loss of taste and smell

Hi Janice…I lost my taste and smell after my COVID infection in 2022. As soon as they came back, I developed parosmia, and smelled smoke all the time, and by all the time, I mean, even in my sleep.

I went to an ENT, who did allergy tests (all negative), then a dose of prednisone, then a year of Flonase, one dose in each nostril every morning.

I also did smell training.

More than two years later, it’s about 95% gone, but it comes back when I settle into bed. I keep a vial of lavender oil on my nightstand and sniff when the smoke smell gets to be too much.

Have you addressed the inflammation you still have with an ENT doctor? I don’t like steroids myself, but perhaps there is another anti-inflammatory you can take.

I hope it gets better for you soon. I asked my ENT: if I get COVID again, how likely is it I’ll lose taste/smell for good, OR, will the parosmia get worse?

He answered that they simply don’t know, so I’m masking still, because I don’t want to find out, and I certainly don’t want COVID again.

Wishing you well. I’m sure it’s quite unsettling ten months later.

@beachesanddreams Saw a ENT and all thay had was a dose of steroids and smell training. I was definetely a sweet eater but loss the desire to eat. Hopefully it will come back at some time.

I have been without taste and smell for almost 5 years from Covid. The doctors offered no help. I did the smell training, nicotine patches to no avail. I had to take a steroid for something else but it didn’t help either. It is very depressing and discouraging but I pray every day and I believe one day by God’s grace it will return.

I have been using LDN since the end of last July for issues connected to retaining a contrast dye in my system, and since beginning use of it, I have had many positive results; I do believe it is healing to the immune system and a power anti-inflammatory, as I have read many places. Two doctors, one from Stanford and another from NC Dr Richard Semelka, suggested I try it for my residual issues, some of which are a cross over from having covid one time in 2023, and retaining the gadolinium in my system from a contrast dye procedure.
It has helped both, inflammation and my sinus, so whereas I thought I had lost my sense of smell, it is coming back now. It has helped me in many ways, my brain is functioning better now, a shortness of breath that I acquired from covid, has now disappeared, along with aches and pains in joints and muscles, incuding my hands and fingers, much better movement.
The list is long of positive change from LDN, I feel amazing, a general feeling of well being, more energy, and have lost a couple of pounds a month, since I started taking it, not trying to, but I think it resets your metabolism which had been altered by covid and the contrast dye, and I feel so much better. I was started at 1.5 mg and am now at 3.0 mg and feeling so well.

I will say if you try LDN that the fillers that the compounding pharmacist uses, makes a huge difference in the effectiveness of the medicine; the lactose works well for me, while two others did not. I had researched and read that the fillers MATTER that they use in compounding LDN because some fillers actually interfer with the effectiveness of the medication, and I tried 3 and can say I found that to be true. With the lactose filler, I feel amazing; when trying 2 others, I felt nothing.

LDN might help with your sense of taste and smell.

How is your immune system overall? Covid didn’t “break” your senses—Your immune system is misfiring because it thinks you’re still sick. The more you can do to consistently balance your system—all that advice about diet, exercise & rest — improves your chances of your immune system settling down. My taste mostly returned, just muted, but anytime I’m sick my taste goes again!

@mlledaffodil

My immune system feels VERY well; and I primarily eat well anyway, get plenty of exercise and sleep incredibly well. I take LDN when I go to bed, so it doesn't bother me; sometimes have some interesting dreams, but pleasant dreams, really.
The benefits of LDN are MANY.

I don't know if this will help or not, but from my research related to loss of smell and taste NOT related to Covid, loss of smell and taste is caused by inflammation and can often be restored by olfactory stimulation (OS). I, too, had tried it previously without results until I did it more consistently.
Go to the magnifying glass at the top of the page and type in "olfactory stimulation" to see my previous posts. As I had written, I smelled NOTHING for 6 years, but scent training (OS) with a variety of pleasant smells has largely returned my sense of smell and some taste! Also, be sure to Google Dr. Michael Leon, a neurobiologist who presents a wealth of information detailing the effects Covid and other diseases have on our olfactory system.