While COVID-19 related taste and smell disorders have been life altering for me, there are so many other people that are suffering much worse symptoms from Long Covid.
These include: neurological conditions, dizziness, depression, muscle and joint pain, rash, digestive problems, irregular heartbeat, other heart conditions, blood clots, breathlessness, fatigue, coughing, wheezing, difficulty thinking or concentrating, anxiety, panic attacks, headache, sleep disorders, fever…the list goes on and on. Some people with Long Covid aren’t able to go to work or do simple daily chores. The media is just beginning to bring light to these unprecedented medical conditions. My HOPE is that the medical and research groups will find a cure/treatment for all affected. Sometimes it’s difficult, but we all need to remember to have a Swirl of Hope.
Pam Flynn – Swirl of Hope Founder
Raising Awareness About An Invisible Condition: An Interview With Pam Flynn
In a compelling interview with The World Taste & Smell Association, Pam Flynn, the visionary founder of Swirl of Hope, shares her personal journey and the mission behind her organization.
Flynn’s heartfelt story and insightful perspectives highlight the challenges faced by those living with these sensory impairments and underscore the importance of community and advocacy in navigating the path to recovery.
What Sufferers Are Saying
I am so glad to read I’m not the only one with phantom smells. It’s so bizarre and comes out of nowhere. Nothing tastes or smells normal. This is just awful I have Long Covid and the fatigue and brain fog is debilitating as well. Hope they find a cure soon.
I’m on my 5th month of dysgeusia, parosmia, anosmia and post-nasal drip, the kind that makes me feel like I am strangling. My whole life is different in every single way. Oh how wonderful it would be to taste and smell properly again. I miss everything about cooking and eating.
I first developed anosmia from Covid, which is absence of smell. It changed in parosmia, where everything smell strange and horrible. Who can eat anything that smells worse than words can express!? Nothing tastes edible except one or two sweet items. I’m getting no good nutrition from these foods. So how am I supposed to heal my body this way?
Something I’ve noticed recently is I can eat some organic food that I can’t normally eat. Potatoes and tomatoes have a terrible rancid meat smell and taste for me. But if I buy organic, they taste normal. I’m going to try more organic items and see how it goes. I feel the more processed food, the odder it tastes and smells. I guess that’s a good thing.
I remember about 8 months in with COVID-19 related taste and smell disorders, I made an appointment with a Traditional Chinese Acupuncturist, as I’d tried most every other remedy I knew to try to no avail. I was so impressed with the facts she shared about me in general after a very long discussion. I left her office that day feeling relaxed and glad I tried something new. When I arrived home an hour later, I walked in and immediately SMELLED hot dogs my husband was cooking. I practically ran to the kitchen to try one. It tasted EXACTLY like a hot dog should. I was elated!!! I’d found my cure!! I wanted to shout to the world!!!! I would continue acupuncture for the rest of my life if it would continue to heal my taste and smell disorders!!! I wanted to share this with all those suffering like me!!!Sadly, within an hour, I tried some other foods…nothing. No taste, no smell. I continued going to the acupuncturist, but my taste and smell were never again restored. I have to wonder what happened during that treatment that brought my taste and smell back so keenly, just to disappear quickly. It was such a disappointment that it only happened that one time. It’s been a couple of years now, but I think about that amazing day so often.
I’ve had parosmia for 2 years and 4 months. 2 days ago, out of nowhere, my taste and smell came back to normal. It felt like a switch was just flipped on. Everything was normal, and I cried, like a lot. 2 days later, and now things are having that “Covid taste and smell” again. Whyyyyyyyyy? I’m feeling so depressed. Why is this happening? It makes no sense.
I am so sick of being so hungry and craving the food I used to love, seeing other people eat it and I can’t have it! I’m so sick of people around me not understanding how horrible this is!!! I’m always trying to be positive, trying to be the optimist saying, “I’m lucky it’s not worse” or “It’s just food, I could have a terrible disease.” Yes, this is true BUT….I have lost the ability to enjoy food and that is a huge loss! I have to immerse myself in other things to keep from going insane most days!!
