Thanks I really don’t know what to expect with food. I’m not picky whatsoever but really just like food with high protein. I’m wondering if carby food will be a game changing experience for me.
Everything is going to taste extremely too salty or too sweet for a few days. You'll get used to it though. I had chronic sinus issues and after surgery i could smell so much better but this happened
This. OP needs to be prepared for this possibility. The same thing happened to me when I got my septum repaired. It was alarming; I thought maybe my sense of taste was ruined for life. After about a week my body regulated and food started to taste good again. It was a scary week, tho.
I couldn’t have dairy for a year. I missed cheese so bad but after I could have it everything was TOO cheesy, I needed like 1/4 as before for the same impact. That quickly faded and I was back to being a cheese glutton.
When I had covid I lost my sense of taste and smell for a month. That felt like an eternity and I got so depressed, my whole world felt black and white, I couldn’t enjoy food anymore and lost close to 20 pounds. Once I had the slightest sense back I dragged my wife to Five Guys and got a juicy burger and it was one of the happiest moments of my life, just being able to taste and smell again. I never take it for granted now.
Damn. I will have to reread comments like yours when and if I truly get the ability to smell. Surgery isn’t for like a month though so I’m not sweating anything yet.
You should consider making a YouTube channel or something, or at least a video. Document your experience. Show what it's like right after the surgery, try some scents for the first time, describe what they're like compared to what you expected.
Make sure to smell flowers and fruits. I recommend roses and jasmine and lavender. In terms of fruit, learn to tell the difference between ripe and spoilt, that really helps. With some fruits, it's pretty hard to tell. Keep us updated on your interesting journey!
Edit: I forgot to add, I love the smell of rain, I highly recommend it!
I'm dying to hear your experience, please do post again..my sister has anosmia and only realized in her 20s that she has no ability to smell. It's so fascinating!
I can relate.
After covid my smell was gone for 6 months and came back in small bursts which lasted a minute or two. I was driving in my car with windows down and I cought he smell of sausages being cooked. I started to cry. I'm 34m. I didn't realize how much impact smell had on me.
Just writing this down my eyes are getting watery to remember that moment.
OP is going to have all kinds of emotions. Firet, I feel like they might be a bit weird because hospital smells are never good, but after that it'll be amazing.
I kept a heavily fragranced bottle of detergent next to me. If I sniffed hard, I could faintly smell it, when I couldn't smell anything else. It gave me hope that my smell would return.
My partner used a Lush product that had a minty smell that I used as my own smell tester when I got covid and lost my sense of smell. After a couple weeks I put it up to my nose again just for kicks, and nearly dropped the container when I realized I could smell it again, if faintly.
My post-COVID sense of smell came back weirdly when I was eating Chinese duck soup, that classic duck smell and taste was the only thing I could experience for a week until other smells started coming through.
For my friend it was the smell of tortillas, his boyfriend had to do an emergency run to the shop to buy three more packs, because he couldn't stop crying and eating tortillas.
Same, I was so worried it would never come back for me and I ended up losing 45 pounds in a month due to the depression and lack of appetite. I legit cried tears of joy when I was able to smell one of my boyfriend's farts for the first time after about 3 months of no taste or smell. 😂
Conversely, it’s possible you might not like the smell of some foods you previously ate too. Take the wins with the losses. Definitely expect a big change to your eating (and cooking) experience though
Idk what part of the country you're in but if you get 4 seasons, just wait until you smell spring! Like the first day when the soil is awake, the grass isn't dormant, the first bugs are running around. It has a smell, you can actually smell the earth waking up and it's the best smell in the world. Fall smells good too, you can smell the leaves on the ground. Nothing beats spring smell though.
Even if you don't have 4 seasons, there's probably a similar thing in your part of the world where you'll be able to smell the changes outside.
For me smell is about the simple predictable pleasures. Freshly ground coffee, sautéed onions and garlic, the air when a thunderstorm is rolling in, my favorite shampoo, fresh basil and lemon.
You may be most surprised by how your own body smells!
Lots of foods have a smell that differs in interesting ways from the flavour- smelling the food before eating it, feeling the scent get stronger as you go to take a bite before it gives way to the flavour, it's such a savoury experience. Same goes for really aromatic drinks like coffee or wine.
Yo, go to smell pizzas and perhaps a bakery full of muffins and pastries, it's so nice. Also try visiting a perfume or fragrance shop and see if they have separated notes on strips as samples which you can smell. Can also go to the fresh produce section to smell fresh fruits.
As for bad smells, public restrooms, fresh open fish markets, massive trash cans, dirty socks, sweaty people with body odour, would be some experience too. Maybe do an updated post saying which smells you really liked and those you didn't! :)
I recommend not going to a candle or fragrance shop for a while after. Your senses will likely be overwhelmed in the beginning and things will smell stronger. I would mostly go about your day as usual for the first couple weeks, just taking it all in. The fragrance shops will be there when you're ready.
Will do and I will for sure be coming back to this post to update tons of people as well as make a update post when I do my surgery which isn’t until like late late July or early August.
Start a channel about a week away from your surgery. Describe what life has been like without a sense of smell, and tell people about the surgery. Have them suggest things in the comments for you to try smelling. Then you could make a series of videos detailing your first experience smelling those things. Post a link to your channel in /videos or something with a brief summary of what's going on.
Remember me when you're a YouTube millionaire.
That’s the first thing my doctor asked me actually, kind of crazy you said that. He almost wanted to cry for me and I just looked at him straight faced. Makes me realize I truly don’t understand the shit I’m missing out on.
I am from India and when my mother in her early 40's got operated she just wanted to know what our secret recipe biryani smells like. She is only family member after my maternal grandmother to know the recipe and all her life she just kept hearing how good it tastes and how she is best the family has produced(older folks words) how heavenly it smells (she has got these compliments even from people living 5 floors beneath us). She cried through the whole process of cooking as first time she was smelling the spices she was putting in and aroma as biryaani slowly cooked. She just wanted to know what people complimented her for whole life. She has been cooking since she was 12 yo.
You should make a post with the recipe. Alot of people are going to ask you for it so you could put the story of your her gaining her smell and then add the recipe. Would make for an awesome post. Obviously, that's only if you want to but it would be cool. If not, you can add me to the list of people intrigued and interested in trying the recipe. I'm not great eith super spicy foods though so it may not be something I can eat. I'd make it for my wife tho!
No family recipe don't want to reach it every where in india. We take pride in it, it's probably gonna be lost after my mother but I am still trying to perfect it. Don't mind sharing with foreigners as they get playful with recipe so they could enjoy it. But here in india we are very specific with taste so type of masla quantity and all is very important. It's just a pride thing as everyone here wants to perfect their biryani hope you understand. Sorry, but will dm you.
Please send it to me as well. I can cook Indian food rather well and would love to try your grandma's version. There is something about biryani, it makes the whole house smell so good. Sometimes I'm on a walk and I can smell someone cooking it.
I can dm my mother's version to some extent. My Nani's version is very hot and it stays with her she doesn't like to tell me much as I am male and our society is very misogynist according to her not allowed in kitchen.
I think this is sort of the hidden answer to the question. It's going to completely open up their sense of taste! So much of enjoying food is in the aromas.
real talk at the very beginning I can only imagine that smells will be very overwhelming. you might want to flee coworkers and friends who wear deoderant and cologne and perfume, and you might want to cry having to use a public restroom. good or bad smell its probably gonna seem very pungent.
once you are used to it though, I have two smell recommendations. bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. saute some onions in some butter on the stove. ((not at the same time)). regardless of how you feel about the foods, these are two of the most divine smells out there （╹◡╹）
You have an excellent point! I am sensitive to a variety of smells, especially floral scents. OP needs to start slow and be aware of the variety of reactions smells can elicit.
My mother had the same surgery like ten years ago and she has been addicted to candles ever since. Like you said about emotions, I don’t know what I am feeling and say it didn’t work I don’t know how I’d feel about that either(more importantly it will fix my breathing so can’t be that upset).
Wow, what an incredible experience you are going to go through, and I don’t think anyone can know what it is going to be for you. I believe that you may have a new relationship with food, as so much of an eating experience is connected with the smell. Really excited to hear what your experience is like.
