Loss of Smell and Vitamin D3

frogvalley
frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭
edited May 2021 in General Health

My mother-in-law talked about her loss of taste for decades before she died. I had always heard that smell and taste go together, but never heard her talk about her sense of smell.

About a year ago (pre-CoVid), I realized that my sense of smell was diminishing. I didn't really take much notice of it as I could (and can still) taste everything. I talked to a doctor who was thinking what I was thinking - not enough gas to all the burners. My chiropractor banged, twisted and nudged things in my head and neck a bit, but nothing happened about my loss. It was kind of nice though, losing that sense, as I wasn't the least bit bothered by dog farts, sewage, or other strong odors. What's the big deal? Nice!

Well, not nice. I couldn't smell when I was burning something on the stove. I couldn't smell a moldy hotel room. I couldn't use my nose to properly identify onions or garlic in the wild.

There was only one article that I could find searching the internet that seems to address my predicament and it was describing research into vitamin D supplementation restoring smell in two women. Goodie! Something to try new to try.

I've been taking a supplement daily for just about a week and have started to smell just a few things again. It's only been a few days, so time will tell if I'm imagining it or I don't burn down my house reheating stew.

I am going to try the homeopathic remedy Pulsatilla later this summer (I can't at the moment) to see if it has an effect.

If anybody has any tips, hints or experiences with a sensual loss (ahem, loss of one of the senses), please share. "There's nothing we can do" is a challenge. Game on!

Comments

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    That is so interesting that Vit D can help with smell! Especially since both loss of smell/taste and vitamin D deficiency play a role in covid. I've heard that they use smell training to help people who lose it permanently--just practicing to notice smells, I think at different concentrations.

    A friend of mine lost her sense of smell when she banged her head as a child and that is many decades ago, so that is a different thing. I suppose that a sense can be hurt in various ways.

    You are right that 'there's nothing we can do' is a challenge. Go for it! :)

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @frogvalley Vitamin D3 is amazing. Our family has seen improvements in many areas using this. Give it a bit more time and see if you have more improvement.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,573 admin
    edited May 2021

    Sense of smell, eh? Well then. My sense of smell has been disappearing over time as well. I thought maybe it had all been due to mold, but maybe not. My husband can't smell much for smells, except for occasionally things that others can't (so strange), and we assumed that it was fully due to his polyps, and growing up in a smoking household, but maybe this could still help with that end of things.

    Okay...so here is a question that is bound to come up in this discussion...

    How much are each of you taking?

    Our recommended daily allowance (bare minimum suggested by the govt) is 1000 IU. They are talking about doubling it now even though the mantra before was more is not safe...

    We were doing 3,000, along with our raw, grass fed dairy & sun of course. We need to get more next time we go shopping.

  • tilathehunn
    tilathehunn Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    I noticed i lost my sense of smell around 2005. After i had a CT to rule out a brain tumor, i was told it was because of my bad allergies. There is a painful surgery that was offered w/ no guarantee my smell would come back. I skipped that option. I have been told zinc is the homeopathy option...that did not work for me either. I practice all the time to try to activate, wake up my lazy brain but...nothing. Sometimes it is funny, i get phantom smells of vanilla and maple. I miss my sense of smell...cooking is a challenge, yes i have burned food because i can no longer smell the cooking. I do not know what my cologne smells like. I do daily saline flushes, a modified neti pot so to speak. What happens is about two weeks out of the year it is like a window opens and i get to smell a scent and then it closes again. Early last month i had a bad fall at work that i treated w/magnesium oil...i actually got to smell for a couple of days! Idk if the magnesium played a part, it was nice to smell roses again. I look forward to hearing if vitamin d helps. Oh and i had heard about using Budesonide flushes for loss of smell in Covid patients. I tried it, didn't work but i may not have had enough. I do mot like using nasal steroids since they contribute to glaucoma and cataracts. That is my sad story...looking forward to trying Vit. D

  • kbmbillups1
    kbmbillups1 Posts: 1,390 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've heard that a loss of smell and taste means a deficiency in zinc. If I find the article I'll share it.

