Evening everyone, I’m just enquiring if anyone has lost their sense of smell? I’ve noticed I cannot smell the flowers even sweet pea and they are lovely. My perfume and any other smells.
I’m sensitive to light and certain foods. Also noise. Which didn’t bother me before. Yet I was a migraine suffer and I was sensitive to lights but also smells, (which now I cannot smell anything).
Thanks for reading. Loraine
My sensation of taste went wonky, I think it is beginning to normalise now though. Sometimes my face feels a bit strange too. Maybe these things are connected? I think maybe drug side effects too.
@Bobbi yeah my taste has gone too now you mentioned it. Not sure if it’s medication or the after stroke. 
I have a theory, maybe right, maybe wrong.
When a very young child is experiencing a new food for the first time they need a bit of encouragement to go for it. Perhaps taste is a learned thing and to experience pleasure with food we need to assimilate the tastes and sort of label them as good.
As a stroke survivor we lose lots of learned abilities. These abilities can be regained by repeating the learning process. Maybe to regain taste smell and so on we need to re-expose to them until they return.
I know I went right off coffee. Had to find something else to drink for a while. I persisted with coffee and gradually I’ve returned to enjoying it once again. It wasn’t instantaneous and maybe I was relearning the taste. I could well be wrong, it is just possible I’m right though.
@Loshy just a thought. Have you done a covid test? Loss of smell & taste are both symptoms of covid.
After my stroke my taste altered but my hearing, smell all got more sensitive so I can hear & smell things I never could before.
Really hope its not covid xx
@Mrs5K no Ann it’s been about a year since I noticed and when @Bobbi was showing his cooking skills it reminded me I cannot smell or taste. It could be medication. I’m sensitive of light, noise and my hearing is low too x
Ah I didn’t realise it went that long ago. Unlikely to be covid then 
not sure what could be causing it. My taste has returned but I still have no appetite & never feel hungry. These strokes do cause some funny symptoms.
xxx
Hi, yes definitely lost my sense of smell since my stroke. Always loved my perfumes, scented candles and fresh flowers but unfortunately can’t smell very much at all.
Regards Sue
Hi @Loshy , that must be yet another annoying side effect of stroke. I did have a loss/change of taste for a few months after stroke but it seems pretty much back to normal now. Don’t think my smell was affected too much (but as smell and taste work together it probably was initially affected). My hearing wasn’t great before stroke and now combined with sometimes slower processing by my brain makes me appear even deafer.
Oh the various ailments we poor unfortunates now have to deal with. It’s sad you can’t smell food and nice things like flowers and perfume but I guess there could be a small plus side if you can’t smell nasty smells?
Morning @Loshy. It’s very annoying isn’t it?. I anticipate something tasting or smelling really intense from memory and then end up feeling disappointed, sweet peas being a good example. I can smell them but not with the same intensity. I too like @Mrs5K was worried about covid from your first description as I got a positive test the day I was discharged from hospital ( work that one out!) and completely lost both smell and taste. I have assumed my ongoing issues are due to that but they could be stroke related I’ll never know. I can still enjoy my food though so that’s something. Best wishes, Julia x
Thanks @Ingo66 @JuliaH . It’s very annoying. It’s like my taste buds doesn’t work at all. Neither does my sense of smell. We had a curry (haven’t had a take away in a few years as I’m always conscious of the fat ect!) my husband said it was spicy I couldn’t taste it. So it got me thinking is it medication or after stroke! In fact I cannot remember the last time I could smell or taste. It’s very annoying. Have a nice weekend it’s much cooler 
loraine
Hi Loshy my Mum had a Small Tia a week or so before her stroke and her taste went but her sense of smell increased, coming round in hospital after the smitting was same for me. Could detect the trace of medication coming from my spores and wards very unpleasant odours food bland, after a few months and back at home taste returned. When I got mobile made a point of testing my sense of smell not as acute, and comes and goes, some days not aware I can smell other days can detect muck spreading miles away and B-B-Q in vicinity. Now make point of testing roses and grasping foliage I know has volatile oils in foliage like Rosemary and sage. Keep testing your self , as Bob said maybe we have to relearn. One of my favourite quotes of all time was a Dr Johnson’s. At a dinner party a woman came up to him and said “ you smell Dr Johnson” he corrected her on her incorrect use of the word Smell. He replied “ No madam, you smell and I stink !”
My husband lost his sense of smell some years ago - he never found out why. Fortunately, although other senses are affected by my stroke and I definitely have a bit of bother chewing, my sense of taste and smell seem unaffected. Its a good thing really or we would be vulnerable to gas leaks or nasty things that the cat brings in. He did have all sorts of tests to see if they could find a reason why his sense of smell had gone and it might be worth asking if the medics can find out whether there is anything that can be done for yours.
@Pds @FionaB1 thank you for your replies. I will try and re introduce. But I cannot smell or taste a thing. We tried Indian food as I said a little while back with my youngest daughter and son in law and there’s just no taste of any of the foods even spicy 
. Loraine
@Loshy not being able to smell & taste things must be difficult & spoils your enjoyments of foods & life. Before my stroke my sense of smell had been non existent for years. A sinus problem I suspect but never got it checked. Post stroke I can suddenly smell things I’ve never smelt before: food cooking, flowers, etc. Its like a whole new world exists 
My taste altered post stroke & lost my appetite. My taste has slowly come back but still no appetite. Even when I smell food cooking I still don’t want to eat it. If I was you I would get the Dr to check you over as they may just be able to do something then that whole new world will open up for you again 
⚘ have a fab Sunday xxx
Thanks @Mrs5K i just don’t want to bother them I have that much going on and I’m sick of hospital and doctors. But thanks for your wise words of concern x
@Loshy having attended 4 appointments this last week myself I totally get what you mean about being sick of Dr’s etc. I have no appointments this week coming & if only I was able to lift my leg I’d do a dance 
@DDMH I seem to be getting a reputation 
Enjoy whats left of the weekend & heres to a positive week ahead for everyone☺