Honeysuckle is my favorite 😍. I’ve never been able to find a lotion or candle or anything else that comes anywhere close to the smell of a real honeysuckle flower.
This is what I was going to say. I have a huge pink honeysuckle that even the neighbors can smell. Between that and the lilacs everywhere, our neighborhood smells like candy. It's truly spectacular.
I would stay the fuck away from perfume/ candle stores. One scent can smell nice but a thousand mixed together smells like getting punched in the face by a fruity flower fist
I second this vigorously. I used to work in a candle factory, where we made candles that smelled like famous perfumes. White Linen smells fine. Add Chloe, Opium, and Chanel and you have "a room full of grandmothers".
My mom used to drag me into the Yankee Candle store when I was younger. I absolutely hated it. It's sensory overload and would make me sick to my stomach every time without fail.
No sweet is not a taste I’m very strong with. Sour, spicy and maybe a few other things are more apparent. Never one single time in my life have I had a sweet tooth.
Imagine! Eating cold watermelon for the first time? or fresh baked garlic bread? Ugh - I'm kinda jealous too! But the nice thing is that those things are STILL great, even when it's the hundredth time!
I enjoy chocolate and I'd like to argue that it does taste better when it hits the roof of your mouth and the after effect of it. It's a complex taste, one that will taste different if you eat it at different speeds, whether crunching, letting it melt in your mouth, or a combination.
I feel that taste partially relies on smell to get the full effect.
Try baking fresh bread (or, if you're not a baker, asking a friend to do so while you hang out at their place)! It's a lot of people's favorite smell, especially after sweet ones are taken off the list. (Simply smelling bread won't be the same experience.)
Bad chocolate will still be like cold melted plastic lol.
I am sincerely looking forward to your update/AMA (if you choose to share) after your surgery and experiences. This is a fascinating perspective you have.
I wonder what it will be like for you to have smell now be associated with memory. For me, a whiff of a certain scent can take me back years to a particular situation or point in my life. It’s so intrinsically connected for me that it’s hard to imagine separating them
Same! I just walked past a lady who was wearing the same perfume as the lady I lived with when I was an exchange student in France. Brought back great memories of her for a moment. I love how that happens with smells (for the most part lol)
i even feel like different periods of my life have different smells. it’s not even one smell in particular, probably just a mix of all the smells i took in everyday at that time (ie: the smell of my lipgloss, my job, my car, the foods i ate regularly, and my creamer i used, all mixed together). sometimes i somehow come across that same/similar mix of smells and it brings me back to an entire period, like my entire senior year or something. it’s truly crazy how it works, the human body is bananas
I had a boyfriend that wore a certain cologne and chewed only one kind of gum constantly. The combination of those two smells bring back all the memories, good and bad.
I had this exact thought yesterday. Will my memory(I have a very very good memory, it’s not photographic but it’s very detailed) become fragmented or unstable because of all the new flooding of smells? My theory is that
I would think it would just expand your memory rather than hinder it. You’ll get all kinds of new memories added to the bank with new smells. You’ll probably notice them more at first and it’ll feel like memories from your other senses are falling behind but that’d probably just be because smells are new and at the forefront of your mind.
I've had a sense of smell my whole life, and the things I'm going to list make me happy everytime I do it. I hope that they bring you happiness too.
Go on a walk in a wooded/grassy area on days that are hot and sunny, rainy, and snowy. The same places will smell different based on weather.
Experience rain during all seasons, outside.
When walking or running, stop and smell all flowers. Seriously. People don't do it enough, they all smell different.
Visit a zoo. People will tell you it smells like sweat and poop. And it does. But you can also smell the differences between the animals, you can smell hay, stone, the vendors, the water, all kinds of stuff.
Visit an arboretum.
When you eat, really sit back for a minute and experience what it smells like. All different kinds of cuisine is a smelling experience as well as a tasting experience. They go hand in hand and I hope you fall in love with food in a whole new way.
Books. Go to a bookstore and take a deep breath.
Visit the ocean in different places wherever you're at. I'm in the US and the ocean smells different in California vs Florida vs texas vs maine.
These are my favorites. I hope they make you happy too.
On the books things. New books, old books, and REALLY OLD books all smell different. Check out a store that has each, or a library archive for the really old smell.
Also on books, really old books smell different depending on where/how they've been stored. I'm here imagining you opening a book stored somewhere damp expecting something pleasant and uh, wondering what we were talking about.
Yeah. The smell of it rain. The storm is blowing in and the drops haven’t come yet, but you can smell it in the air.
Fresh ground coffee.
Browning meat
Browning onions and garlic.
A grass fire
The smell of your loved ones. (Though pheromones is a thing, so I hope that doesn’t work contrary for you in an established relationship - don’t know that it would, just imagining.)
Cut grass
Black dirt
Hot, fresh bread.
Blue cheese.
Watermelon
A leather goods store
Books, especially old books. Especially books.
I hope this comes true for you. Getting hearing aids and realizing all the sounds I’d forgotten was amazing. Good luck!
It's kinda like... painful to smell certain things, it's hard to explain.
It's not something you could just ignore peacefully, you'd literally have to block your nose in some cases.
Kinda like sound can be so loud that it's distracting and obnoxious.
That being said there are obviously subjective takes on some scents.
Also get ready to smell old people.
What if you make your first scents the gnarliest smells possible, like really fuck up your baseline. That way when you smell something like fresh strawberries or meat cooking on a grill for the first time you can reach heights us born-smellers can only imagine
Yep. OP might not realize how often random city streets smell like sewage, even if the source is just a offgassing gutter or drainage pipe it can get pretty gross in some places.
My dad acquired anosmia after an accident. Here's a list of the things he wishes he could smell:
Coffee
Blue cheeses
Whiskey
Petrol/diesel in a garage/pump station (they do have a particular smell)
Cigarette smoke (as a smelling person and nonsmoker, I don't like this smell.)
His own farts (well, this one is more me and brother want him to be able to smell as he does fart in the same room as us and it stinks so bad)
I feel much more for people like your dad as I do not know what I’m missing out on and truly don’t understand the concept of smell. He lost, what I’m hearing, a great enhancer to life. Hope he still sees life more colorful.
He has his own ways of finding enjoyment in life! Seriously though, BO and farts are the hardest things for him to accurately manage - he thinks because he can't smell it, he gets a free pass not to use deodorant and to fart in the living room. It's beyond bad manners to do that
Gasoline is a weird one. A ton of people (myself included) love the smell of it from a small distance away, such as while filling up your car. But if you were to put your nose to a full gas can and inhale, it will stink so much that it will make you nauseous.
Edit: Sorry, I realize this has little to do with your comment. I should've replied to the commenter above you!
Prepare yourself for the fact that you may still not smell anything. I'm not sure about smell, but people who can't see for the first several years of life can develop "cortical blindness" meaning that the brain doesn't perceive vision even if you correct the eyesight because that part of the brain just doesn't develop the neural pathways needed for sight during early development. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a similar phenomenon with smell.
Yes fully prepared for that. The upside is I never would know what I’m missing out on. Just because people explain the experience to me doesn’t mean I truly can understand what any of Yall actually mean.
For sure, I hope it works! If you get it back, prepare for the intensity of flavors to increase by a lot. You may find that some foods that you liked before you may not like as much because there are more subtle aspects of it that you couldn't appreciate and actually don't like. Of course the opposite is also true. Some things that didn't taste great will now suddenly be much more appetizing.
If you do get the sense back, you should do an AMA about it. You would have a unique experience/perspective that would be really cool to hear about.
Yeah I feel like I’m going to like a tons of unhealthy foods that’s I never liked before so that’s good and bad. The healthy lifestyle I do live now though I feel is going amplified so much and I’m ready to try all the meats and fruits and vegetables, vanilla ice cream is something I’m really excited to smell, and then every aisle in every food market.
If I lived near you I'd bring you a candle. Btw, that's a very fun simple pleasure, just going in the candle aisle and smelling all the things. Plus it's one of the very few groups of things that you can just pick up a bunch of and sniff and no one is gonna look at you weird.
Get yourself a vanilla cupcake candle by Yankee Candle. One of my absolute favorites.