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    My grandmother lost her sense of smell or taste. I really don't remember which. Must have been smell because she salted everything very heavily. I have been reading that lose of the sense of smell is often an indication of a brain injury. Hopefully vitamin D will help.

    I also know that when I am low on Zinc, I can't taste the zinc until I get my levels back up.

  • Brindy
    Brindy Posts: 212 ✭✭✭

    That is awesome! I really hope this is a long term fix. Please keep us updated.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @tilathehunn Zinc is mentioned as a homeopathic remedy for loss of taste but it is one of the minor ones in my repertory program. There are others that you could try, keeping in mind that there are many other symptoms that can contribute to a remedy choice. Nat-mur is a top choice but seeing as you were able to smell after using a magnesium oil, you could try Mag-carb or Mag-mur. Both of the latter are high on the list as well.

    @frogvalley Pulsatilla comes up second on my list under Nat-mur for loss of smell. Puls might help with your other concern, too.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @torey I am taking Graphites to reduce a lump and it is (slowly) working, but it antidotes a couple of other remedies that are a must for acute issues, hence waiting until later this summer to try another remedy when hopefully, I won't be taking it anymore.

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    Awesome that vitamin D3 is making a difference.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning I'm taking 5,000 a few times a week. I have noticed a slight improvement, but I'm taking it slow. Having to deal with mold remediation this week, I'm glad I can't smell.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @monica197 cranial nerve impingement is something that came up on the visit to my chiropractor, so we're working on it. Every little hint/tip that I see/hear is helping a little.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @marjstratton I hadn't thought of brain injury. I did fall on the ice and got a concussion a few years back. It could be that. I might try Nat. Sulph in that case.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning

    and everyone else..

    In the summer with the sunshine we have here in Okla I do not take any vit D. I"m not moody and not sick. However, past that, as the strong sunshine fades, so does my mood and that is my trigger to start taking it again:

    For my personal use I take the amount that works for me: As needed, 5,000 international units, with fat for better absorption...guacamole or some other healthy fat dish...and usually withing half hour or so I can tell a real diff in my mood. During the winter months I usually take that amount twice a day. I am rarely sick and my mood drives when I take it so sometimes even in winter I find myself only needing to take 1 a day. In the deep of winter usually twice a day. With healthy fat so it is absorbed better. And make sure the Vit D/over the counter, is D3.

    As far as brain injuries, or no brain injuries, don't forget how important the B vitamin's are for neurological health. Get them in foods as much as you can. According to peer reviewed articles I have read they report that once damage is noticed it cannot be repaired but it can be stopped with adequate vit B levels/intake so don't wait and make it a daily goal. It could very well be the B vitamin's might also play a huge role in understanding anosmia due to it's relationship to the nerves.


    @frogvalley Just in case the nerve impingment might at least in part be caused by inflammation, once reduced through diet or other methods, you might find it improves, hopefully.

    I'm grateful for this topic as I have a family member with anosmia. The most important report I have found was using herbs and spices in increments to help improve the issue and for some it was working.


  • Brindy
    Brindy Posts: 212 ✭✭✭

    Interesting, a friend of mine a few years back fell and damaged his brain. After that he was not able to smell or taste. I didn't know about that, but noticed his drastic weight loss and asked him about it. That's when he told me about the fall. I had no idea. I jokes with him saying that I just need to fall so I can lose weight and he very quickly told me that is not what I want.

