Got COVID last week, just lost my taste!

The Lobby
#1

It’s so strangest! Had no issues last week when I first tested positive. Today was day 6 after the test, and I had coffee after waking up. It tasted fine. Maybe 15 min later I had a waffle and some sausage. I didn’t think anything of it. I skipped lunch and then had Chipotle for dinner. Something was off. The chicken tasted bland. Even the tomatoes didn’t taste like tomatoes. They didn’t taste like anything. I got home, opened up the coffee grounds which I could smell, but it wasn’t as strong as it usually is. So I tried some onion cheddar chips and Doritos. Nothing. No taste. Just crunch!

It’s the craziest thing! Has anybody else gone through this?

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#2

The ultimate test, which I failed.

Nutella.

Just had a spoon full. I tasted sweetness, but that was it.

Not my Nutella!

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#3

Okay, had a late coffee. I can smell it, still not “normal”, but tastes like nothing. I smell it maybe 25% fine and then once it hits my tongue, nothing. Ouch.

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#4

Damn. I’m sorry to hear that! I heard it is a side effect of COVID. I hope your sense of taste returns quickly!

#5

Losing taste from covid is a real nuisance. I don’t want to worry you but my brother has had no sense of taste for nearly 2 years.

But doctors have found that taste can be “re-built” in many cases by regular long sniffing fruit with strong aromas like lemons or oranges, e.g. every day for 15 minutes. Apparently covid does not damage the smell receptors physically in the nose, it just interrupts the brain areas which interpret smells, so actually you can smell and taste things after covid but your brain can’t tell you what they are or even what they smell like. Exposure to powerful aroma sources like these fruits can re-educate your brain.

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#6

As per google:

Patients usually improve slowly with time. About 65 percent of people with COVID-19-induced parosmia or hyposmia regain these senses by about 18 months, while 80-90 percent regain these senses by two years.

30 sept 2022

#7

OMG. :open_mouth: Hope you get well soon! I’ve only heard similar experiences from friends who also got COVID, so I can imagine how frustrating it must be. :confused: I’d lose my will to eat tbh. :open_mouth:

#8

Wow, can’t image that. I have been taking deep smells of coffee beans, which I love, so at least I have that. I have to get some oranges ASAP and get the relearning started!

Yea, I had some friends go through the same thing. Taste came back after like 4 weeks. I really really really hope it’s not months and years.

I know it’s only been less than a day, but eating isn’t the same.

TY!

I’m not there yet, but ask me in a couple weeks.

#9

wow, haven’t heard so much about Covid recently (apart from being called in for vaccination appointments: i’m old and ill and get more of them than most people) …

everything i’ve read and heard matches what Tommor and Dushimes said just above

hoping you have no other symptoms and are otherwise fully recovered, and that the “taste” business resolves quickly!!

#10

I’m a big advocate of trying to see some positive in a bad situation.

If taste is temporarily gone, why not use this time to eat super healthy? All the gross healthy stuff can go down much easier now, right? You can do a digestive track cleanse diet. I’ve done that. You just eat tons of bran, raw fruit and vegetables, and drink tons of water for a day. There are lots of cleanses out there. Now’s a good time to eat 100% clean!

I don’t know. Maybe I’m being unrealistic, but I thought I’d throw this perspective your way.

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#11

I was so surprised when it came back positive. The fevers are still on and off, even a week out, and random headaches.

But the strange tasting coffee is the worst!

@tommor So sorry to hear about your brother. Did he try any therapies or medications?

#12

Well the positive, is that I haven’t eaten as much. My brain knows that food isn’t as tasty, so I’m not looking to snack.

It’s really weird though expecting a flavor and it never comes.

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#13

Not yet. He went to see the doctor 18 months ago and asked if anything could be done and the doctor said no so he went home and that was the end of that. My brother is not Sherlock Holmes.

#14

i suspect the doctor may not have been John Watson, either? :confused:

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#15

Tough position when you hope the drs will have answers for you but then come back with nothing. I know it’s early for me. I can’t imagine being like this for years.

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#16

let’s hope it won’t come to that, certainly! (seems statistically very unlikely, anyway?)

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#17

The longer it goes on the more likely there will be a cure. But meanwhile he says its very annoying. Worse is the tiredness.

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#18

Friends and family (2 separate occasion) said they lost taste and smell for 3 days and then back to normal. Hope I experience the same.

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#19

I lost taste for about 3 or 4 days. Totally normal ever since.

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#20

Great news to report. Taste came back on day 4, and smell is about 90% back! Almost back to normal with everything.

I couldn’t stand the smell in my car and had to drive with the windows open!

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