As a pastry chef, food writer and recipe developer in Charleston, SC, I relied on my taste and smell senses for over a decade to do my job. I just sat down to my first real meal in weeks, after eating mostly noodles and rice while recovering from the Covid virus. But what was supposed to be a delicious dinner of steak, roasted squash and garlic rice didn’t taste like food at all. The steak tasted very metallic, like I had just licked the side of a car, and the cooked squash tasted…like what rotting flesh must taste like. And then I picked up nothing from the rice-no garlic, no nothing. I, at that point, was so mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted from the case of Covid that I just broke down and started crying.
Today I had lunch out with a dear friend I’ve known since first grade. What a wonderful gift of forever friendship!! I ordered my normal hamburger steak and broccoli. I couldn’t taste it, but it wasn’t offensive. Great texture, and healthy! My friend had pork ribs with a loaded baked potato. She shared that it was one of the best meals she’d ever eaten! It brings me such joy when my friends enjoy food as much as I did prior to COVID-19. She also mentioned that a large part of such a great lunch experience was just being together. What a wonderful gift! Food brings people together in so many special ways. Thanks, Jilayne!!! Looking forward to our next lunch. There’s always a Swirl of Hope that my taste will return!!!
Everything either smells like straight chemicals or rotten. I first noticed it when I opened a pack of gummies for my daughter. Chicken, pork and eggs are now the worst smells and tastes. I also can’t stand the smell of onions and peppers cooking. I’m afraid this is just going to get worse.
3 years in, age 58. I had covid November-December 2020. I lost my taste and smell and never got it back. If somebody blindfolded me, I wouldn’t know what I was eating. I used to love baking, but now I have no desire. Eating is a chore, and nothing tastes good. It’s tasteless or bland, or occasionally changes to smelling like toxic chemicals or rotten meat. I tell myself each night, “Tomorrow is going to be a better day.” It’s depressing a lot of times, but I’m alive, and that beats the alternative.
Everything sweet like chocolate smells and tastes like mold. Onions, and garlic mint are now smelling strange. It is progressively getting worse. I am a chef, so this is a nightmare for me. I did an experience where I pinched my nose so I couldn’t smell anything and tried chocolate, popcorn, and chocolate milk, and it did work, but when I released my nose, the rancid smell was back.
I’ve been struggling for 7 months, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better, actually worse! Garlic and onions are painful for me to smell. It’s almost like someone slapping me in the face. No one I know has this problem, and they don’t understand. I am limited to just a few things I can eat now and my appetite is almost nonexistent. Is there any hope?
Anybody else having a problem where people smell repulsive? I can’t stand the way my husband smells. It’s mostly his breath. But from other people it can reek from their entire body. I nearly gag every time and have offended so many people. I have no way to describe the smell other than repulsive and intolerable. Almost like death, but not quite. It is becoming so unbearable that I want to isolate myself.
Such a frustrating day. Went to my neurologist and explained my covid related taste and smell issues. Everything smells like sewer or a decaying carcass. The only things I can eat are mashed potatoes and noodles. The doctor put me on seizure medicine which I am NOT taking, because she doesn’t understand or believe in the reality of LC.
I’m going on 2 years of parosmia. I try to explain what food tastes like to my family members and friends. Many of them say, “Wow, that would be great. Then I would lose some weight.” My gym friends say, “Well I don’t eat food for the taste, I just eat the healthy foods my body needs.” Well, when you go from eating steak 3 or 4 times a week to none at all, it definitely affects my life in a negative way. Steak, which has always been my favorite meat, totally tastes rancid to me. Covid is evil and life changing.
I wish food would taste and smell better again! I am tired of eating the same things because only a few things taste “right”. An example is yesterday, I was eating grapes and they tasted like fresh peas in the pod. I don’t have peas in my house! I have lost 40 pounds, and I don’t know how much longer I can stand this.