  • tilathehunn
    tilathehunn Posts: 168 ✭✭✭

    Thank you@torey, i will look for those products

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    Well, I got into my car today and drove to a farm with my husband for the Color Farm Tour. I was so excited as she grows flowers for weddings and other events. We got down the road a piece, I started to wonder what was making the smell in my car. WHAT? I'M WONDERING WHAT THE SMELL IS? THAT CAN ONLY MEAN ONE THING - I CAN SMELL! It took me totally by surprise because I had been nose blind for so long and this was "my smell" which they say you may not even be aware of it. Oh yes, I was aware of it. And it was there when I turned my head in both directions. When I went into a shed on the farm, I could smell it still on me. My husband confirmed that it wasn't in my head and it was exactly how I described it. I can smell. I didn't go around and sniff everything within reach, but those things that I did bend to my nose brought a smile to my face even if faintly detected. Ah ha!

    The only thing I've been doing is the 5,000 D3 every other day or so. Hurray for me!

  • flowerpower *
    flowerpower * Posts: 258 ✭✭✭

    @frogvalley Zinc deficiency is linked to a loss of smell and taste.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    That's awesome @frogvalley! I've heard we're all a bit deficient in vitamin D (pesticides etc affect our ability to make it, apparently) and my doctor has me on 3000 IU in summer, 4000IU in spring and fall, and 5000 IU in winter. So don't feel bad about taking the amount you have.

    But the big thing is to also take vitamin K2 or else large amounts of D can cause calcium deposition where it is not wanted. K2 is in natto and supplements. Apparently without K2 this much D can cause a problem.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @Annie Kate @flowerpower * You are correct about K2 & zinc. Nothing works in isolation. I should have said "the only thing I have been doing differently" is to add a bit more Vit D3 as my diet is great compared to the Standard American Diet (SAD) and includes the other nutrients you mention.

    It's difficult to pin point a "cause" of a problem because there are so many contributing factors. Molybdenum (Mo) for instance, isn't something that rolls off anyone's tongue when discussing diet, but should be included in any discussion concerning D3, bones, cancer, and a whole list of other issues. Yep, could be an issue here, too.

    There was/is something wrong in my D3 conversion/processing which was/is causing an issue. It can be nutrients, skin, intestines, eyes, kidneys, pituitary, thyroid, hypothalamus or something else. The fact that my ability to smell is returning after the relatively small addition of D3 in isolation suggests, to me, a focus on holistic support to hopefully prevent this from happening again including supplements, avoiding certain food (nightshades), rest, less use of electronics, more time in the sun, etc.

    I am very grateful to all who have contributed to helping me regain my ability to know when I've left a pot on the stove too long as well as enjoying the new baby smell of my grandson.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    It's been over a month experimenting with D3, Magnesium and Zinc for loss of smell. I can honestly say that my sense of smell is returning. It's quite interesting. Sometimes I find myself stopping to notice that I am actually smelling something - be it urine, dirt, flowers or dinner. Ah.........I can smell. Not everything mind you, and I feel like a little kid who has to be reminded that when they do the "pee-pee dance" it means you are having those sensations for a reason - something is happening, so you need to stop and acknowledge it. In my case, I have to stop, close my eyes and breath in deeply. Identifying the smell isn't the main goal. Primarily it's just realizing that there is an aroma and secondarily to identify the source. Retraining the brain and smelling equipment so to speak. Kinda like having a stroke in my nose?

    The zinc seems to be working along with the D3 and Magnesium. I'll continue adding the supplements to my daily routine. I haven't tried any homeopathic remedies specifically for this as I'm working on something else and don't want to antidote my progress.

    Thank you to everyone who commented on this subject as I look now forward to recouping my ability to smell herbs, body odor, mold, flowers and even feet with my renewed sense of smell with your assistance.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    Yesterday, I was taken completely by surprise. There was a heavy odor of "musty fur" at the bottom of my front porch steps. One of my dogs would go down there and seem to hunt for something. Later when we were taking a walk outside of our fenced yard, he spotted a ground hog and took off. My other dog joined in and eventually they killed it. I had no choice in the matter as they refused to leave the animal and I couldn't get very close as the dogs were trying to protect me from it. It was all a very animalistic instinctual experience. Upon hitting the spot beneath the steps again on returning to the house, I could now identify the smell that sent them hunting - groundhog. My nose has come a long way.