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Thread: Post COVID Loss of Taste & Smell

  1. #1
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    Default Post COVID Loss of Taste & Smell

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    I had COVID on New Year's Eve. I had a mild case and, other than being a little fatigued for the next few days, was recovered by the night of January 3rd. During the time I was sick, I lost 12 pounds, and it has not returned. My lifts, as I've discovered, have suffered a good bit more than I anticipated. I will admit that I have been holding back a bit and am running a quick LP by adding 20 pounds to each lift, but I'm noticing that the weights feel a lot heavier than I anticipated.

    My biggest problem is that eating just sucks right now. Steak, burgers, vegetables, rice, oatmeal, all my dietary staples taste the exact same: like absolutely nothing. It's one thing to order a 24 oz. steak, get halfway through it, and let my greedy taste buds and olfactory senses convince me to eat the rest of it. I get none of that right now. It is not pleasurable and it's just a depressing chore. My doctor informed me today that some people get it back in a few weeks, while others are still senseless from their illness in March. There's no real way to tell.

    I'm banking on the assumption that I'll get it back in three weeks. I have no evidence to support this, but I like to be optimistic about it. Until that time, do you have any creative solutions or advice for me on how to start getting my weight back and to eat "properly?" I cannot begin to explain how absolutely annoying this is.

    P.S. - If anybody reading this has the same experience, be careful about gas leaks and smoke in your house. We had a gas leak outside our home the day before yesterday and I had no idea. My wife and I both lost our sense of smell and had it not been for a friendly neighbor, the gas line would still be leaking... Or we'd be charred to a crisp.

  2. #2
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    Keep an eye on those gas leaks first of all.

    How much are you actually eating despite the difficulty eating?

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    Keep an eye on those gas leaks first of all.

    How much are you actually eating despite the difficulty eating?
    Gas leaks are fixed.

    Yesterday, which is the most I’ve eaten in two weeks was the following:

    BLT sandwich (2 slices of Dave’s Killer Seed bread)
    2, 6 oz. Salmon filets
    16 oz milk and 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition protein powder
    Large bowl of chili with ~1/2 pound bison.

    That’s it and I know it’s not enough. My satiety is through the roof. If I try to force anything else down, I just gag.

    I could probably stomach another protein shake, but any more solid food is really hard to get down.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank_B View Post
    We had a gas leak outside our home the day before yesterday and I had no idea. My wife and I both lost our sense of smell and had it not been for a friendly neighbor, the gas line would still be leaking... Or we'd be charred to a crisp.
    Gas + CO monitors are not expensive. Consider. When either of these things go wrong, it goes real wrong.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by stef View Post
    Gas + CO monitors are not expensive. Consider. When either of these things go wrong, it goes real wrong.
    No doubt, stef! I picked them up at Lowe’s yesterday and installed them today. A gas leak was the last thing on my mind when I lost my smell and taste.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank_B View Post
    Gas leaks are fixed.

    Yesterday, which is the most I’ve eaten in two weeks was the following:

    BLT sandwich (2 slices of Dave’s Killer Seed bread)
    2, 6 oz. Salmon filets
    16 oz milk and 2 scoops of Optimum Nutrition protein powder
    Large bowl of chili with ~1/2 pound bison.

    That’s it and I know it’s not enough. My satiety is through the roof. If I try to force anything else down, I just gag.

    I could probably stomach another protein shake, but any more solid food is really hard to get down.
    You are basically eating keto. Of course you are full. Maybe eat smaller protein and fat portions and spread them out. You won't be so hungry that way.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Santana View Post
    You are basically eating keto. Of course you are full. Maybe eat smaller protein and fat portions and spread them out. You won't be so hungry that way.
    OK. Thanks. Prior to this you had recommended I eat 4 cups of rice a day along with my 1/2 cup to 1 cup of oatmeal. I was also eating a lot more protein. That was working really well for me, but the carbs seem to be the hardest to get down, for some reason. I'll spread it out and try to get more carbs in there.

    Since I wrote this, I have about 5% of my smell back, but no taste yet. If I stick my nose close to my food and inhale deeply, sometimes I can get a whiff of the food. It's amazing how much that can help one's appetite.

  8. #8
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    Smell and taste are very much interconnected. The big protein portions are getting you full and making it hard to eat the carbohydrates. Again, spread that out and it will make things easier.

  9. #9
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    I’ve been almost permanently without a sense of smell for several years. Food is just something I have to get through. Very little pleasure in it.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    That is hell Nockian. What is wrong with your nose?

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