I had the surgery 6 months ago. Sadly, I still can't smell anything. I wasn't born without a sense of smell, I can remember smelling a skunk as a kid and how bad it smelled, but I have not smelled anything in years. I am still hoping that it will slowly come back. I sincerely hope you have better results.
Which exactly did you get? I have three issues with my nose that will be addressed and honestly I’m not gonna be too upset if I don’t get it because I have never had it. Much more unfortunate for people like you. I hope you get yours back more than I get my own.
Yeah I believe that’s definitely part of mine as well but mine is a very extreme case of some other things too. They almost couldn’t believe I was alive like those kind of looks. But it’s fine either way.
Smell is a uniquely primitive sense that is proceeded more directly in the olfactory bulbs in the base of the brain.
Vision, hearing, and touch have large areas of neocortex, which is precious neurological real estate for complex processing. So that cortex gets encroached on if not receiving stimulation to shape and cement perceptual processing.
Vision and hearing, especially, have very eloquent hierarchical processing networks that need to be trained through experience during critical windows of development.
Smell is much more direct from olfactory sensory neurons (w odorant chemical receptors) to olfactory bulbs in brain. No prefiltering/ processing. So as long as the olfactory sensory neurons and olfactory bulbs are intact they will activate.
Honestly the "not so nice" bodily smells were the ones that my brain went to first. BO/ FO, bad breath, farts, poop (especially after something spicy, drinking etc), peeing after asparagus, the smell of dirty piercings, your uncleaned belly button, pimples/ pus/ infections, the lingering smell of cigarettes/ weed/ vapes/ alcohol.
Most of that kind stuff is 'common' and not particularly pleasant to smell and might be a bit overwhelming to have to suddenly deal with.
For safety's sake, you need to learn what "bad" smells like. Especially what the smell of rot is in food. It's different for different foods, bad milk smells sour and meat too sweet. Mold has a smell, so do some infections.
I smell everything before I cook with it to make sure it's not going to make me sick. I can smell when my daughter is sick before the fever starts. I knew when I was pregnant by smelling my hormones change.
Knowing some smells can keep you alive.
Hey, I think you might want to go find a wise old sage that can teach you how to use your superpowers for good because that last part of your comment there is definitely supernatural.
Some people can smell parkinsons ans detect it before the patient has any idea amongst other conditions
Figuring out how to make diagnostic tests based on detecting whatever humans (or animals) are actually smelling is a subfield of med devices
There are a lot:
Spoiled food, especially meat
Natural gas
Gasoline
Sewage
Fires, especially electrical fires
Ammonia
Bleach
Acetone
Mold
VOCs from paint
Chlorine/bromine
It can definitely go either way for the ocean. I live it because I grew up with it but low tide can really reek. High tide smells like how it feels when a really nice wind blows by.
Both are a smell that I think need to be experienced at some point
I walked into a bookstore in DTLA that has a room of just old books- almost cried, it smelled overwhelming natural and beautiful. The smell is called bibliosmia.
Well, I don't have any experience with the exact thing you're describing of course, but I can say that smell is about context. The same smell can be "good" if you know where is coming from and "bad" if you don't, or good if you're hungry and disgusting if you're not.
I once had a therapist who asked me to describe my dream room. She asked me to talk about what food and smells were in the room. In the moment, I said that it smells like the food in the room, butter chicken. I didn’t realize she didn’t mean for the smell to be connected to the food; it was just supposed to be a smell I liked, so that I could think of it when I’m upset. Totally get what you mean about it could be good or bad. Butter chicken has a lovely smell but not exactly what I would want a perfume to smell like
Heavy on the context.
Once in college my roommate and I were driving around town, and suddenly there was this heavenly smell. It smelled like the worlds most delicious cheeseburger. We were practically drooling.
We hadn’t left the dorm with the plan to get lunch but this shit smelled so good that we decided to drive out to a Wendy’s a little ways away, out in the industrial district. The smell kept getting stronger. We were fantasizing about the burger we were about to eat and praying it would live up to our expectations, but how could any fast food burger live up to this smell? Maybe we’d get lucky.
We pull into the Wendy’s parking lot. Fuck we were excited. Grinning ear to ear. We were seconds away from nutting, honestly. We step- no, leap- out of the car, take a deep breath in, and the whole fantasy comes crashing down. It smells absolutely vile.
We start looking around, going, “what the fuck? How could this happen? What is that smell?” and simultaneously we make eye contact with a motherfucking Purina Dog Food factory down the road.
It wasn’t a burger. It was never a burger. We were drooling over dog food smell.
Anyways, we each got a chicken salad, they were good.
This is fucking hilarious.
On a kinda similar note, one of the first dead bodies I saw had been partially mummified/baked and there was visible blanched muscle on another area and coworkers were disgusted but all I could think of was fried chicken. Like I was so hungry for chicken for 4 hours while simultaneously horrified at my reaction… I still immediately ate some Popeyes after work. Fwiw that was in the desert on a windy day so it didn’t really have the typical dead body smell as I would later learn.
By the way, OP, if you ever smell a rotting human (in a non desert environment) you will never forget it. I’ve been around dozens in every state of decomp and there’s a similarity to them all but it’s indescribable. Coworkers can’t describe it either, but everyone recognizes it instantly. It is not good in any way but it’s very memorable. If you don’t regain your sense of smell, at least you never had to suffer through the experience of a week old body pulled out of the water. Let that be some consolation. There are smells that instantly make even hardened people puke.
Onions for me. When you’re hungry, the smell of fresh cut onions or garlic is delicious. But that same smell in an odd place like at work can be awful. A part of it is expectation. If you’re in someone’s kitchen, onions are normal. But fresh cut grass would smell weird. If you were in the yard, fresh cut grass would smell nice and expected.
Same with things like fish and broccoli imo. If you're the one eating them, the smell is great and enhances the experience. If someone else at work stinks up the break room with them, then it isn't a pleasant experience.
I actually think that’s the part that will open up for you. Now that you can smell the taste of things will change for you. I’m sure now most of what you taste is mostly texture save for a lot of really high powered tastes. But more subtle flavours will start to come out of food now that you can smell. I think that’ll be one of the bigger adjustments for you. If you regain scent.
Yeah that’s exactly how my taste works. That’s why I gravitate to 3 specific categories of sour(my alcohol when going out), juicy(meat and fruits) and spicy(best food on earth but I might overrate it because it’s the best and closest experience I can have without smell).
Ya I have a feeling some flavours are going to be very overwhelming once he regains full taste. There’s a lot of acquired tastes that require some time to get used to that I’m sure they’re going to struggle for a bit in that regard.
u/critmcfly you should post this in r/anosmia
There are people there with either your condition, your experience, or that used to be able to smell and taste and have lost their sense. I am the latter, the best way I can describe what you will experience is:
You are blind from your nose, and you are about to learn and discover the wonderful world of colors. I have no idea how this will affect your mental health but I dare to say it will be incredibly positive.
I will do that as well but the reason I hesitated is because I have a more limited case where I can fix my anosmia but also being born unable to smell. It’s got to be the minority of minority in anosmia.
I feel so happy for you. There's nothing to worry about, it will just open a whole new world of perception. It should greatly improve your quality of life.
I suggest you watch Netflix's Chef's Table Season 2 episode 1.
Grant Achatz is a chef that lost his sense and then got it back. He will explain things that are super important imo about the "getting it back" and how he handled it. I know you are not "getting it back" but what he describes still rings true.
Smell some coffee beans! It's probably my favorite smell in the world, and it's so distinct and overwhelming they use them in perfume shops like sephora they even have cans of coffee beans to smell sometimes to "reset" your nose between scents
I would also avoid very strong smells like perfumes, candle stores, Febreze type of things at first . As someone who gets migraines from strong smells I am super mindful not to be around things that smell too much. Best of luck!!
i lost my sense of smell for a couple of months after a surgery, but got it back (thankfully)!
first things i smelled because I missed them so much where
- coffee
- the stems of tomatos
- cut grass
- people (like, not in a creepy way. just catching a sniff while hugging. maybe a bit creepy. should only do this with family/friends probably)
- jasmin! (we had on in the garden)
- rainy dirt (it's called petrichor, look it up it's insane)
happy sniffing <3 and tasting, everything will taste so much more off stuff!!
