Hi Anne!

We all understand you fear and depression. This condition is a lonely
one because hardly anyone...especially doctors...understand how
devastating it is. The only except is those of us who have had it.

So, know that this is a great place for asking ANY question! This is
an incredible support group.

Franni


--- In dysosmia@yahoogroups.com, "annegian" <annegian@...> wrote:
>
> 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
>