Oh, Glorious Gastronomy
Coffee was rancid. Chocolate was chalk. I finally understood the “cilantro tastes like soap” crowd. And it was God-awful.
When I got a horrible covid case finally in February ’22, I also pinched a nerve in my back. Woke up with so much pain I needed help to the bathroom, took about 4 days of doing pretty much nothing then faded away. What do pinched nerves have to do with parosmia? Hang in there.
My taste was gone for weeks but recovered. For a couple days. Then the parosmia started—people who have it know the procedure. Think you’re recovered but start to question the freshness of foods around you…maybe you have your spouse smell stuff or feel like your body odor smells out of control strange. Garlic and onion and unspeakable. Bananas tasted (and still sort of do) like weird flower, totally unlike my memory.
If you know me, you know I like food. All food. From everywhere! As long as it has F L A V O R.
So suddenly needing to eat cheese and crackers 3 times a day, not even TEA would taste okay? About 1000% percent worse than during pregnancy! It totally depressed me, and I didn’t even know it until months later. I recoiled from food, cooked full meals only to taste one nasty bite and cry, the lot.
I followed common advice; to “smell train” and try and eat what tastes good. Didn’t work. I had pretty much given up.
Not the Nose, Literally Anything but the Nose!
Then I saw this youtube video, and something mentally clicked. This lady described the same progression and situation to a T—and her solution was to go to a specialist to have nerves in her neck frozen with steroids! WHAAAAT. Never saw that one comin’.
Next, and I’ll warn you, this is real dry…
This guy explained everything about those nerves in my neck that could cause a plethora of symptoms, not all even pertaining to taste/smell perception. I don’t think I’ve learned so much about the body in ages, certainly not since having kids. If you’ve had long covid, or PLEASE if your partner or friend is totally suffering, make some coffee and check this one out:
This last part was vital for me: manifesting the healing. I dunno if it is just me, but this manifesting trend has had me stumped for ages! Like, think-plan-do? I knew I was missing some Step X, that was a mental task rather than physical. This video explained it in a way that instantly spoke to me, and I hope it helps you to FIRST feel the relief you desire and then achieve it! Skip it if you feel, or apply it to healing from parosmia as I did!
All this knowledge and will is helpful, great to visualize. But obviously I needed help with the physical part! I showed Jake the most important bits, about where the nerves are, and how they connect. He spent a couple hours each day for a weekend, massaging everything “out”. Definitely not a “back rub”, more like intense full-body shiatsu while we watched Mr. Queen (DO IT!). You could feel a knot at the top of my spine work up through my skull (little clicks indicating craniosacral shifting), or all the way down until my ankles and feet were cracking like a ballet dancer. A lot of instability was revealed, as I have been guarding a crappy right shoulder (breastfeeding, eh?). But the movement was clear!
A week later, I would say I had recovered 75% of the smell that was distorted. And the mental health shift of not finding food revolting in the extreme was pronounced! Kitchen not full of dread! Bites not full of remorse! F***ING COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE.
It has made me feel like myself again in a nearly unsettling way, because it revealed how badly I physically felt for over a year. Ya thinks it’s the blues because garlic tastes like trashwater– in fact you’re misaligned, grinding and crunching, and in constant pain. You forget what normal is, normal is just “not the worst”.
So, if you’ve been suffering from The Rankness, I’m hoping you can use these 5 tips to streamline your healing! Obviously this is all experience-based, I’m no medical professional, just a chick who did something that worked out well!
- Find the cause: Nerves? Nose? Brain? You WILL watch a ton of youtube videos, use them to pinpoint a professional or layman patient talking about your symptoms.
- Educate yourself: I didn’t know half the anatomy that I needed to affect physically, watch an in depth lecture. How can I heal a thing I don’t know about? Neurons to nerves, posture, gut health—get deep.
- Physical: The things you learned about are the things to target—appropriately. Some things require light touch, some might require kneeding, other still maybe an in-office visit. This is another chance to watch videos about people who have already gone through whatever you’re looking into (chiro, nerve freeze, smell training, etc).
- Consistency: While my case began resolving quickly, it still took about 3 days of 2 massages a day to get moving. Things got tender that have been frozen for ages—be gentle but push through. 2nd day was entirely different from first, and so on. It was very encouraging to feel a huge shift, more open circulation, for days before I noticed my taste/smell.
- Don’t give up! I did and it fricking sucked and didn’t help anything at all. Just keep in mind this is resolvable—hell, it might not even have to do with your nose! The brain is powerful and can be a powerful asshole. **If you’re struggling to eat, I included some resources below that helped me find foods I could enjoy and eat regularly for year or so this was going on. It was a huge diet change but mainly eliminating so not expensive. I did binge on sushi though 🙂
These diet guidelines reflect the acceptable palate I had and helped me ensure complete meals when everything was gross.
What Is the Low FODMAP Diet? Food List, Steps, and Benefits (healthline.com)
GERD Diet: Foods to Eat and Avoid for Acid Reflux (healthline.com)
I hope I help give someone a solution or hope, I know I wouldn’t have learned any of this without relating and communicating with others suffering, or others cured! The whole purpose of this post is to pass this new knowledge quickly—our family update is forthcoming!