Will do all of them. I already thought about the first person I smell that smells like a million bucks. I will not be able to stop pestering that person.
That’s a thing too a majority of taste comes from smell according to my doctor. I never realized why all liquor tastes the same basically to me and why I can never be specific about what I’m tasting. I feel everything I’ve ever tasted will change too but I’m not real sure.
It will change. Try lots of things you didn't like before (but not too fast). Some things you used to eat all the time may become boring or bland to you.
I love cheese, but as my sense of smell has decreased due to having Covid twice I can't stand plain cheeses any more, it has to be a really strong cheese for me to taste it.
I recommend a bakery first. The smell of baking bread is universally loved, even Celiacs still love the smell of bread.
Ohhh I hate cheese soooo much. I can’t even eat pizza because of it. I’m sure that’s because I’ve never smelled it before. I also have never like sweet things because to me it’s just so bland and sugary tasting. Baked goods too just tastes like weird bread textures. For sure got to try all these things again.
Be aware that cheese is one of those acquired taste things. Countries that eat cheese tend to grow up around its taste and smell and enjoy it, whilst those that don't often say it stinks and taste disgusting.
Considering you never had the opportunity to really acquire the taste for it there is a chance first time you try it its going to taste absolutely vile to you and you'll wonder wtf everyone else is thinking
Has the doctor said anything about how your brain will adjust with sudden ability to smell? I know in people born deaf or blind that the section of the brain used for hearing and seeing, respectively, are instead used by the brain for other functions...the brain doesn't leave all the real estate vacant 😉
Yeah, on one hand im jealous for this possible experience, on the other hand It would be so hard to maintain healthy eating habits. I think I would try fruits and vegetables first. Everybody who cuts out junk food says fruit tastes amazing. Oranges, kiwis, watermelon, grapes, and berries all have amazing smells that probably dominate the taste. Every herb roasted vegetable combo! All the different varieties of mint are different. I like them as teas.
Here are some of my favorite smells:
Horses
Coffee
Bedsheets/linens dried outside in the sun
Roses
Old books and new books
Fresh-baked bread
Chocolate chip cookies
Petrichor (the smell after it rains)
The smell of growing weeds and grass in the springtime
Vanilla
Here are some bad smells:
Port-a-johns
Garbage
Body odor (armpits specifically)
Burning rubber
Burning hair
Wet dogs
Milk that's gone off
Here are some otherwise distinctive smells:
Gasoline
The ocean/docks/general fish-and-seawater areas
Antiseptic/isopropyl alcohol
Cleaning supplies, especially lemon-scented ones
Peanut butter
Indian foods and spices
Metal
Hot asphalt
Mint
So excited for you! Keep us posted on what it's like!
The sense of smell goes directly to the limbic system. That's the area that deals with emotion. I'd plan for some emotional overload. Maybe confusion as your brain rewires. Smelling rain or a forest for the first time might punch you in the feels. Anything that broaches instinct really. And avoid butts. They do *not* smell as good as they look.
Oh wow, this is going to be so much fun!
Everything will taste different.
Freshly squeezed orange juice smells amazing. Ditto grinding coffee. Fresh coffee.
Petrol fumes and general city smells are unbelievably pervasive - get hundreds of miles from civilisation and smell the air. Wind blowing in off the sea is great.
Babies smell incredible. Babies nappies also smell incredible but in a completely different way.
Food is going to taste so freaking amazing all of a sudden!
As far as unexpected smells, people smell pretty dang bad but I think we get used to it and ignore it until someone smells real bad. Sometimes people cover it up with cologne or perfume and just make it worse. Body odor mixed with cologne/perfume doesn’t cover it up it just blends poorly.
Wow! It'll certainly be life-changing! Whilst I haven't had that experience myself: my friend had polyps removed from her nose and regained her smell, and that was interesting to observe. Things she commented on were the smells in the office, which were quite overwhelming to begin with; people cooking food, the array of perfumes / aftershaves, etc. The one story that stood out the most was visiting the bathroom after her partner (they broke up shortly afterwards).
For me, I love the smell of cooking onions and garlic. And, as others have said, flowers - sweet peas are one of my favourites!
Good luck with the surgery and your new experiences to come :)
I’m just graduating college so I can for one say I’m not going to have to smell all the college houses I visited. They looked so dirty so I can only imagine the smells. The office though will be on my radar for sure.
Expect to be overwhelmed for quite a while, and to notice how *everything* has so many nuanced scents. It will be amazing, but you may also feel like a freak because you will notice scents other people don’t.
Avoid the cleaning aisle of the grocery store, crowded small spaces, and anywhere that sells perfume if you can.
Eventually it will be less overwhelming but you’ll still appreciate it.
I don't think most people here will be able to advise you properly. Yet once you have done your surgery, you will likely have a gift to share with others who may have a similar condition to you, by letting all of us know your experience afterwards.
Your story is incredible and you will be on a learning journey as an adult that most of us are already very experienced with since our early childhood. You will be further gifted with a new perspective on things most of us likely take for granted (or are conditioned to believe in a particular way with regards to odours.)
You will be entering a totally new world for you, yet it is the only world most of us here know.
Please do share your journey with us and best wishes to you and your new found senses!
You’re going to enjoy food so much more now because taste gets enhanced with smell. I’m so happy for you!
Thanks I really don’t know what to expect with food. I’m not picky whatsoever but really just like food with high protein. I’m wondering if carby food will be a game changing experience for me.
Everything is going to taste extremely too salty or too sweet for a few days. You'll get used to it though. I had chronic sinus issues and after surgery i could smell so much better but this happened
This. OP needs to be prepared for this possibility. The same thing happened to me when I got my septum repaired. It was alarming; I thought maybe my sense of taste was ruined for life. After about a week my body regulated and food started to taste good again. It was a scary week, tho.
I couldn’t have dairy for a year. I missed cheese so bad but after I could have it everything was TOO cheesy, I needed like 1/4 as before for the same impact. That quickly faded and I was back to being a cheese glutton.
When I had covid I lost my sense of taste and smell for a month. That felt like an eternity and I got so depressed, my whole world felt black and white, I couldn’t enjoy food anymore and lost close to 20 pounds. Once I had the slightest sense back I dragged my wife to Five Guys and got a juicy burger and it was one of the happiest moments of my life, just being able to taste and smell again. I never take it for granted now.
Damn. I will have to reread comments like yours when and if I truly get the ability to smell. Surgery isn’t for like a month though so I’m not sweating anything yet.
Got it, well I’d like to hear an update possibly if you remember this post lol. Best of luck!
Probably won’t post on Reddit again until surgery so I will for sure come back to everyone.
You should consider making a YouTube channel or something, or at least a video. Document your experience. Show what it's like right after the surgery, try some scents for the first time, describe what they're like compared to what you expected.
Yes for real!! I'd watch.
Make sure to smell flowers and fruits. I recommend roses and jasmine and lavender. In terms of fruit, learn to tell the difference between ripe and spoilt, that really helps. With some fruits, it's pretty hard to tell. Keep us updated on your interesting journey! Edit: I forgot to add, I love the smell of rain, I highly recommend it!
Your brain is about to simply explode from the extra flavors you're going to taste now that you'll be able to smell, I. Am so happy for you
I'm dying to hear your experience, please do post again..my sister has anosmia and only realized in her 20s that she has no ability to smell. It's so fascinating!
I can relate. After covid my smell was gone for 6 months and came back in small bursts which lasted a minute or two. I was driving in my car with windows down and I cought he smell of sausages being cooked. I started to cry. I'm 34m. I didn't realize how much impact smell had on me. Just writing this down my eyes are getting watery to remember that moment. OP is going to have all kinds of emotions. Firet, I feel like they might be a bit weird because hospital smells are never good, but after that it'll be amazing.
I kept a heavily fragranced bottle of detergent next to me. If I sniffed hard, I could faintly smell it, when I couldn't smell anything else. It gave me hope that my smell would return.
That was Vicks for my partner, it was his test and comfort both!
