New symptom! bizzare smell and taste developed 2-3 months post covid

No, I haven’t seen a therapist for the loss. I’m trying to deal with it on my own and so far, I am ok. I do get depressed on occasion, not gonna lie! When my doctor asks me if I’m depressed, I tell him, “yes, wouldn’t you be”? He says yes, but I know they’ll just give me more medication and I don’t want any more medication.
I haven’t been told that I have damaged nerves by my ENT, but she told I’ll probably never get it back. When I asked her if she’s done research regarding taste/smell and she said no, she doesn’t do research. So, please explain to me why you said that I won’t get my taste/smell back? She didn’t have an answer, just said that’s what I’ve heard. She has no idea how awful this is!
I suffer from Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism and didn’t know I had these two things until after my first Covid vaccine. I believe this is when all this started happening with taste/smell. I first noticed my toothpaste wasn’t as minty. Then 5 months later I caught Covid and on day 2 of the virus, I lost my taste/smell. This was in 2022, it’s now 2025.
I also had 18” of my colon removed due to severe diverticulitis in April of 2022. I went to Italy in July of 2022 and tasted all the foods, thankfully! It wasn’t until I caught Covid in December of 2022 that I lost it. Not sure if there’s a correlation, but I did call my surgeon who performed the surgery to ask if anyone could loose taste/smell from this surgery and they said they’d never seen that happen. I’m at a loss…thanks for reaching out and I hope your taste/smell comes back and soon!

That really is a mystery. I recall my first neurologist looking at my chart and when I brought up the constant bitter taste, he just paused…..then said, yeah….CNS…that’s tough. My second neurologist did diagnose my B12 deficiency, but didn’t say much about the bitter taste. And, the ENT who witnessed my regular sense of smell return says in time it may. He thinks it was covid that attacked me. I have nothing to base my beliefs on except that my neurologist thinks my paresthesia may fully resolve, so why not my taste. And, my ENT encourages me to expect it.

I read your story and wanted to comment on my own history. I had Covid in December of 2022 and lost my taste and smell and still don’t have it back. It could be a while before it does, if it does. It’s March 2025 and I can only detect salty, sweet and bitter on my tongue. Not one single flavor. My ENT told me that after a year, those of us who lost taste/smell probably won’t get it back. I asked her what literature she researched to say that to me and she said she doesn’t do research, she’s just guessing. Needless to say, I most likely will not be going back to her! I need positive information not negative! Good luck and I hope you can get your doctor to run the Thyroid Panel.

Can you please tell us what CNS is? I also get a bitter taste in my mouth that is unpleasant. I lost my taste/smell in December of 2022 and it’s now March 2025.

I took it he meant Central Nervous System…..damage to it. Apparently, no treatment.

My brother had Covid in 2021. He says his taste is off. He used to love food but it’s hard for him to eat now because nothing tastes good. He went from 200lbs-110. He’s so thin and gaunt. He’s been seeing a psych for severe depression. No meds have worked. Just took him back to neurologist. He’s doing MRIs. EEG and blood tests and then after test come back he should see an ENT It’s very sad to watch. He’s also seeing his PCP He’s been in the psych hospital twice. No answers yet. Wish we could get some answers. We’ll see.