Okay now I finally have time to answer. It's been a busy day today with just odds and ends and crazy to say but now I have to put in my retainer before I do errands otherwise I am so miserable...Luckily one of my retainers is clear so no one can really tell I have it in but it still affects my speech a little so I only wear it when I don't have to talk to anyone I know or I am not in a social situation, which these days are few and far between anyway. Your last sentence was about burning mouth and I don't have that either. I have read about it but those are just not my symptoms. I have the altered taste part of it but not the painful tongue or any pain. Sounds like my issue is more functional now that you've explained what that means. I have the symptoms or altered taste, but no one reason for it. Dry mouth seems to be the big reason given over and over but nothing used to treat dry mouth helps me at all so I really don't think that's it and neither do my doctors at this point. Glad again that you have found help with talk therapy and can use it when you need to and so glad you are feeling so much better. I have tinnitus in both ears so years ago I was put on a low dose of Xanax but as much as I'd like to increase it a lot because of all this anxiety now over this taste issue, I know it is very addictive so I won't go up in dose and no one has recommended that anyway. I was put on several SSRI's a few years ago for anxiety, etc. but they made my ringing 10 times worse which upped my anxiety so that was a waste. I may try the Cymbalta generic again though since it is supposed to help nerve damage and it is not a true SSRI...and is better for your brain than Gabapentin which is supposed to cause Alzeheimers and I don't want that!!! I am not taking a super high dose but still it's not worth it if I can find something better. The gaba is not helping the taste issue anyway though it is a wonder against my daily morning headaches. I would like to find out why since it might at least explain what caused the headaches that I had every singe morning at 5 a.m. I'm just so disappointed that it's not helping the taste since the rheumatologist really thought it would..Did all those conditions that you were tested for like Parkinsons, all happen after you got Covid?? Just wondering since so many people have had terrible after effects after having Covid besides the smell/taste problems! Thanks again for providing so much information and again so glad you are feeling better....