Smell and Taste

I lost my sense of smell and taste as soon as I got covid back in April. My sense of taste is completely gone and has changed strangely, my yogurt tastes like ammonia, my tea tastes like hot dish water and I get an occasional aftertaste of sugar or salt. Never knew that lots of spices have an after taste, plus some foods that were my favorite taste like chemicals.  

My sense of smell is completely gone too, I am concerned I will miss a forgotten gas jet, or spoiled food in the fridge, even my own hygiene is now in question. Occasionally I get random scents like someone smoking a cigarette or something sweet like perfume. 

Losing my sense of smell and taste has not stopped me from eating though, I still eat cookies and rice and beans and anything else I want to eat. My body knows what it wants, and I have to pay attention to those cravings. Cookies are a craving (happily), don’t judge me.  

My other senses kick in, seeing the food, feeling the texture in my mouth, the temperature and the memory of what the food tastes like.  

In a way food is now extremely boring, I noticed myself scaling down in choices of food, picking more veggies and fruit, soups, legumes, hardly any meat and lots of club soda. Don’t know why I suddenly like club soda, but I am drinking it anyway.  

I went to several doctors about my loss of smell and taste, the ENT said if the senses do not come back in one year it is a permanent condition, same with the neurologist he said there is just not enough information about this condition to make a reliable diagnosis, my wonderful primary doctor predicts that my senses will return eventually. I hope she is correct because I have been living with no sense of smell or taste for seven months now.  

One of my daughters is hosting Thanksgiving this year in her new home, we talked about turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, salad and soda and pumpkin pie.  

This Thanksgiving I will eat in the usual way all that is served and with my eyes I will drink in the sights. Feel the textures in my mouth, feel the warm turkey as I chew, smash those sweet potatoes around with my tongue, pour gravy all over everything and remember the smells and tastes of Thanksgivings past as I push down the pumpkin pie with a cold drink.

Georgia P.

11/22/20