Ever lose your sense of smell?

[Jenise]

Lost mine about seven weeks ago. Was at a tasting lunch in Vancouver and it was the weirdest thing--the first three wines I could smell just fine, but suddenly they served wine number four (a fine and aromatic red Burgundy, I was assured) and it was gone. Just like that. The wine in my glass may as well have been water. A few very faint aromas from one or two of the next nine wines got through but for all intents and purposes, the shnozz was out of business and so it has been ever since. I've been on antibiotics for a month.

Feel free to heap on the sympathy.

p.s. The only good day was the one in the French doctor's office where a distressed little boy in the waiting room suddenly lost complete control of his bowels and made a huge mess. Judging by everyone else's reactions the odor was about as bad as such a thing can be--but I couldn't smell a thing!

[James Roscoe]

No one who spent three weeks in Provence is getting ANY sympathy from me! (maybe a little )

Never with the flu but sometimes with a bad cold. And once in a most amusing setting. The occasion was a blind tasting of some very fine wines indeed, at one of the best known wineries of Bordeaux, one of those super-formal tastings with valued colleagues at which no one said a word during the entire tasting. Not even raised eyebrows.

Somewhere about halfway through the tasting I was handed a note informing me that there was a major problem with my car which was parked outside. I left the table, walked to where the car was parked and could not help as I neared but see that there was a huge gas leak in progress. My error was only in getting too close, inhaling some of the gas fumes and after that believe me I could not tell the difference between Chateau Petrus, Chateau Cat's Pee or seven day old underwear from someone who had been trekking through the Okefenokee swamps. A most "enlightening experience" of which the effect lasted for nearly eight hours before my nose started to function as it should.

The gas leak was caused by a small tube that carried the gasoline to the engine, that having frayed considerably. A local garage put the car in fine order in relatively short order.

Best
Rogov

I hope they are not only giving you antibiotics, Jenise, since anosmia (the medical term) can have several causes, and some are pretty bad. At least here in Sweden we check anosmic patients rather thoroughly.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

I feel for you, Jenise. I recall having a diminished sense of smell for a short time quite a while ago but never actually lost. I hope the best for you!

What a terrible thing, Jenise. I hope your sense of smell returns soon.

Some years ago I had a very bad bout of flu (kept me at home the better part of a month) that completely knocked out my sense of smell. This happened in late December. I decided I was going to celebrate New Year's Eve, got Chinese take-out from the best restaurant in the area, and opened a nice bottle of Champagne. The Kung Pao chicken tasted hot and salty. The Champagne tasted sour. What a disappointment. The only good part about the anosmia is that I hadn't been well enough to clean the cat box for over a week, and I couldn't smell that, either.

-Paul W.

Jenise,
I once caught a cold shortly before going down to Indy to pick up some wines. I had taken some Sudafed to ameliorate the symptoms, but when I got to the store I found that I had absolutely no sense of smell. My sinuses were clear, I could breathe easily, but alas to no effect. I took my wines, said hi to Bill Paumen and scooted out of there without tasting anything.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

I hope they are not only giving you antibiotics, Jenise, since anosmia (the medical term) can have several causes, and some are pretty bad. At least here in Sweden we check anosmic patients rather thoroughly.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

Don't worry--I'm taking this seriously. My initial problem was a recurrence of a sinus problem I've had before inflamed by a particularly nasty and long-lasting virus one of the guys picked up likely on the plane to France and which we then all caught, so for the moment I'm stuck waiting to find out what symptoms are left after the new antibiotic has killed all signs of infection. (I also was prescribed a nasal steroid but I have to admit to being a total chicken about using it.) Anyway, didn't want to get into all that--just want sympathy! Life is pretty boring without great food and wine.

[Jenise]

believe me I could not tell the difference between Chateau Petrus, Chateau Cat's Pee or seven day old underwear

Now that's funny. Note to self: catch up on laundry before smell comes back....

Lots of sympathy here, it sounds like an awful affliction. Hopefully you'll wake up one day (very soon!) and your sense of smell will be back as quickly as it disappeared.

Ack!!! Hope this passes quickly, Jenise. It sounds terrible. (Except for the part about the doctor's office!)