So I had Covid January 2021. I started getting brain fog that April. So it’s going on 2 years now that I feel like I’ve been living in a dream. It’s like everything I look at doesn’t look real, which is my biggest annoyance along with all the other normal brain fog symptoms. And also, now my eyes are off and on blurry, especially in the left eye. Wish I had some words of encouragement that this will get better.
After a year of brain fog, I thought I had recovered. I had been feeling well and for 3 months thought it was all, finally, behind me. Now I feel poorly again. Limited energy, lack of focus (especially when reading), and my lungs feel raw. Sometimes I question my sanity. Am I just imagining the brain/fog confusion? Have I aways been so easily tired? Am I paranoid and hyper-vigilant? I feel my personality is gone, and strangely, I don’t care because interactions wear me out. I’m apathetic. Is this normal? I hide it, and that is tiring, too. Will talking about this backfire?
Does anyone feel like they are high all the time after COVID? I don’t know if it could be considered brain fog, but I feel mentally exhausted all the time regardless of how much rest I get. Like that feeling after you only slept 2-3 hours and so your brain doesn’t want to wake up, because it is exhausted. Has it gone away? What do you do? I need recommendations.
I am at three years of Long Covid, soon to be four or so, my kids say. I literally struggle with the concept of time because of covid, and my memory is patchwork at best. I am a teacher, and I can’t walk far in my school before I need to sit and rest. If it’s the end of the day, I literally have to psych myself up to convince myself that I can make it from my class across the school and to the parking lot. There are days I get halfway and panic I won’t be able to make it to my car and get home.
I know I have cognitive impairment. I don’t know much about brain fog, but this feels worse than that. I’m not myself, and I miss myself. I walk into a room and wonder why I’m there. I have trouble remembering names of people I’ve known my whole life. I’m scared to go for a walk in the neighborhood in case I can’t remember how to get home. I pray this is not permanent. Covid is an evil disease.
Looking high and looking low for my glasses and getting thoroughly exasperated at not finding them. Only later did I realize I was actually wearing them. Similar situations happen all day and night.
I’ve lived in the same house for 30 years. I need the GPS to go anywhere, even a simple trip to the store. If I don’t use it, I forget where I’m going and have to call my husband or daughter. Will this ever get better?
I set my stove on fire. I walk into a room and wonder why. I have gone completely blank driving to areas and places I’ve been thousands of times and have no idea where I am. I know this is dangerous not just for me, but for others.
I caught my second case of Covid last week. Didn’t feel too bad, but the BRAIN FOG. I certainly have brain fog as part of my LC struggle. I can hardly string sentences together. I can’t communicate with others because I’m not thinking right. The doctors don’t seem to believe LC brain fog is real. Maybe I need a new doctor. This is so depressing.
I’m two years out and I still have terrible cognitive problems, especially with numbers. I had to go part time at work. I work with credit cards and have been making mistakes. I can’t afford to quit my job. I’m 68 years old. Truly not what I thought my life would be like at this age.
It seems every week I have a new symptom. This week, I have terrible brain fog. When I’m talking, I have to pause because I forgot the word I was going to say. It just won’t come out of my mouth. I seriously don’t get it. Each day, I never know how I’m going to feel. Covid has turned my life upside down. I don’t think I’ll ever feel normal again.
I have many symptoms of LC, but the thing that really hurts is brain fog. I actually thought I might be developing early dementia. I have a hard time getting my thoughts to my mouth, remembering names and words, and I’ve forgotten stuff like the coffee on the stove, left keys in my van while it was running. I’m an RN, but I’m not going back to work as a nurse anymore. It wouldn’t be fair to my patients. I’m so terribly disappointed in the life I’m having to live.
Hello, everyone, I had terrible joint pain with Covid and that’s what really bothers me now. Sure, I’m tired, but the pain in my hands, ankles and knees wakes me up in the middle of the night. It’s been since the end of January 2024. I need help. I am so tired.
