Need a handhold - panicking about loss of smell

[whereisthejoy]

Please please someone comfort me about my loss of smell. Was exposed to covid two weeks ago and symptoms (very mild) began on Friday 2nd Oct. I started feeling better each day but last Friday (a week in since symptoms) realised I couldn't smell. I can taste but a bit dulled down I guess due to smell.

So it's four days no smell and I have a young child who also got it but can't tell really if her smell is affected. I think and hope that it isn't. my DH also had it and he can't smell either. I'm a worst case scenario thinker and I'm panicked beyond belief at not getting it back, especially as smell can alert to danger (off food, or worse) and I have a DC to protect.

I've been through a lot of shit in my life but facing these days without that sense is crushing, I just don't know how to pull myself out of this.

Can anyone help or give me hope that this won't be gone forever?

Sorry to beg

Many people with the virus (and I don't think any of you have been tested, so it may not be coronavirus even) lose their sense of smell for days or weeks but it slowly comes back, no need to panic.

It's good that you're aware of it so you can be careful about eg food in other ways, eg doublecheck Use By dates.

You'll be fine OP.

We had it fairly mildly and I think I felt fully back to normal with taste and smell about 6 weeks after. I remember eating some extremely spicy chicken kebabs which normally would have had me licking yoghurt and it just tasted like cardboard. Very weird. Did lose a few pounds though as not excited to eat food I couldn’t taste! It will come back, don’t worry too much

Thank you @Augustbreeze

We have all had positive tests unfortunately, but your words are of comfort.

Honestly thought I'd be more resilient after the crap life has thrown at me and DH over the last 5 years but this is making me feel at breaking point.

Thank you again

Thank you for that @BadgertheBodger ! My taste is definitely there thankfully albeit a bit dulled. The lack of smell without a blocked nose is just the strangest head%^*+

I'm so glad you're feeling back to normal now x

Yeah. It was pretty miserable. Everything tasted of cardboard. Even ate a spoonful of chilli (it felt hot but couldn’t actually taste it). It comes back in about two -three weeks.

Op I had this back in march..the worry of it developing was worse than what happened.

Try and force yourself to smell. I tried to smell my rose lip cream, my t tree oil and remember the smell.. You can keep trying to train it back in the brain.

It didn't develop for me, I had incredibly tingling nose.

PS about 10 days for me

Don’t feel silly, it’s genuinely the thing I worry about the most catching it! I mean obviously, it could be much worse but unlikely at my age & no underlying issues. But the smell/taste thing seems very likely & I bloody love food. The idea of losing my sense of taste freaks me right out. I had altered taste for 9 months of my pregnancy last year & that was bad enough. I couldn’t stand anything sweet. It tasted vile. I gave birth at midnight & at 3am, I sat eating an entire bag of mini eggs with tears rolling down my face that they tasted nice again 😂🙈

It doesn’t seem to be permanent for anyone but it can take a while. Fingers crossed it’s quick for you!

I was coming on to post my own 'how long will this last?" thread.

I'm positive and now on day 5 of NO smell or taste. It's bloody awful.

Got my 2 youngest mithering all the time about food/what's for dinner/whats for tea and I CAN'T BLOODY SMELL OR TASTE A THING.

I even sniffed my pot of Vicks yesterday in the vain hope I'd be able to smell a glimmer of the minty freshness but nope, nada, zilch 😩😫

I feel your pain OP and am too taking comfort from people's comments and reassurances about it not lasting forever. Thank you

@FlippinNoah we will get through this 🤞🏼 the person I got it from us starting to smell some things (but not others) and I just can't wait for that first whiff to boost my hope!

I managed to run a mile today (usually do 4-5 a day and long at weekends) with the approval of my GP, it's been two weeks since exposed to the virus and 11 days since symptoms - which settled after 4-5 days (apart from smell of course) and that really helped lift my mood a bit.

I've had a couple of people say daft things like at least it's not sight/another sense etc... not sure these people know what it's like to lose any of the senses. It's not a tit for tat, it's a flipping MASSIVE deal and I'm worried about not being able to smell 'danger' (gas for example) if this doesn't right itself.

This article gave me some hope www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/coronavirus-symptoms-respiratory-anosmia-smell-taste-loss-ent-asymptomatic-a9418151.html

Olbas oil nasal stick helps

I was 10 days with no smell or taste then it came back slowly, dp's never fully recovered he says but mine is at least 80%

Ps the oddest thing I found was how horrible pizza is if you cannot taste or smell it, it's literally like (I imagine) eating cardboard, rice based dishes were best and chilli produced a slight tingling even without taste that was satisfying, I can eat far hotter slice than before

My friend’s sense of smell only came back five months after having covid, and even now isn’t 100%. Her doctor said this seems to be normal.

Also tested positive this week after losing smell and taste at the weekend. DH keeps offering things I don't like to test it out!

Eating is the strangest experience and I've no desire to cook for the rest of the family since I can't enjoy what's made. I even put down my chocolate the other night and am saving it for when my taste buds start working again.

This is day 4 for me and I feel awful, sore mouth, tongue, throat. Cough and heavy feeling on my chest. Having a pj day today!

@Autumngoldleaf when you say it didn't develop what do you mean?

I mean that's all I got.
First some gastro symptoms, then about 5 days later, incredible fatigue, then loss of S and T.
. I kept panicking about it developing but that was it.

@Autumngoldleaf ah. And did you get smell and taste back? X

The nights are so difficult, crushing disappointment of not being able to smell anything in the day. Been 5 days of this and every day sends me spiralling. My poor DH - he has the same symptom and he's not as worst-case as me but I think I'm dragging him down

@Perro not sure i would class your comment as a hand hold

I had what I think was Covid but never confirmed as it was before mass testing. I completely lost all sense of smell and taste. It lasted for over 2 weeks and slowly came back bit by bit. Now it’s just fine. It is very odd though, as you say, when you lose smell and taste but you don’t have a cold.

Sounds like covid for sure @Cookiecrisps and thank you for your story. I need every little bit of hope to pull me over the line until the sense returns.

I have had depression a couple of years ago and worrying I'm going to fall into it without this hope.

Obviously I'm grateful for other things but nobody realised how important this sense is until it's taken away!

@whereisthejoy I totally understand how you feel. I took smell and taste for granted until I lost it. Was so pleased to start smelling things again. My OH also lost smell and taste and was more ill than me but his smell and taste began to return slowly after about 2 weeks too.

Now Im relieved that I’ve probably had the virus so perhaps I do have some antibodies however long they might last for.

Oh yes, it was the worst! I ate a whole jar of pickled onions one day - the crunch was better than any other food texture in the absence of taste and I kept thinking it would trigger some reaction. It did not. It came back slowly after about three weeks. I think it is largely fine now after six months apart from raw veg tastes weird and I do think my sense of smell is slightly less acute. While it lasted it was horrible. I felt quite ill with other symptoms. But that was the worst of all.

@whereisthejoy please watch the following video from ENT UK regarding loss of smell:

www.entuk.org/loss-smell-video-interview-professor-claire-hopkins

Also look at the following links:

www.Fifthsense.org.uk

www.abscent.org

Hope you feel better soon x