Sympathy you have, Jenise!
My smeller hasn't worked well for maybe 30 years. Probably from inhaling various race car fumes, but who knows?
I probably use my taste buds as much as my nose, but I'm quite sure I miss nuances.
So, if it doesn't come back, you'll develop workarounds.

John

[Robin Garr]

No advice but lots of sympathy from here!

Just out of curiosity, Jenise, if you don't mind answering test questions, do you find that you can still enjoy good food and wine, only not as much, or does the loss of smell pretty much diminish your interest? I think I'd be okay with food, but I wonder if I'd even want to waste bucks or calories on good wine if I couldn't smell it at all.

Either way, here's a get well SOON wish!

Just out of curiosity, Jenise, if you don't mind answering test questions, do you find that you can still enjoy good food and wine, only not as much, or does the loss of smell pretty much diminish your interest? I think I'd be okay with food, but I wonder if I'd even want to waste bucks or calories on good wine if I couldn't smell it at all.

Not Jenise and never faced the problem myself but I can tell you from what I have witnessed with my mom that interest in food is significantly diminished with loss of smell. My mom has almost no sense of smell these days. This has been the case for many years and first became obvious when I entered her house to a horrible stench that she did not even notice. It did not take long to track down the rotting potatos and onions which were almost liquid and had obviously been that way for days yet she had no clue.

During the progression of her loss of sense of smell her interest in food diminished overall while here interest in anything sweet increased. She would barely touch anything I cooked for her but always wanted ice cream. I eventually figured out that if I wanted her to eat more I needed to kick up the salt in everthing I made for her. Since she can't smell she basically only tastes salty and sweet so everything she eats now has to have one or the other for her to take more than a couple of bites.

In case you are wondering there has also been a significant weight loss over the same time period.

With total loss of sense of smell, all you get from wine is intolerable sourness and a rough mouth feel from tannins.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Just out of curiosity, Jenise, if you don't mind answering test questions, do you find that you can still enjoy good food and wine, only not as much, or does the loss of smell pretty much diminish your interest? I think I'd be okay with food, but I wonder if I'd even want to waste bucks or calories on good wine if I couldn't smell it at all.

Wine still tastes okay but it's certainly not the same experience. While in Provence I was definitely still able to tell good wine from bad, but things like acid and minerality, always important, mattered more than ever before and without olfactory abilities there was no point in writing anything down or arguing with Bill and Coop about what we were drinking. Which for someone like me is at least half the fun of wine enjoyment! So, I drank a bit of wine at a party on Sunday but otherwise haven't had any wine since we got home. Food is actually worse: can't smell anything cooking even though I know I've filled the room with heady aromas. And seasoning? Stirfried some turkey and chanterelles the other night and napped them in a white vermouth veloute studded with a handful of fresh tarragon to stuff inside some wheat crepes. I know I made a beautiful dish but I could not taste the vermouth or the tarragon at ALL: it was tasteless and I ate just to combat hunger. Toward what Brian said about his mother, it would have tasted better with more salt but I knew it had enough, so I didn't add more. The only food that really has any flavor right now is smoked salmon (sugar AND salt!), which we did 20 or so pounds of in late August and froze, so I'll be fine for awhile.

Jenise, that is one weird and unsettling virus you've caught! And it has lasted way, way longer than it should--hope you get a handle on it very soon.
Many years ago while on vacation in Catalina our entire family got a virus which left us with a sense of smell but no tasting ability whatsoever. Spaghetti with bolognese sauce, lemon pie, salad with vinaigrette--you name it we could not taste anything. Everything tasted like cardboard. The only thing we could swallow with some pleasure was ice cream, even though we couldn't tell what the flavor was. The symptoms lasted about three days then disappeared as suddenly as they arrived, without treatment. We called it the "I can't taste anything" disease.

This just seriously sucks.... and for you in particular it must be pure torture. I not only sympathize, I find this very depressing. Hope they find out what the problem is... and soon. I assume you've tried sprays, smelling salts, cocaine, anything that might clean out the olfactory facilities.

Jenise,
I once caught a cold shortly before going down to Indy to pick up some wines. I had taken some Sudafed to ameliorate the symptoms, but when I got to the store I found that I had absolutely no sense of smell. My sinuses were clear, I could breathe easily, but alas to no effect. I took my wines, said hi to Bill Paumen and scooted out of there without tasting anything.