I’ve had long covid for 4 years. I’m 25. I have excruciating pain/cramping that gets worse with any muscle usage. I have joint pain in my hands and elbows. I’ve had MRIs and I don’t have arthritis. The joints aren’t inflamed, but everything around the joint is. I just wanna be able to walk across my room and sit down without then going into level 10 pain and severe muscle twitching for the next 6 hours-3 days. I was completely healthy pre-Covid and now I’ve been bedridden for two years. My leg muscles are atrophied at this point. I just feel like giving up.
My joint pain from Long Covid is so much worse. I’m so tired of complaining to my husband of my pain. It must be annoying to hear. I look normal, but suffer inside to do daily tasks. I eat very healthy, but my hair fell out in clumps. I’m forgetful all the time now. Seems like the joint pain is getting worse daily, but I keep pushing myself. It’s so hard.
Yea, I’m 18 months in and my weakness is just getting worse. I know we’re doing our best to raise awareness, but I feel like we’re not making enough noise about this. These groups are nice for support, but important people like government officials aren’t looking in these groups, sadly. We all should be I front of that White House applying pressure for funding and studies.
I haven’t had a day in over 2 years that I have not hurt, that I have not been tired, that my hands just don’t feel like they had arthritis. I shared this with my physical therapist. I just can’t explain how bad I physically hurt, on a day-to-day basis. No relief so far from the physical therapy. Covid is one strange and cruel disease.
I have been dealing with headaches in the evening on the back right side of my head, where it meets the neck. The pain shoots up into my right ear and on up to the right side of my face, then to the top of my head. I can’t rest. I can’t sleep. I need help.
I’m going through a bad time at the moment. I see no end in sight to this misery. I recently started with chronic arthritis in my hands and wrists. I am slowly losing the use of my hands, and the pain is terrible on most days. I am struggling to keep going. I will bounce back, I hope, and be able to deal with this debilitating condition.
I have joint pain, which I have never had before. I have extreme fatigue, brain fog, and more. This thing has totally screwed up my life.
I can’t go on anymore. I give up. I have zero energy. I can barely drop my kids off at school. I am 2 years out. I suddenly developed leg weakness, muscle pain, pins and needles, and severe twitching. And on top of that, fatigue and severe nausea. I don’t know what else to do but vent. Nobody arounds me understands. I just want to give up.
I’ve been dealing with bad, unexplained joint and nerve pain on my right side. I’ve had multiple steroid injections, countless scans, x-rays, you can name it. They can find nothing. This has definitely lowered my quality of life on so many levels.
My terrible joint and muscle pain are in the back of my head, neck, shoulders, both elbows, both hands, both wrists, and both knees. I have had so many tests for all sorts of things. It boils down to having severe inflammation. I’ve searched for a doctor to help me with this condition with no luck. Incredibly sad and frustrated.
It’s been 2 years since I caught covid. 6 weeks in, I began experiencing burning sensations in my hands and feet while trying to sleep. It disrupts my life on so many levels. There is nothing I have found to help me with this problem. I don’t think people believe me. If they could feel what I’m feeling, they would have such a different response.
I’ve made an executive decision. I can’t do this anymore. I have been plagued by symptoms of Covid-19. This has been a terrible battle for me. My body battery is dead. How do I live after this? I’m too tired to go on and see another doctor that has no clue. I give up. I’m not thinking of harming myself, but I’m at the end of my rope. This is only getting worse for me.
Hello fellow LC friends, I can’t take this bs anymore and idk what to do. The dizziness/unbalanced feeling is the worst, along with extreme fatigue and weird memory issues and BAD anxiety…I’m supposed to go to a concert in 8 days and I’m NOT ready for this at all. I want to go on but idk if I can handle this…I’m so depressed it’s killing me.
