Parosmia, something that I had never heard of until it happened to me. A condition where your smell and taste are distorted. This happens when smell receptors cells in your nose can’t detect odors or transmit them to your brain. Parosmia can happen for a few different reasons, but for me this was caused by COVID-19.
In October of 2021, I tested positive and I was the sickest I’d ever been in my entire life. I lost my smell and taste for 2 months. It slowly came back but as soon as I got it fully back it became distorted in February of 2021.I remember getting Jack in the Box for lunch with my kids. We got home and sat down to eat, I got tacos, and when I took a bite I was baffled by the taste. I didn’t understand why it didn’t taste normal, but proceeded on with my day. Then came dinner, again my food tasted different and I remember crying because I knew something was wrong. The first couple days I cried every time it was time to eat. I was hungry, but all food tasted rotten.
When people first hear that I have Parosmia, the first thing they say is “I wish I had that so I could lose weight” Let me tell you, as someone who is experiencing first hand, this is something I would NEVER wish on my own enemy. Often people mistake Parosmia for Asomnia, which is loss of smell/taste. I unfortunately have my smell and taste but it’s distorted. We need food to survive, I am hungry, but the smell and taste of food makes it extremely difficult for me to eat. I weighed 118 when this started and I got down as low as 105 pounds. Since I’ve been dealing with this it has not only been extremely hard on my body physically, but mentally.
I googled for days when this first happened to me because I had never heard of this condition. Finally, I came across a Facebook group and saw people experiencing the same thing as I was. At the time there was 51.8k people in the group but the page continues to grows everyday. I came across a person in Texas that was doing an experimental procedure on people who are struggling with Parosmia and it had a 80% to 90% success rate. I was desperate for help after trying several different things, such as red light, essential oils, etc.
So, I made the decision to travel to Texas to get the SGB block done. I got both my right and left side done. After the first shot, we went and grabbed some Mexican food because that’s what.i missed the most! I was able eat more than usual, but I wasn’t fully back to normal. I knew that the best idea was to go ahead and get the left side done as well. After that, I was able to eat a meal that actually tasted GOOD for the first time in 9 months. Torchys Tacos! I even was able to drink a white chocolate mocha with caramel from Starbucks!! Needless to say, I was very happy that I made the decision to go. Although, I’m not 100% back to normal, I didn’t expect to be, but I am able to eat more foods then I could before and smell scents that smell good and not rotten. I was actually able to sit down with my family and eat dinner with them for the first time in 9 months.
If you know someone who is experiencing this, please be kind and support them in every way possible! Just like you, we once had no idea what Parosmia was. If you are someone who is dealing with this and are interested in the procedure I had done, please reach out to me and I will give you the contact information!.
xo, Lauren