How do I get my sense of taste back after covid? : asklemmy

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 45 points 9 months ago (3 children)

The following comment is NSFW and n=1 and also I wouldn't post it if I wasn't anonymous so here goes. Don't keep reading if you're easily grossed out. Content warning; urine.

Knowing that I had lost my sense of taste from covid, I reviewed the things I could do that not having a sense of taste might benefit from, and I asked my boyfriend (who I'm aware has a mild watersports fetish) if he'd like to take advantage of my lack of sense of taste...

And he did.

And later that night, shortly after our experiment, my sense of taste came back! I don't know if it's a revolutionary treatment for Covid, but if you're desperate...

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 33 points 9 months ago (1 children)

We need a larger sample size to be statistically significant. Please report back after 29 more attempts.

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 25 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I don't want to get covid 29 more times so I need some people to volunteer as tribute.

Know anybody who can help, ToiletObserver?

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 29 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Oh eff me, the first comment after moving from kbin is about getting pee in my mouth.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't think it can work that fast, but there is connection between zink and sense of taste, and sperm has high level of zink.

[–] Traegert@lemm.ee 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

She was not referring to sperm my dude.

[–] flicker@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

Indeed I was not.

[–] QuarterSwede@lemmy.world 32 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

If you figure it out let me know. It’s been 2 years for me.

I have heard of Stellate Ganglion Block which blocks the nerve and kind of reboots it. People talk about it literally working instantly. About $500/side (they can do one or both) and you have to find someone that can do it near you.

God I miss the taste of good coffee.

[–] Zorg@lemmings.world 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I saw some studies indicating diphenhydramine/Benadryl can reduce long Covid symptoms. Can try and dig them up again if you're interested, although the stellate ganglion block sounds a lot more effective.

[–] Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net 3 points 9 months ago

That first one sounds easier, I'll give it a try

[–] felixwhynot@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

I recall reading about Alpha-Lipoic Acid as a supplemental treatment for post viral loss of smell. I took some when I lost my smell after a bout of covid and mine did come back, YMMV!

[–] Grass@sh.itjust.works 20 points 9 months ago (2 children)

This but also the infinite fatigue

[–] Perhapsjustsniffit@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

And the shortness of breath. Like breathing through a flat straw.

[–] mirtuevagnet@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

There has been some recent progress on this: https://www.amsterdamumc.org/en/spotlight/tiredness-experienced-by-long-covid-patients-has-a-physical-cause.htm

Apparently, avoiding cardiovascular exercise helps. Anecdotal comments on Reddit suggest that adding in some weightlifting helps as well. Good luck.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

Just gotta wait it out.

[–] otherbarry@lemmy.zip 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It's a waiting game, unfortunately that's how viral infections & their symptoms work. It could be a few days, a few weeks, a few months.. and yes could even be a few years. And for some people the lingering symptoms due to a viral infection never really go away.

For what it's worth the people I know that have lost their sense of taste due to covid regained it after a few weeks/months.

[–] JimmyBigSausage@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

I have read it could take about 3 months but may vary among individual cases. Ask your GP.

[–] Shinzid@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Mine gradually came back after some time (I think maybe a week or two before it fully recovered?)

Some things that helped me in the meantime while my taste buds were dead was orange juice. That's was probably the only thing I could taste and kept my sanity up throughout the ordeal.

[–] phanto@lemmy.ca 4 points 9 months ago

Me too! Anything citrus still tasted like citrus, so I had a lot of lemon beverages, orange juice, etc.

My sense of taste came back quick though. Chocolate was good again, like, five days after symptoms ended.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Allegedly Zink should have a role in sense of taste, so supplementing Zink may help restore poor sense of taste.
Vitamin D also plays a role, but you should probably be taking Vitamin D anyway. You can only make vitamin D when you are in the sun when it's at 45° or higher, and it's near impossible to eat food that has sufficient Vitamin D.

[–] Joker@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 9 months ago

Eat spicy food. I ate the hottest wings I could find and my sense of taste started coming back the next day.

[–] highenergyphysics@lemmy.world -2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You don’t!

Remember this next time you interact with a conservative. They did this to you.

Doesn’t that make you mad?

[–] moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

? what does politics have to do with this post

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 17 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

A lot, considering we politicized the fuck out of that virus, which lead to global pushback against mitigating its spread and ultimately resulting in avoidable infections, unnecessary suffering, and senseless deaths. You're on the receiving end of that attack, so previous poster isn't wrong to include your personal suffering into the broader generalization of the covid dumpster fire as a whole.

That said, his delivery was shit, and he was wrong about the "You don't!" bit - you can absolutely retrain your senses. I've got nothing but heresay on the 'how' side of that though, so my advice would be to make an appointment with your doc and see if he or she can point you to an effective sensory therapy process.

And for real, good luck. I've gotten that shit twice now, and honestly losing taste was among my biggest fears. Food is one of the only things I can consistently look forward to on a daily basis... losing the ability to enjoy food would be depressing as fuck. Like literally, clinically depressing as fuck - food is a massive part of pretty much every culture, and our social events pretty much all revolve around food. Contrasted against the "it can kill you" side of covid, the taste and smell thing is kind of permanently out of the spot light, which doesn't do justice to the (albeit nonlethal) severity of that symptom.

[+] bjg13@lemmy.world -6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Get vaccinated.

[–] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

While I will agree that everyone should get vaccinated to stop the spread, my best friend is a nurse and fully vaccinated, and he still got covid, and while still not as bad thanks to the vaccine, he still lost his taste and hasn't recovered it yet.

Your comment is ignorant and rude.

[–] Nevermore9197@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

No, getting vaccinated after your infection shows some promise in reducing and treating long covid symptoms

[–] justJanne@startrek.website 1 points 9 months ago

The 5th booster brought my sense of smell back for a month, but it quickly disappeared again :/

[+] Shady_Shiroe@lemmy.world -40 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

[deleted]

[–] TootSweet@lemmy.world 29 points 9 months ago

It's spiking again, in fact.

But also, it's possible OP had COVID back in 2021 or some such and just still hasn't gotten their sense of taste back. You should look into "long covid" if you didn't know COVID could cause symptoms (sometimes debilitating symptoms) for years after the initial infection.

[–] EldritchFeminity@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 9 months ago

The US is currently in its second biggest spike of COVID infections ever. At the estimated peak on the 11th, they're expecting 2 million new infections per day. The current strain going around is supposedly different enough from the ones the vaccines up until September were designed for that it is effectively immune to those vaccinations.

COVID never left, and in fact the more recent strains have been more infectious and more severe than the original ones were, but we haven't heard much about them because basically everybody who can be is vaccinated.

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