So I just attended a baby shower for my best friend’s daughter. I was able to go because it was 5 minutes away. There were about 50 people there. My anxiety was sky high, and I was over stimulated and the tension in my body was overwhelming. Now I feel like a bus hit me. Feeling hopeless.
I used to be a socially outgoing person…but now I’ve been trapped at home so long that when a plumber came today, I nearly broke down I tears out of fear when he said hi. This is maddening.
I can manage a text once a week to my daughter. That’s the most emotional energy I can spend.
I had a panic attack when I went to get my hair cut because he started talking. It was too much. I wanted to get up and run home.
I have extreme social anxiety. I had to turn down 3 dinner invitations from friends because of it. It’s so embarrassing, but I have to put myself first right now just to get through this difficult time.
I’m almost 3 years in and I am noticing it getting worse. I avoid delivery people even. I find when I do talk with people, I don’t even know anything to say, and it’s very awkward. I used to be a teacher/ librarian. I was chatty and full of life. I miss me.
I have definitely got agoraphobia and I have rapid breathing and heart palpitations when I do go out. I am now in the bed up to 18 hours a day.
Oh my goodness, thank you. You are making me feel that I’m not insane. This is really happening. I had a service person come to my house yesterday, and I thought I would need sedation. This is ridiculous. I never felt this way before LC. Life is just not normal!!!!
If someone knocks on the door, I curl up in a ball and don’t answer the door because the anxiety kicks in. Before Covid, I ran a clinic that was open to the public. Sigh.
Doctors don’t listen, no one cares, days turn into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and yet I’m about the same. If anything, I’m actually worse than I have been. I’m so sick of this. LC has taken the joy out of so many lives. I am losing hope.
My wife took her own life after a battle with LC that as a mostly asymptomatic covid infection. LC took from me one of the healthiest, most vibrant people that I’ve ever known, to a person so debilitated that she could not bear another day on this planet. She left her beloved 11 year old son, who watched the ambulance take her away. The ER doctor assumed it was depression that drove her to suicide. I said, “She wasn’t depressed. It was Long Covid.” He looked at me in bewilderment and asked, “What is Long Covid?”
The worst symptom for me is anxiety. It just won’t go away for good. Anywhere I go, I am anxious I might have a panic attack in front of people, and most people where I am are extremely rude towards anyone that seems to have social issues. In my case, anxiety is much more of a problem than the other symptoms others are experiencing. My social life has died. I am lonely.
Is anyone finding that the months are rolling along their anxiety is getting worse? The symptoms change so frequently, it’s hard to keep up. Just looking for some reassurance as I can’t seem to shake the anxiety and I’m trying to stay on the lowest dose of anxiety medicine. Maybe that’s a mistake? I’ve never needed medicine just to get through the day and I’m so afraid of becoming dependent, but I don’t know what else to do. I’m walking, meditating and praying like I’ve never prayed before. How long, Lord? How long?
My anxiety is at its all time high. I don’t even trust my own decisions anymore. I second guess everything I do and say. Then I get paranoid that I’ve done something wrong or upset someone. I have no confidence and my world has drastically changed since having covid. Will this ever get better? Should I try a different doctor or anxiety meds? No one in the medical field seems to understand. Anxiety is robbing me of a happy and joyful life.
My family went out to dinner, and their sautéed onions for their steaks were killing me. My older children looked at me and said, “Oh great, here we go again with her smells.” They laughed and rolled their eyes. I felt sick to my stomach. I’m so over this. I mentally can’t do it. I miss “normal”. I miss eating healthy. I miss the joy that is missing from dining with my family at a nice restaurant.
I never had depression or anxiety pre-covid. These symptoms are overwhelming. I can deal with physical pain, but not the horrible emotional and mental anguish. I can’t sleep. I’m a shadow of my former self. Every day is a huge struggle. I’m having suicidal urges. I just want to go away and be free of this devastating condition.
