip. As the
> senses came back, I noticed two things: Coffee smelled funny (and slight
difference in
> taste) and my sugar-free, caffeine-free diet Coke tasted mildly of mold. I
more or less
> lived with it and never really questioned it.
>
> About 8-10 weeks ago, my symptoms started to compound. It started one day in
the work
> cafeteria. I noticed a very unpleasant odor - never smelled it before - a
chemically smell
> with a slight undertone of ammonia. Then I noticed all my t-shirts smelled
funny. Then I
> noticed the dishwasher had the same odd aroma. Again I didn't really think
much about it.
> I've always had a keen sense of smell which my husband does not have. I asked
him and
> he didn't smell anything. Then I noticed that my bath wash smelled funny (a
different,
> sweet but unpleasant smell). Then I noticed that my hand wash had that odd
cloying smell.
>
> I started to complain more about it to my husband - asking him to smell things
for me.
> But still didn't put it all together.
>
> Then this week I had the "Oh &#*# - something is very wrong here". Stopped at
Starbucks,
> my husband bought a donut and I took one bite and the taste of that bad smell
just filled
> my mouth - I had to spit it out. A donut for crimeny sakes!! Then I tried the
tiniest crumb.
> Same thing. Now I know something is very wrong. I googled "olfactory
halluncinations"
> and here I am. Last night, at a Mexican restaurant, I found out that cilantro
tastes like
> glazed donut!! Wow - what a new world this is ;-)
>
> Spoke to my brother (an MD but not ENT specialist) last night and he suggested
that a
> virus could have damaged my nerve. The increase in abnormal smells and tastes
might
> suggest the nerves are trying to regenerate. But either way, I'm calling my
doctor today.
>
> What scares me is whether this may be permanent. It's like a time bomb. What
will I put in
> my mouth next that will taste so horrible I'll be spitting it out... in a
restaurant. Out last
> night, as I passed various restaurants in an outdoor shopping mall, the smell
was
> overwhelming. I felt like an idiot having to cover my nose with my hands.
Ordered my
> dinner and ended up eating rice - everything else has "essence of cilantro" in
it. Cilantro -
> one of my most favorite foods. No more Mexican for me.
>
> All my clothes stink. Most of my soaps and shampoos either stink or don't
smell the way
> they did. I'm a person who uses smell as one of my primary purchase drivers. I
buy things
> that smell nice. Now I only smell this horrible stench. I have those lovely
reed diffusers in
> almost every room. I now realize they've "turned" on me.
>
> Anyway, glad to find I'm not crazy, but if this is permanent, I'm not sure
I'll be able to
> survive it. Not sure if I'd rather have lost my sense of smell - but as my
world closes down,
> it's very depressing.
>
> Joining this group to get advice and look for similarities in cases - and
hopefully to read
> about stories of recovery. I have to have something to hold on to.
>
> Cheers,
> anne
>
>
>
>
>

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