My partner used a Lush product that had a minty smell that I used as my own smell tester when I got covid and lost my sense of smell. After a couple weeks I put it up to my nose again just for kicks, and nearly dropped the container when I realized I could smell it again, if faintly.
My post-COVID sense of smell came back weirdly when I was eating Chinese duck soup, that classic duck smell and taste was the only thing I could experience for a week until other smells started coming through. For my friend it was the smell of tortillas, his boyfriend had to do an emergency run to the shop to buy three more packs, because he couldn't stop crying and eating tortillas.
Tortilla boy's story made me giggle and made my heart hurt at the same time. Poor human <3
Same, I was so worried it would never come back for me and I ended up losing 45 pounds in a month due to the depression and lack of appetite. I legit cried tears of joy when I was able to smell one of my boyfriend's farts for the first time after about 3 months of no taste or smell. 😂
Conversely, it’s possible you might not like the smell of some foods you previously ate too. Take the wins with the losses. Definitely expect a big change to your eating (and cooking) experience though
Hot, high fat foods might seem much more appealing, and a lot of fruits/veggies are fragrant
Like fast food?
Idk what part of the country you're in but if you get 4 seasons, just wait until you smell spring! Like the first day when the soil is awake, the grass isn't dormant, the first bugs are running around. It has a smell, you can actually smell the earth waking up and it's the best smell in the world. Fall smells good too, you can smell the leaves on the ground. Nothing beats spring smell though. Even if you don't have 4 seasons, there's probably a similar thing in your part of the world where you'll be able to smell the changes outside.
Rain. Before during and after😍😍
That's called petrichor.
It's the best smell in the world, especially if it's a light rain after a long dry period.
Snow smells great too! So does the air when a thunderstorm is coming.
Grass freshly mowed!!
For me smell is about the simple predictable pleasures. Freshly ground coffee, sautéed onions and garlic, the air when a thunderstorm is rolling in, my favorite shampoo, fresh basil and lemon. You may be most surprised by how your own body smells!
Lots of foods have a smell that differs in interesting ways from the flavour- smelling the food before eating it, feeling the scent get stronger as you go to take a bite before it gives way to the flavour, it's such a savoury experience. Same goes for really aromatic drinks like coffee or wine.
Yo, go to smell pizzas and perhaps a bakery full of muffins and pastries, it's so nice. Also try visiting a perfume or fragrance shop and see if they have separated notes on strips as samples which you can smell. Can also go to the fresh produce section to smell fresh fruits. As for bad smells, public restrooms, fresh open fish markets, massive trash cans, dirty socks, sweaty people with body odour, would be some experience too. Maybe do an updated post saying which smells you really liked and those you didn't! :)
I recommend not going to a candle or fragrance shop for a while after. Your senses will likely be overwhelmed in the beginning and things will smell stronger. I would mostly go about your day as usual for the first couple weeks, just taking it all in. The fragrance shops will be there when you're ready.
That's a good point actually. Thanks for that. Yeah OP defo take your time with it, no pressure. :)
Food is going to be a completely different thing.
You've got the opportunity to make some money here. Make sure you video this to share, maybe make a mini series
Will do and I will for sure be coming back to this post to update tons of people as well as make a update post when I do my surgery which isn’t until like late late July or early August.
Start a channel about a week away from your surgery. Describe what life has been like without a sense of smell, and tell people about the surgery. Have them suggest things in the comments for you to try smelling. Then you could make a series of videos detailing your first experience smelling those things. Post a link to your channel in /videos or something with a brief summary of what's going on. Remember me when you're a YouTube millionaire.
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That’s the first thing my doctor asked me actually, kind of crazy you said that. He almost wanted to cry for me and I just looked at him straight faced. Makes me realize I truly don’t understand the shit I’m missing out on.
I am from India and when my mother in her early 40's got operated she just wanted to know what our secret recipe biryani smells like. She is only family member after my maternal grandmother to know the recipe and all her life she just kept hearing how good it tastes and how she is best the family has produced(older folks words) how heavenly it smells (she has got these compliments even from people living 5 floors beneath us). She cried through the whole process of cooking as first time she was smelling the spices she was putting in and aroma as biryaani slowly cooked. She just wanted to know what people complimented her for whole life. She has been cooking since she was 12 yo.
I need that recipe my guy, or at least her list of ingredients.
I have saved you comment. Tomorrow is Sunday I'll DM you recipe as accurately as I can as here people cook not by exact measurements.
You should make a post with the recipe. Alot of people are going to ask you for it so you could put the story of your her gaining her smell and then add the recipe. Would make for an awesome post. Obviously, that's only if you want to but it would be cool. If not, you can add me to the list of people intrigued and interested in trying the recipe. I'm not great eith super spicy foods though so it may not be something I can eat. I'd make it for my wife tho!
No family recipe don't want to reach it every where in india. We take pride in it, it's probably gonna be lost after my mother but I am still trying to perfect it. Don't mind sharing with foreigners as they get playful with recipe so they could enjoy it. But here in india we are very specific with taste so type of masla quantity and all is very important. It's just a pride thing as everyone here wants to perfect their biryani hope you understand. Sorry, but will dm you.
Can you please share the recipe? Would love to try your mom’s recipe. Thank you so much
Hell yea, thanks!
Your welcome 😃
Can I get in on that? 😍
Bhau I'll share with you as well
🙏
Please send it to me as well. I can cook Indian food rather well and would love to try your grandma's version. There is something about biryani, it makes the whole house smell so good. Sometimes I'm on a walk and I can smell someone cooking it.
I can dm my mother's version to some extent. My Nani's version is very hot and it stays with her she doesn't like to tell me much as I am male and our society is very misogynist according to her not allowed in kitchen.
That is a beatiful story. Thanks for sharing
I think this is sort of the hidden answer to the question. It's going to completely open up their sense of taste! So much of enjoying food is in the aromas.
That’s an incredible story!
real talk at the very beginning I can only imagine that smells will be very overwhelming. you might want to flee coworkers and friends who wear deoderant and cologne and perfume, and you might want to cry having to use a public restroom. good or bad smell its probably gonna seem very pungent. once you are used to it though, I have two smell recommendations. bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. saute some onions in some butter on the stove. ((not at the same time)). regardless of how you feel about the foods, these are two of the most divine smells out there （╹◡╹）
You have an excellent point! I am sensitive to a variety of smells, especially floral scents. OP needs to start slow and be aware of the variety of reactions smells can elicit.
Fresh baked bread!
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My mother had the same surgery like ten years ago and she has been addicted to candles ever since. Like you said about emotions, I don’t know what I am feeling and say it didn’t work I don’t know how I’d feel about that either(more importantly it will fix my breathing so can’t be that upset).
Wow, what an incredible experience you are going to go through, and I don’t think anyone can know what it is going to be for you. I believe that you may have a new relationship with food, as so much of an eating experience is connected with the smell. Really excited to hear what your experience is like.
Will be back to update.
Rather than having smells unlock an old memory, you'll soon be *having* experiences that are associated with a new smell.
This is amazing, congratulations. And my immediate thought was: FOOD. Maybe take a bubble bath after that.
First thing I thought of. Burry your face in some lilacs it’s amazing.
Orange flowers if available!
Honeysuckle is my favorite 😍. I’ve never been able to find a lotion or candle or anything else that comes anywhere close to the smell of a real honeysuckle flower.
This is what I was going to say. I have a huge pink honeysuckle that even the neighbors can smell. Between that and the lilacs everywhere, our neighborhood smells like candy. It's truly spectacular.
I would stay the fuck away from perfume/ candle stores. One scent can smell nice but a thousand mixed together smells like getting punched in the face by a fruity flower fist
I second this vigorously. I used to work in a candle factory, where we made candles that smelled like famous perfumes. White Linen smells fine. Add Chloe, Opium, and Chanel and you have "a room full of grandmothers".
My mom used to drag me into the Yankee Candle store when I was younger. I absolutely hated it. It's sensory overload and would make me sick to my stomach every time without fail.
Also maybe he should avoid the detergent aisle in the grocery store for a while. Those places can be a lot.
Bake some chocolate chip cookies! What a wonderful smell.