I used to be able to get out a few times a week. Now I’m overwhelmingly fatigued all the time. Sound and light disturb me. I don’t want to hear people talking. Family members think I’m crazy. My depression and anxiety are nonstop. I wouldn’t wish this pain on my worst enemy.
-Lori
I am having severe digestive issues. I am dealing with diarrhea and cramping. I had Covid in November. I also have extreme anxiety. It’s been going for about 4 weeks now. I’m so scared that it’s something worse. I have lost weight that I didn’t need to because I’m not sure what’s causing this. My anxiety is through the roof now. I could use some reassurance that I am ok. Guess I’ll contact my doctor, thought most doctors don’t seem to understand or believe the affects of Long Covid.
I’m 3 years in with LC. Suddenly, 7 weeks ago I was getting gastric symptoms (abdominal pain, diarrhea, hemorrhoids). This is totally different than my previous fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety. Pain in back of legs. My PA in the Long Haul Clinic doesn’t think this is normal. I wonder if anyone else is having these issues. I can’t stand this.
So I got Covid in August of 2021. I couldn’t hold any food down. It was the worst thing ever. I ended up in the emergency room. I weighed 135 pounds before I got it and while I was sick, I weighed 90 pounds. It’s been almost 3 years, and I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in that time frame. I’ve been fluctuating between 85 and 95 pounds. I almost never have an appetite. I’ve been having gut issues and never had them before Covid. I’m only 20 years old. I’m nauseous most every day. I’ve seen different doctors, and they haven’t done a dang thing. Is this Long Covid? I think so. I also haven’t been able to go to work.
I have no appetite at all. I try to stuff food in me, but it gives me bad stomach and digestive problems. Today I managed 850 calories. Hope someone has ideas on how to get more nutrition into my body. I hate being this thin.
I’ve been struggling with Long Covid symptoms, but the digestive symptoms are getting debilitating and it’s getting increasingly difficult to leave my house most days. I am insatiably hungry all the time and experience IBS symptoms almost 24/7. I try my best to manage it naturally and google my heart out, but I’ve had no luck. I’ve missed so much work and school and I have no social life anymore. I feel like my life will never be the same as before Covid.
I’m 1 ½ months struggling with GI problems…weird sounds all day long, bloating, digestive issues, diarrhea. I went to a GI doctor, and he gave me probiotics for 15 days. My stools became a little bit better, but when I stopped the prescription, diarrhea returned. Last June Covid hit me hard with high fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Wish someone could help me. I’m desperate.
I’m curious what other people’s stomach/digestive issues are. I’m almost 2 years into Long Covid. This particular problem started about 4 or 5 months ago. I get the worst pain in my stomach whenever I eat. I’m going to the GI doctor today. Why did I wait so long to go? Why do I wait on everything now…because so many things go away on their own just to start a newer and typically a worse symptom. I’m so hoping it’s nothing more serious since I procrastinated. What a strange and unfair condition.
I need help with bad GI symptoms. I have gastric pain, diarrhea and much more I won’t make you hear. I definitely think there is Covid still in my digestive system. I tend not to take pharmaceutical route, so I’m searching for other treatments. I hope to find someone who might have suggestions on how to deal with this condition. This is miserable and affecting my whole life.
I go weeks with constant nausea. It’s totally draining and causes anxiety and depression. Eating or not eating, same problem. I can’t imagine dealing with this for the rest of my life. I’ve tried medication, but no improvement. I miss feeling normal. I wish my family believed me.
I lost 35 pounds in 2 weeks due to not being able to eat anything. I am bedbound and still being told it’s all in my head. This is maddening. If I keep losing weight, I’m going to have to check myself in at the hospital. Why won’t doctors believe this is real? Why would someone make it up?
I started having serious GI issues 3 weeks after having Omicron in January of 2022. Basically my colon has shut down and I’m on 3 laxatives a day just to have a bm. I’m so miserable. The doctor has run tests, but found no reason for this awful situation. I guess Omicrom creates its own special problems. I am feeling hopeless about the future of my health.