Mark Lipton

Is that the time I told you to buy lotsa 2001 ESJ W-F Syrah @$15, but alas you vanished?

Jenise,
I once caught a cold shortly before going down to Indy to pick up some wines. I had taken some Sudafed to ameliorate the symptoms, but when I got to the store I found that I had absolutely no sense of smell. My sinuses were clear, I could breathe easily, but alas to no effect. I took my wines, said hi to Bill Paumen and scooted out of there without tasting anything.

Mark Lipton

Is that the time I told you to buy lotsa 2001 ESJ W-F Syrah @$15, but alas you vanished?

That was the time that I walked out the door with an armful of ESJ wines, amongst which was, indeed, the '01 W-F (and The Shadow and some Shell and Bones IIRC). Have no fear, Bill, I always listen to you, especially when you're talking ESJ!

Mark Lipton

Jenise, sorry that your smelling sense is gone and that your vacation was plagued by illness! Gads, not fun. This made me remember reading Jancis Robinson once on how she lost her sense of smell, the effect it had on her tasting, and how she finally got it back with acupuncture treatments. Here's a link http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20081023.html hope you're better soon! cheers, Bonnie

[Jenise]

Jenise, that is one weird and unsettling virus you've caught! And it has lasted way, way longer than it should--hope you get a handle on it very soon.
Many years ago while on vacation in Catalina our entire family got a virus which left us with a sense of smell but no tasting ability whatsoever. Spaghetti with bolognese sauce, lemon pie, salad with vinaigrette--you name it we could not taste anything. Everything tasted like cardboard. The only thing we could swallow with some pleasure was ice cream, even though we couldn't tell what the flavor was. The symptoms lasted about three days then disappeared as suddenly as they arrived, without treatment. We called it the "I can't taste anything" disease.

What a funny story! But the virus didn't cause this. It's a sinus problem that started a week and a half or so before we picked up the virus--the virus just made everything a million times worse and the complications left behind are making it hard for the medical professionals I'm seeing to sort out what's what. Got a specialist lined up for next week though.

OH AND GET THIS: So yesterday I invite a couple to dinner on Sunday. Feels strange to entertain while impaired, but time is short for the husband (lung and bone cancer) so we're going to do this. And Sandy tells me she's going to bring four bottles of wine rescued from her mother's Beverly Hills apartment upon mom's recent move to assisted living. Sandy, whose favorite wine is Two Buck Chuck Syrah, reads the labels to me over the phone starting with a 76 Mouton Cadet blanc, followed by a St. Emilion and an Italian wine I've never heard of, also 70's vintages. Then the last one: 1966 Lafite Rothschild. That might be worth sticking a shovel up my nose to unblock it.

[Jenise]

Jenise, sorry that your smelling sense is gone and that your vacation was plagued by illness! Gads, not fun. This made me remember reading Jancis Robinson once on how she lost her sense of smell, the effect it had on her tasting, and how she finally got it back with acupuncture treatments. Here's a link http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20081023.html hope you're better soon! cheers, Bonnie

Bonnie, thanks, I'll read that. Interesting option, and one I'd do--there are a lot of good acupuncturists nearby in Vancouver, BC.

[Jenise]

This just seriously sucks.... and for you in particular it must be pure torture. I not only sympathize, I find this very depressing. Hope they find out what the problem is... and soon. I assume you've tried sprays, smelling salts, cocaine, anything that might clean out the olfactory facilities.

Cocaine? Sign me up.

This seriously sucks, and it would for anyone who loves food and wine. Had dinner with friends last night and sampled four wines. It's interesting what loss of smell does to wine evaluation: I can taste enough to tell the difference between good wines and bad as I would normally define such wines, but without offsetting attractive aromas the negatives are more absolute than usual. Here's my take on last night's wines:

2009 Syncline viognier: too sweet, needs more acid.
2009 Rodney Strong chardonnay: better.
Unsure of vintage, Opolo "Mountain Zinfandel": egads. Overripe, candy sweet, can't drink.
2005 Rollat "Edouard" bordeaux Blend, Washington state: Savory. Good.

The good news is there's absolutely no temptation to overdrink. Hey, Marley's here. I told him I'm typing to Uncle Jim.