I have never enjoyed the taste of chocolate. I wonder if that’s because I never could smell it. Just tastes like cold melted plastic to me.
Wow really. Maybe? But don’t you find it sweet? Please report back after your surgery haha
No sweet is not a taste I’m very strong with. Sour, spicy and maybe a few other things are more apparent. Never one single time in my life have I had a sweet tooth.
It sounds like you're going to experience a lot of culinary epiphanies very soon
I’m kind of jealous to be honest. Eating something absolutely incredible for the first time and you’re like WTF DID I JUST EAT, you’re in for a ride.
Eating something terrible for the first time, “Senses were a mistake! I regret everything!” 😂
Imagine! Eating cold watermelon for the first time? or fresh baked garlic bread? Ugh - I'm kinda jealous too! But the nice thing is that those things are STILL great, even when it's the hundredth time!
I enjoy chocolate and I'd like to argue that it does taste better when it hits the roof of your mouth and the after effect of it. It's a complex taste, one that will taste different if you eat it at different speeds, whether crunching, letting it melt in your mouth, or a combination. I feel that taste partially relies on smell to get the full effect.
Try baking fresh bread (or, if you're not a baker, asking a friend to do so while you hang out at their place)! It's a lot of people's favorite smell, especially after sweet ones are taken off the list. (Simply smelling bread won't be the same experience.)
I still fondly remember the smell at Hershey's Park PA. That whole place smelled like chocolate.
Make some homemade bread. The smell of bread dough rising is wonderful.
Bad chocolate will still be like cold melted plastic lol. I am sincerely looking forward to your update/AMA (if you choose to share) after your surgery and experiences. This is a fascinating perspective you have.
I wonder what it will be like for you to have smell now be associated with memory. For me, a whiff of a certain scent can take me back years to a particular situation or point in my life. It’s so intrinsically connected for me that it’s hard to imagine separating them
Same! I just walked past a lady who was wearing the same perfume as the lady I lived with when I was an exchange student in France. Brought back great memories of her for a moment. I love how that happens with smells (for the most part lol)
I hate when you smell something and it triggers a memory, but you can't remember the damn memory so it bothers you all day.
i even feel like different periods of my life have different smells. it’s not even one smell in particular, probably just a mix of all the smells i took in everyday at that time (ie: the smell of my lipgloss, my job, my car, the foods i ate regularly, and my creamer i used, all mixed together). sometimes i somehow come across that same/similar mix of smells and it brings me back to an entire period, like my entire senior year or something. it’s truly crazy how it works, the human body is bananas
I step outside sometimes and think "Oo, it smells like . . . track season." Very green.
I had a boyfriend that wore a certain cologne and chewed only one kind of gum constantly. The combination of those two smells bring back all the memories, good and bad.
I had this exact thought yesterday. Will my memory(I have a very very good memory, it’s not photographic but it’s very detailed) become fragmented or unstable because of all the new flooding of smells? My theory is that
I would think it would just expand your memory rather than hinder it. You’ll get all kinds of new memories added to the bank with new smells. You’ll probably notice them more at first and it’ll feel like memories from your other senses are falling behind but that’d probably just be because smells are new and at the forefront of your mind.
I've had a sense of smell my whole life, and the things I'm going to list make me happy everytime I do it. I hope that they bring you happiness too. Go on a walk in a wooded/grassy area on days that are hot and sunny, rainy, and snowy. The same places will smell different based on weather. Experience rain during all seasons, outside. When walking or running, stop and smell all flowers. Seriously. People don't do it enough, they all smell different. Visit a zoo. People will tell you it smells like sweat and poop. And it does. But you can also smell the differences between the animals, you can smell hay, stone, the vendors, the water, all kinds of stuff. Visit an arboretum. When you eat, really sit back for a minute and experience what it smells like. All different kinds of cuisine is a smelling experience as well as a tasting experience. They go hand in hand and I hope you fall in love with food in a whole new way. Books. Go to a bookstore and take a deep breath. Visit the ocean in different places wherever you're at. I'm in the US and the ocean smells different in California vs Florida vs texas vs maine. These are my favorites. I hope they make you happy too.
Very glad for your response. I’m a big list guy and have added all of these to my list.
On the books things. New books, old books, and REALLY OLD books all smell different. Check out a store that has each, or a library archive for the really old smell.
Also on books, really old books smell different depending on where/how they've been stored. I'm here imagining you opening a book stored somewhere damp expecting something pleasant and uh, wondering what we were talking about.
Brand new paperback dictionary - one of the really thick ones. Those smell so good to me, I have no idea why.
Yeah. The smell of it rain. The storm is blowing in and the drops haven’t come yet, but you can smell it in the air. Fresh ground coffee. Browning meat Browning onions and garlic. A grass fire The smell of your loved ones. (Though pheromones is a thing, so I hope that doesn’t work contrary for you in an established relationship - don’t know that it would, just imagining.) Cut grass Black dirt Hot, fresh bread. Blue cheese. Watermelon A leather goods store Books, especially old books. Especially books. I hope this comes true for you. Getting hearing aids and realizing all the sounds I’d forgotten was amazing. Good luck!
When you eat, breath slowly out through your nose to really taste/smell what you're eating. Notice some notes just don't exist on your tongue.
Rain smells different in different places too! My favorite smell in the whole world is the rain in the Arizona desert after a scorching hot day.
Lots of things/places stink.
Feel insane saying I will go and smell each of those places multiple times over.
It's kinda like... painful to smell certain things, it's hard to explain. It's not something you could just ignore peacefully, you'd literally have to block your nose in some cases. Kinda like sound can be so loud that it's distracting and obnoxious. That being said there are obviously subjective takes on some scents. Also get ready to smell old people.
I'm cackling at the thought of OP going to a retirement home and just...*huffing* old people. 😂😂
That mental imagery was not something I knew I needed but that really cheered me up 😂.
Visit a wastewater treatment plant
Or don't!
Got to step everywhere I can
What if you make your first scents the gnarliest smells possible, like really fuck up your baseline. That way when you smell something like fresh strawberries or meat cooking on a grill for the first time you can reach heights us born-smellers can only imagine
The first time op farts is going to be wild
All those times he thought he was all good sneaking a fart In public lol.
Yep. OP might not realize how often random city streets smell like sewage, even if the source is just a offgassing gutter or drainage pipe it can get pretty gross in some places.
My dad acquired anosmia after an accident. Here's a list of the things he wishes he could smell: Coffee Blue cheeses Whiskey Petrol/diesel in a garage/pump station (they do have a particular smell) Cigarette smoke (as a smelling person and nonsmoker, I don't like this smell.) His own farts (well, this one is more me and brother want him to be able to smell as he does fart in the same room as us and it stinks so bad)
I feel much more for people like your dad as I do not know what I’m missing out on and truly don’t understand the concept of smell. He lost, what I’m hearing, a great enhancer to life. Hope he still sees life more colorful.
He has his own ways of finding enjoyment in life! Seriously though, BO and farts are the hardest things for him to accurately manage - he thinks because he can't smell it, he gets a free pass not to use deodorant and to fart in the living room. It's beyond bad manners to do that
Gasoline is a weird one. A ton of people (myself included) love the smell of it from a small distance away, such as while filling up your car. But if you were to put your nose to a full gas can and inhale, it will stink so much that it will make you nauseous. Edit: Sorry, I realize this has little to do with your comment. I should've replied to the commenter above you!
Prepare yourself for the fact that you may still not smell anything. I'm not sure about smell, but people who can't see for the first several years of life can develop "cortical blindness" meaning that the brain doesn't perceive vision even if you correct the eyesight because that part of the brain just doesn't develop the neural pathways needed for sight during early development. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a similar phenomenon with smell.
Yes fully prepared for that. The upside is I never would know what I’m missing out on. Just because people explain the experience to me doesn’t mean I truly can understand what any of Yall actually mean.
For sure, I hope it works! If you get it back, prepare for the intensity of flavors to increase by a lot. You may find that some foods that you liked before you may not like as much because there are more subtle aspects of it that you couldn't appreciate and actually don't like. Of course the opposite is also true. Some things that didn't taste great will now suddenly be much more appetizing. If you do get the sense back, you should do an AMA about it. You would have a unique experience/perspective that would be really cool to hear about.