Does anyone struggle with appetite issues? It’s like a switch, it’s either on or it’s off for months at a time. Right now I have absolutely no appetite, no hunger pangs, nothing. The thought of food nauseates me. My husband keeps offering to make food for me. The last time this happened, I lost too much weight. The a switch came on and I gained too much weight. I can’t exercise. I make healthy food choices. I’m 5’8 and my weight my whole life has been 125-130 pounds. Switch off, 105 pounds. Switch on, 170 pounds. Switch off now and I’m back to 140 and losing. Will this ever end?
I tested positive with Covid in April, 2023. I ended up having diarrhea as one of the main symptoms. I suffer daily bouts of gas, cramps, and loose stools. Some days are better than others. Some days I have no symptoms at all. Just wondering if probiotics would help this miserable condition.
I spend most every waking hour trying to manage abdominal pain. I have to force food down in order to survive. This is debilitating. I take probiotics and acid reducers. Another horrible symptom is is an incredible amount of gas, and the scent reflects the toxins that are running rampant in my body. Disgusting!
Dizziness, digestive pain, burning and terrible abdominal pain are my symptoms for about 6 months. I sometimes come close to fainting. Nothing seems to help. I feel like the nerves in my stomach are very sensitive. I’m finding it difficult to feed my body healthy food choices and I’m getting weaker every day. I’m losing hope of ever being back to normal.
Since covid, my digestive system has been so torn up. I had to eliminate a lot of foods and try to stick with low histamine items. This is not humane what I’m going through. I don’t know how to heal my gut. When are thy ever discover some way to relieve these awful symptoms of long covid?
Wanted to share my success story. I am a forty-year-old fitness trainer, health coach and athlete. I got Covid December 2020. No respiratory issues, no hospitalization, no fever. Body aches, chills, migraines, fatigue, brain fog, loss of smell and taste for 3 weeks. I “recovered”, but had lingering brain fog and fatigue. About every month or so, I’d get a “flare up” where I’d have inflammation, fatigue, migraines. Also, I had a weakened immune system and caught every cold. Around September, I increased my workouts and duration, which sent my system in a spiral where I felt sick daily. Finally, feeling hopeless, I began chiropractic and acupuncture care to help me be more structurally sound. I persevered with these treatments, and I am now 100% recovered! Just wanted to tell you: Don’t give up and try different remedies until you find one that helps!!!
I got parosmia in November of 2021. I was fully recovered by October 2023. I am now able to eat everything, even the things I thought would never get better. Onion was the last thing to come back, but I am now recovered. It took 2 long years for me, but I am so very grateful.
Still recovering, but there are silver lining moments. No more nausea, headache, wobbly legs, electric feelings throughout my body. The CALM app helped me so much with my breathing. Meditation, acupuncture and talk therapy about my condition made a huge difference in my recovery from a long illness. Take the good moments. Enjoy them and have faith that there will be more to come.
Today is one of my better days. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out of bed, but I did. I also got some laundry going AND I rearranged my sitting room to be a sweet oasis on the days I’m well enough to be out of bed. I’m not going to let Long Covid steal my joy! Keeping a positive attitude and hoping for complete restored health!
I had acupuncture yesterday. The doctor put about 7 needled on my face and a few on my hands and feet. I am one year into parosmia and the difference last night was unbelievable. I am so much better…not perfect, but I can tolerate the smell of shampoo, toothpaste, bananas and several other things that smelled so disgusting. I am so happy. I will continue with the acupuncture. It’s worth a try for those of you that are experiencing the symptoms of Long Covid parosmia.
It has been one whole long year since the beginning of parosmia. I’m not completely healed, but so much better. I still can’t stand peanut butter, chocolate and most sweets. Most everything else is tolerable. Sometimes I get lucky, and something tastes and smells almost normal. I hope for continued improvement. Wishing all those with this terrible condition to heal.
