Please tell me some positive stories of your taste and smell returning.

[MovingForwardish]

I'm finding this aspect of the infection really, really hard.
I know in the grand scheme of things I'm lucky in that I have only a mild case of covid and it could be so much worse.

But, the lack of taste and smell is making me feel SO anxious. I'm so worried it won't come back at all! Worried I won't be able to smell a gas leak, spoiled food etc. Aside from the fact it just takes all the joy away from eating. A life without smell or taste just seems intolerable.

I'm scared. Please tell me some positive stories of your sense of taste and smell coming back after covid.

I sympathise, I lost my sense of taste and smell with Covid and found it quite upsetting. Especially as at the moment there is so little to get excited about that losing the ability to taste your favourite foods is quite a knock. But mine did come back after a couple of weeks - I was very worried it wouldn't. The one good thing was that I didn't bother eating chocolate, fatty foods, takeaways, I had unsweetened black coffee in the morning etc because what was the point of it if I couldn't taste them. So I was on a pretty basic, healthy diet at the time - Unfortunately as soon as I could taste again that went right out of the window. Im sure your taste and smell
Will come back soon, keep the faith!

My sense of taste has come back after 2 months. I’m yet to get my smell back

Mine came back after a week or two. I tried eating some garlic and could taste it slightly. And then just seemed to come back. All good now (although sadly have regained the weight I lost from not enjoying food, have more than made up for that now).

Thank you for your positive story! That's given me a little hope.
I've just started taking zinc supplements as I've read they can help with these senses returning.

I just don't feel like eating ANYTHING. I know I need to, I'm only day 6 of symptoms (confirmed by a test) and its probably early days to be expecting an improvement.

Its just so depressing!!

Mine came back after a couple of weeks too, as did my adult DCs. Got things tasting 'wrong' occasionally for a while, which was disconcerting!
It is scary, I'm very glad it passed.

Colleague who was ill about the same time as me found hers took about a month.

By the way, citrus fruit was one of the few things I enjoyed eating at the time, everything else was just cardboard.

I guess only 6 days in I need to stop obsessing about it.
I think the anxiety is being fuelled by the isolation.
I cannot stop thinking about it. Constantly testing if I can smell essential oils right under my nose. And I can't AT ALL

It is a very weird feeling but mine also came back after 2-3 weeks. Probably 2 weeks for smell and another week for taste. All been fine since so hang on in there.

Oh god this is all helping, thank you!!
Stupidly I've googled, but of course it tells you the worst case scenario.

I don't know why its freaking me out so much, I wish I could just ride it out without being such a loon about it.

I lost my sense of smell. DH lost smell and taste.

Luckily for us it was only for 4 or 5 days. It was around a week after testing positive that the smell/taste suddenly went.

It is very unnerving. I remember making a cup of tea but hesitating to use the milk that was already open as I couldn't smell if it was ok or not. I opened a new bottle instead.

If you are only 6 days in then it's not been very long really. I believe for most people the smell/taste does come back fairly quickly. It's therefore likely it will return very soon.

Don't worry if it's not quite the same to begin with. My smell was mostly ok but some things weren't quite as before or not as strong as before. I'm 6 weeks post testing positive now and I think it's almost normal again now. The only thing I don't seem to be able to smell as strongly is the cat's litter tray which is actually ok with me.

I hope you recover quickly and your symptoms aren't too bad. It's a very worrying time but try to rest and look after yourself.

I've also got this strange kind of buzzy sensation in one nostril. Like I've got water up my nose or something. Weird.

Thank you much @Lindy2. This really helps. I guess i just need to hang in there.

I'm now worrying because I've lost both taste and smell and that somehow this means a worse outcome than just one or the other.
Jesus I'm so anxious!

Mine came back after 4 months. It was a bit weird at the time but didn't bother me to much. My husband was upset because I couldn't comment on his cooking 😂

4 months!! Oh my god how did you cope without being able to taste anything for that long??

It was taste and smell. Just didn't think about it. Other than a slight worry I could eat something off or not being able to sniff test the baby's nappy 😂

I was just like you. I lost my sense of taste and smell on Xmas Eve and subsequently tested positive. I had no other symptoms and did not feel ill but I was miserable and anxious about not being able to enjoy the most basic of things like a cup of tea. I knew that it could have been worse but I was consumed with anxiety about my senses not returning. Took 3 weeks in the end for things to start improving and by week 4 I was back to normal. Hope this helps.

Thank you thank you thank you cassgate.
It really is making me so anxious. I wish I could just forget about it but its just consuming my every thought!
Oh god losing both over Christmas too, you poor thing!! So glad it returned for you x
I guess I'm going to have to accept I'll be like this for at least a couple of weeks yet. I need to make peace with that, as hard as it is!

I lost taste and smell for a week - and I feel your pain as I was as anxious and worried as you. Its horrible- you cant even smell your shampoo in the shower - it takes a lot of lifestyle simple pleasures away doesn't it? My sister got me really good quality zinc and strong vitamin c which I took every day from day 2 - I really think that helped. I also ate normally and ate a lot of citrus fruits and honey on toast etc which I could get a slight slight tang from. Everything else was just nothingness. I got a fizzy feeling in my nose on day 7, and my smell came back that evening. Something to do with olfactory cells kicking back into action i guess! Try not to worry - it will come back soon x

Mine came back after a few weeks.

I think mine came back after a week or 2. It was horrible, couldn’t smell anything, not even pickled onions. I was so relieved when it came back.

Thank you so much @Cnp41 your post has really helped calm my anxieties a little.
I'm trying to eat normally but its so hard. There's just no joy in eating at all! You're so right about the showering thing, I thought the exact same thing earlier, lots of life's little pleasures rely on smell and taste.

I wonder whether mine has still gone because my nose still feels stuffy. Its not blocked, but feels inflamed. I can't imagine that's helping with return of the senses!

God i love you all! Thank you so much, you're all really helping!
I'm sat by myself over thinking everything. Just wish I could fast forward to feeling normal again

Mine came back after a couple of weeks, DH’s still hasn’t come back properly (both had covid in November)

I'm going to try some hot sauce later, see if I can detect anything from that.
Eating is so joyless right now!

Just bumping for some more hopeful stories??
Having a really low day today.