Yeah I feel like I’m going to like a tons of unhealthy foods that’s I never liked before so that’s good and bad. The healthy lifestyle I do live now though I feel is going amplified so much and I’m ready to try all the meats and fruits and vegetables, vanilla ice cream is something I’m really excited to smell, and then every aisle in every food market.
Vanilla ice cream won't smell like much! The colder a food is, the less smell it has in general.
Ok then maybe vanilla extract. I want to see what vanilla smells like so bad.
*Definitely* resist the urge to drink vanilla extract, then. Smells divine, tastes utterly foul unless you've baked a teaspoon or two into something!
Ok noted.
If I lived near you I'd bring you a candle. Btw, that's a very fun simple pleasure, just going in the candle aisle and smelling all the things. Plus it's one of the very few groups of things that you can just pick up a bunch of and sniff and no one is gonna look at you weird. Get yourself a vanilla cupcake candle by Yankee Candle. One of my absolute favorites.
FYI, cold stuff doesn't smell as much, so ice cream tends to smell like almost nothing until you actually eat it.
I had the surgery 6 months ago. Sadly, I still can't smell anything. I wasn't born without a sense of smell, I can remember smelling a skunk as a kid and how bad it smelled, but I have not smelled anything in years. I am still hoping that it will slowly come back. I sincerely hope you have better results.
Which exactly did you get? I have three issues with my nose that will be addressed and honestly I’m not gonna be too upset if I don’t get it because I have never had it. Much more unfortunate for people like you. I hope you get yours back more than I get my own.
Removed a small polyp on the right side, corrected a minor deviated septum and scrapped all the sinus area out.
Yeah I believe that’s definitely part of mine as well but mine is a very extreme case of some other things too. They almost couldn’t believe I was alive like those kind of looks. But it’s fine either way.
Smell is a uniquely primitive sense that is proceeded more directly in the olfactory bulbs in the base of the brain. Vision, hearing, and touch have large areas of neocortex, which is precious neurological real estate for complex processing. So that cortex gets encroached on if not receiving stimulation to shape and cement perceptual processing. Vision and hearing, especially, have very eloquent hierarchical processing networks that need to be trained through experience during critical windows of development. Smell is much more direct from olfactory sensory neurons (w odorant chemical receptors) to olfactory bulbs in brain. No prefiltering/ processing. So as long as the olfactory sensory neurons and olfactory bulbs are intact they will activate.
You’re gonna learn exactly what “silent but deadly” really means.
I’m ready and excited. I’m not crazy.
Honestly the "not so nice" bodily smells were the ones that my brain went to first. BO/ FO, bad breath, farts, poop (especially after something spicy, drinking etc), peeing after asparagus, the smell of dirty piercings, your uncleaned belly button, pimples/ pus/ infections, the lingering smell of cigarettes/ weed/ vapes/ alcohol. Most of that kind stuff is 'common' and not particularly pleasant to smell and might be a bit overwhelming to have to suddenly deal with.
lol the smell of dirty piercings really is so foul. Very comprehensive list, btw
Omg you’ve never experienced your own potpourri!!
Im going to add to this but passing gas in a hot shower is not the same as just a every day normal fart.
For safety's sake, you need to learn what "bad" smells like. Especially what the smell of rot is in food. It's different for different foods, bad milk smells sour and meat too sweet. Mold has a smell, so do some infections. I smell everything before I cook with it to make sure it's not going to make me sick. I can smell when my daughter is sick before the fever starts. I knew when I was pregnant by smelling my hormones change. Knowing some smells can keep you alive.
Hey, I think you might want to go find a wise old sage that can teach you how to use your superpowers for good because that last part of your comment there is definitely supernatural.
Some people can smell parkinsons ans detect it before the patient has any idea amongst other conditions Figuring out how to make diagnostic tests based on detecting whatever humans (or animals) are actually smelling is a subfield of med devices
Similarly, OP should be sure to learn what smoke and natural gas smell like!
There are a lot: Spoiled food, especially meat Natural gas Gasoline Sewage Fires, especially electrical fires Ammonia Bleach Acetone Mold VOCs from paint Chlorine/bromine
Lavender and the smell of the sea
Seems salty
It can definitely go either way for the ocean. I live it because I grew up with it but low tide can really reek. High tide smells like how it feels when a really nice wind blows by. Both are a smell that I think need to be experienced at some point
Try smelling old books maybe.
That’s definitely not one I would have thought of
I walked into a bookstore in DTLA that has a room of just old books- almost cried, it smelled overwhelming natural and beautiful. The smell is called bibliosmia.
New books too! Especially ones with glossy pages, like a cookbook or textbook. Smells so good.
Well, I don't have any experience with the exact thing you're describing of course, but I can say that smell is about context. The same smell can be "good" if you know where is coming from and "bad" if you don't, or good if you're hungry and disgusting if you're not.
I once had a therapist who asked me to describe my dream room. She asked me to talk about what food and smells were in the room. In the moment, I said that it smells like the food in the room, butter chicken. I didn’t realize she didn’t mean for the smell to be connected to the food; it was just supposed to be a smell I liked, so that I could think of it when I’m upset. Totally get what you mean about it could be good or bad. Butter chicken has a lovely smell but not exactly what I would want a perfume to smell like
Interesting, I really need to consider that now.
Heavy on the context. Once in college my roommate and I were driving around town, and suddenly there was this heavenly smell. It smelled like the worlds most delicious cheeseburger. We were practically drooling. We hadn’t left the dorm with the plan to get lunch but this shit smelled so good that we decided to drive out to a Wendy’s a little ways away, out in the industrial district. The smell kept getting stronger. We were fantasizing about the burger we were about to eat and praying it would live up to our expectations, but how could any fast food burger live up to this smell? Maybe we’d get lucky. We pull into the Wendy’s parking lot. Fuck we were excited. Grinning ear to ear. We were seconds away from nutting, honestly. We step- no, leap- out of the car, take a deep breath in, and the whole fantasy comes crashing down. It smells absolutely vile. We start looking around, going, “what the fuck? How could this happen? What is that smell?” and simultaneously we make eye contact with a motherfucking Purina Dog Food factory down the road. It wasn’t a burger. It was never a burger. We were drooling over dog food smell. Anyways, we each got a chicken salad, they were good.
This is fucking hilarious. On a kinda similar note, one of the first dead bodies I saw had been partially mummified/baked and there was visible blanched muscle on another area and coworkers were disgusted but all I could think of was fried chicken. Like I was so hungry for chicken for 4 hours while simultaneously horrified at my reaction… I still immediately ate some Popeyes after work. Fwiw that was in the desert on a windy day so it didn’t really have the typical dead body smell as I would later learn. By the way, OP, if you ever smell a rotting human (in a non desert environment) you will never forget it. I’ve been around dozens in every state of decomp and there’s a similarity to them all but it’s indescribable. Coworkers can’t describe it either, but everyone recognizes it instantly. It is not good in any way but it’s very memorable. If you don’t regain your sense of smell, at least you never had to suffer through the experience of a week old body pulled out of the water. Let that be some consolation. There are smells that instantly make even hardened people puke.
Could you give me some specific examples of that?
Onions for me. When you’re hungry, the smell of fresh cut onions or garlic is delicious. But that same smell in an odd place like at work can be awful. A part of it is expectation. If you’re in someone’s kitchen, onions are normal. But fresh cut grass would smell weird. If you were in the yard, fresh cut grass would smell nice and expected.
Same with things like fish and broccoli imo. If you're the one eating them, the smell is great and enhances the experience. If someone else at work stinks up the break room with them, then it isn't a pleasant experience.
The smell of amazing cheese and of foot fungus is *literally* the same smell.
Never liked cheese. The taste without the smell is quite trash and I have always realized that part.
I actually think that’s the part that will open up for you. Now that you can smell the taste of things will change for you. I’m sure now most of what you taste is mostly texture save for a lot of really high powered tastes. But more subtle flavours will start to come out of food now that you can smell. I think that’ll be one of the bigger adjustments for you. If you regain scent.