Last Thanksgiving, I wasn’t able to eat anything but pumpkin pie and rye bread. I had to force myself to even walk into my mom’s front door because the smell was so horrendous. THIS Thanksgiving I was able to eat everything! Food doesn’t taste as I remember, but I’m no longer gagging it down. This disorder is dangerous on so many levels. Keep taking it day by day. It will hopefully get better with time! So cheers to me and Dr. Pepper!
I’m recovering. 18 months post covid, my health continues to improve. You just need to work the process as it’s a long and arduous slog. My earliest symptoms were brain fog, dizziness, shortness of breath and fatigue. With time and patience, I healed. Feeling really bad for those still dealing with Long Covid symptoms.
It’s been one year since my major crash that made me bedbound for three weeks. I felt I was doomed to feeI that way the rest of my life. I was seriously depressed. Finally, I slowly rebuilt my strength, starting with 2 minute walks, only increasing with seconds. I gave my body time to heal. Now I’m back to 75% and I can run 5 km. I wouldn’t wish this Long Covid curse on my worst enemy.
I offer this to you because I know it’s hard for a person to recover, especially when they just drop in on a support group or say, “Hey, I got well and I’m living this amazing life right now.” I remember being sick and seeing posts like that and thinking it must be spam. I found a support group when I was severe. But slowly I healed and I wanted to share this offer of hope for recovery.
Y’all, I feel like I am SLOWLY getting better! I’m able to eat more meats now as long as they’re plain and not seasoned with onions or garlic. I made chicken soup last night and it was GOOD. Coffee still tastes and smells “different”. But bacon is back! Stay hopeful and hang in there!
It has been one whole long year since the beginning of parosmia. I’m not completely healed, but so much better than a year ago. I’m probably about 80% well. Still can’t stand peanut butter, chocolate or most sweets, but most everything else is tolerable. Sometimes I get lucky and something smells almost normal!! Hope to continue this journey and get everything back 100%!
After seven months, I’m noticing some substantial improvements this bweek. I’m smelling things easily that I have not smelled at all in the last 7 months and I think I’m getting better each day. I keep sniffing essential oils, because I think that helps. I still can’t smell some things, but certain smells are coming back slightly, so there’s some hope.
I have severe long covid, and am not able to do the job I loved so much. But I have so many things to be thankful for and I have learned so much through this Long Covid journey. There have been many blessings in my suffering. After 3 years, I have less negative thoughts and more hope for a recovery. I just read an article in a medical journal that thought they could have the answer to this in the next 2 years. Now I know that is a long time, but there is hope.
For the first time today, I feel more normal, more like myself. I finally gained 2 pounds and can eat solid food without feeling nausea. I finally feel hungry! I thought I was never going to be able to eat again. But I’m getting my life back!
I’ve had parosmia for 2 years. It is grueling. I’m so tired of protein drinks. Over the weekend, everything went back to normal, just out of the blue! I am a bit overwhelmed. I chose a Mexican restaurant after church. I ate chips, salsa, queso, onions and cilantro! Now I have to be careful not to overeat! It is a joyous feeling to have my taste back. I’m so grateful!
Finally found something that is helping. I changed my diet. I’m seeing noticeable improvement within 2 weeks on this plan. I’m looking at it like a lifestyle change. It’s basically an anti-inflammatory, antihistamine and anti-candida diet. No gluten, sugar, dairy, starchy vegetables, alcohol. My brain fog has lifted, I have more strength, and I’m less tired. All my symptoms seem to be steadily improving.
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Your journey with Long COVID-19 might have been filled with ups and downs, uncertainties, and personal discoveries. Remember, by sharing your story, you are not just recounting an experience; you are reaching out to someone who might be searching for that very tale of resilience, understanding, or inspiration.
Your voice can be a beacon of hope in the swirling uncertainty of Long COVID-19. We warmly invite you to share your story and join our chorus of voices at Swirl of Hope.
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