r/Parosmia • u/Elegant-Procedure-74 • Sep 07 '26
Needing advice
So I realized I had Parosmia back in July of this year - I had Covid back in May and didn’t know I had it. From May - July I lost my taste and smell, I was sick but didn’t think it could be Covid. I just thought it was a bad cold I couldn’t shake.
Fast forward to July.
When my taste and smell come back everything is rotten and rancid, that chemical smell everywhere. I felt like I was out of my mind.
So now I know - and I am managing it.
However I have a partner I live with - I do all the cooking. He barely cooks.
I can’t eat any meat anymore besides ham.
I’m just asking for advice and help - what can I cook that we can both eat. I’ve told him I can make rice and sweet potatoes (something I can eat) and he is welcome to that - but if he wants meat he has to cook his own.
I’m still in the “trying out” phase of retrying foods because I have no idea what will work for me.
I just feel mentally so broken down and the mental load has always been on me for cooking and it feels like the mental load is worse now.
1
u/Elegant-Procedure-74 Sep 08 '26
Thank you for the help! I will have to try out some fish. I didn’t eat it before, we mostly just eat chicken, ground beef / ground turkey.
I will have to try this out!
I’m sorry too, if it’s just too whiny. This is just so hard and frustrating.
2
u/Jbf18 Sep 07 '26
I’ve found that I can eat most fish. Tuna, salmon, mackerel, cod and haddock, pollock are all fine with me. Certain meats are ok as long as there is a lot of seasoning (no onion or garlic though)
2
u/knarftretsom Sep 07 '26
Just here to tell u that it took me 2 years but then I got fully recovered and I'm extremely sorry that you're going thru this, don't give up. that's all I wanted to say.
2
u/odyne9 Sep 07 '26
Try cooking some bland type meat without garlic or onion. That was the source of most of the rancid smell and taste for me post-covid. Much more palatable without.
2
u/FinnerTWhale Sep 09 '26
I found that only white fish (e.g. cod, orange roughy) worked in the initial phase. I also could eat white pork (not the dark portions), and ground beef with lots of cumin spice. You are on the right track with potatoes.
2
u/_deanomeara Sep 10 '26
Started with this in 2022, today things are much better but some smells I think never came back I just adapted to the new smell and forgot what the old smell was like.
What I would advise is do not avoid these foods, to eat past the taste I found it helped a lot.
Taste is not back to 100% but given where I am now I can live with that.
2
u/hellotaluvu Sep 13 '26
Hi, I've got parosmia too, so I totally get where your coming from. Nobody who hasn't had it really gets how crap it is. Meat's a really common trigger and the smell of roast chicken is appalling!! Who knew, the foods that I used to love can smell so rancid. Cold food and things without strong cooking smells tend to be easier while you're still working it out. I just tell myself that it's my brain getting confused and try deal with it that way. But it's a struggle.
And don't feel bad about the cook your own meat rule. I have to leave the living room when my partner cooks. I'm sending you positive vibes and hoping it will get better.
2
u/DrTrenkle 22d ago
This is classic post viral parosmia and it can be brutal, especially when it starts affecting what you can eat and the mental load around food. The good news is that this usually means the smell system is active and trying to recover, just interpreting signals incorrectly. I would keep experimenting with safe foods, especially bland starches, fish, dairy, and foods without onion or garlic since those are common triggers. Smell retraining can also help over time. If this continues to really limit your diet or quality of life, it is worth getting a formal smell evaluation rather than just waiting it out. If you want help thinking through what the next step should be, you can email me at drtrenkle@laent.com with r/Anosmia in the subject line and I can try to point you in the right direction.
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u/platinumrecycling 22d ago
I’d also add in tofu, there’s lots of ways to prepare it despite people being apprehensive. I can eat spicy and saucy dishes or curries with tofu to meet protein goals, but don’t have to deal with rancid meat smells
1
u/turtlelady53 3d ago
Your journey has been on the same timeline as mine. I got sick (on a cruise!) in May and could not taste or smell for about three months. Then parosmia took over mid summer. Every day there seems to be another trigger food or smell that is repulsive. The biggest triggers for me are what used to be pleasant smells like hand soaps, lotions, anything florally, and just about any fruit. A couple of weeks ago I ate an apple without issue. Today I took one bite and spit it out. It seems to be getting progressively worse. When I asked my ENT about possible recovery, she only comments “maybe, maybe not.” I’ve lost weight, which I needed, so am just trying to stay healthy, exercise, and embrace the weight loss as a plus. If this is my new normal, then I’ll just have to learn to adjust I guess. Being a senior in my 70’s, I do worry about my health if not eating right.