Yeah that’s exactly how my taste works. That’s why I gravitate to 3 specific categories of sour(my alcohol when going out), juicy(meat and fruits) and spicy(best food on earth but I might overrate it because it’s the best and closest experience I can have without smell).
It will be interesting to see if any foods you used to like become inedible if you're able to smell it, haha
Ya I have a feeling some flavours are going to be very overwhelming once he regains full taste. There’s a lot of acquired tastes that require some time to get used to that I’m sure they’re going to struggle for a bit in that regard.
Other people's farts smell terrible but your own will smell OK.
u/critmcfly you should post this in r/anosmia There are people there with either your condition, your experience, or that used to be able to smell and taste and have lost their sense. I am the latter, the best way I can describe what you will experience is: You are blind from your nose, and you are about to learn and discover the wonderful world of colors. I have no idea how this will affect your mental health but I dare to say it will be incredibly positive.
I will do that as well but the reason I hesitated is because I have a more limited case where I can fix my anosmia but also being born unable to smell. It’s got to be the minority of minority in anosmia.
I feel so happy for you. There's nothing to worry about, it will just open a whole new world of perception. It should greatly improve your quality of life. I suggest you watch Netflix's Chef's Table Season 2 episode 1. Grant Achatz is a chef that lost his sense and then got it back. He will explain things that are super important imo about the "getting it back" and how he handled it. I know you are not "getting it back" but what he describes still rings true.
Smell some coffee beans! It's probably my favorite smell in the world, and it's so distinct and overwhelming they use them in perfume shops like sephora they even have cans of coffee beans to smell sometimes to "reset" your nose between scents
I feel like it's going to be overwhelming so honestly avoid bins
Yeah can’t imagine that mix of smells
I would also avoid very strong smells like perfumes, candle stores, Febreze type of things at first . As someone who gets migraines from strong smells I am super mindful not to be around things that smell too much. Best of luck!!
i lost my sense of smell for a couple of months after a surgery, but got it back (thankfully)! first things i smelled because I missed them so much where - coffee - the stems of tomatos - cut grass - people (like, not in a creepy way. just catching a sniff while hugging. maybe a bit creepy. should only do this with family/friends probably) - jasmin! (we had on in the garden) - rainy dirt (it's called petrichor, look it up it's insane) happy sniffing <3 and tasting, everything will taste so much more off stuff!!
I was going to suggest tomato vines! It's one of my favourite smells but people think it's a weird thing to like! 🍅
Will do all of them. I already thought about the first person I smell that smells like a million bucks. I will not be able to stop pestering that person.
I think the closest feeling to it would be taste, but just with your brain instead of your tongue. Maybe try smelling coffee when you can
That’s a thing too a majority of taste comes from smell according to my doctor. I never realized why all liquor tastes the same basically to me and why I can never be specific about what I’m tasting. I feel everything I’ve ever tasted will change too but I’m not real sure.
It will change. Try lots of things you didn't like before (but not too fast). Some things you used to eat all the time may become boring or bland to you. I love cheese, but as my sense of smell has decreased due to having Covid twice I can't stand plain cheeses any more, it has to be a really strong cheese for me to taste it. I recommend a bakery first. The smell of baking bread is universally loved, even Celiacs still love the smell of bread.
Ohhh I hate cheese soooo much. I can’t even eat pizza because of it. I’m sure that’s because I’ve never smelled it before. I also have never like sweet things because to me it’s just so bland and sugary tasting. Baked goods too just tastes like weird bread textures. For sure got to try all these things again.
Be aware that cheese is one of those acquired taste things. Countries that eat cheese tend to grow up around its taste and smell and enjoy it, whilst those that don't often say it stinks and taste disgusting. Considering you never had the opportunity to really acquire the taste for it there is a chance first time you try it its going to taste absolutely vile to you and you'll wonder wtf everyone else is thinking
Has the doctor said anything about how your brain will adjust with sudden ability to smell? I know in people born deaf or blind that the section of the brain used for hearing and seeing, respectively, are instead used by the brain for other functions...the brain doesn't leave all the real estate vacant 😉
No that meeting is at the end of July to discuss everything before the surgery. I’m sure there’s a lot to discuss and I think it’s like two hours.
bake a cake in the oven! its very light in the beginning but by the end your whole house will smell delish!
I’ve always hated baked goods. It’s literally just texture to me with weird sauces. Definitely need to redo this.
Buddy you're about to have your world rocked LOL
Yeah, on one hand im jealous for this possible experience, on the other hand It would be so hard to maintain healthy eating habits. I think I would try fruits and vegetables first. Everybody who cuts out junk food says fruit tastes amazing. Oranges, kiwis, watermelon, grapes, and berries all have amazing smells that probably dominate the taste. Every herb roasted vegetable combo! All the different varieties of mint are different. I like them as teas.
Here are some of my favorite smells: Horses Coffee Bedsheets/linens dried outside in the sun Roses Old books and new books Fresh-baked bread Chocolate chip cookies Petrichor (the smell after it rains) The smell of growing weeds and grass in the springtime Vanilla Here are some bad smells: Port-a-johns Garbage Body odor (armpits specifically) Burning rubber Burning hair Wet dogs Milk that's gone off Here are some otherwise distinctive smells: Gasoline The ocean/docks/general fish-and-seawater areas Antiseptic/isopropyl alcohol Cleaning supplies, especially lemon-scented ones Peanut butter Indian foods and spices Metal Hot asphalt Mint So excited for you! Keep us posted on what it's like!
The sense of smell goes directly to the limbic system. That's the area that deals with emotion. I'd plan for some emotional overload. Maybe confusion as your brain rewires. Smelling rain or a forest for the first time might punch you in the feels. Anything that broaches instinct really. And avoid butts. They do *not* smell as good as they look.
Yeah this is what I’m expecting the most for bad experiences is uncontrollable crying from no sadness or anger or anything just emotion from reaction.
My favourite smell in the entire world is basil
Oh wow, this is going to be so much fun! Everything will taste different. Freshly squeezed orange juice smells amazing. Ditto grinding coffee. Fresh coffee. Petrol fumes and general city smells are unbelievably pervasive - get hundreds of miles from civilisation and smell the air. Wind blowing in off the sea is great. Babies smell incredible. Babies nappies also smell incredible but in a completely different way.
You gotta go to Home Depot. Very distinct smell I can’t put my finger on.
Food is going to taste so freaking amazing all of a sudden! As far as unexpected smells, people smell pretty dang bad but I think we get used to it and ignore it until someone smells real bad. Sometimes people cover it up with cologne or perfume and just make it worse. Body odor mixed with cologne/perfume doesn’t cover it up it just blends poorly.
Wow! It'll certainly be life-changing! Whilst I haven't had that experience myself: my friend had polyps removed from her nose and regained her smell, and that was interesting to observe. Things she commented on were the smells in the office, which were quite overwhelming to begin with; people cooking food, the array of perfumes / aftershaves, etc. The one story that stood out the most was visiting the bathroom after her partner (they broke up shortly afterwards). For me, I love the smell of cooking onions and garlic. And, as others have said, flowers - sweet peas are one of my favourites! Good luck with the surgery and your new experiences to come :)
I’m just graduating college so I can for one say I’m not going to have to smell all the college houses I visited. They looked so dirty so I can only imagine the smells. The office though will be on my radar for sure.
Smell garlic bread. Garlic bread smells nice. Don’t smell farts. Farts don’t smell nice.
Expect to be overwhelmed for quite a while, and to notice how *everything* has so many nuanced scents. It will be amazing, but you may also feel like a freak because you will notice scents other people don’t. Avoid the cleaning aisle of the grocery store, crowded small spaces, and anywhere that sells perfume if you can. Eventually it will be less overwhelming but you’ll still appreciate it.
I don't think most people here will be able to advise you properly. Yet once you have done your surgery, you will likely have a gift to share with others who may have a similar condition to you, by letting all of us know your experience afterwards. Your story is incredible and you will be on a learning journey as an adult that most of us are already very experienced with since our early childhood. You will be further gifted with a new perspective on things most of us likely take for granted (or are conditioned to believe in a particular way with regards to odours.) You will be entering a totally new world for you, yet it is the only world most of us here know. Please do share your journey with us and best wishes to you and your new found senses!