How I Got My Sense of Smell Back

If you're here reading this article, it's probably because you're in the same boat that I was in. I got Covid-19 back in April of 2021 when I visited Vegas for my 40th birthday. Some birthday present, right? After which, I totally lost my sense of smell and taste.

I was lucky. My symptoms of Covid-19 were mild, and I only felt really acute symptoms for about 4 days. However, on day 4, I woke up, went to make my morning coffee, and realized that I had completely lost my sense of smell. I couldn't smell my coffee brewing.

The scientific name for this is anosmia. All I knew was that it meant I couldn't smell or taste anything. Sometimes I would sense a sickly decay-like sensation when I would eat anything sweet - whether naturally sweet or artificially sweet. And sometimes, if something was really really salty, I could taste a bit of salt. But largely, I was nose blind.

I assumed from what I had read online that this would be a temporary situation, and that I would get my sense of smell back in 3-4 months. My family members who'd had covid recovered their sense of smell typically within several weeks.

But for me, month 5 rolled around. Still no sense of smell. And strange things had crept into my daily routine. I noticed I was eating more than usual, because my body was trying to feel some sense of satisfaction from tasting something. I had also stopped having the desire to shower - because I couldn't smell my shampoo or body wash, and I didn't feel clean after showering. I hadn't realized how much of that was related to my sense of smell. And I felt a sense of general depression, as I coped with a loss of a part of me that I hadn't realized I valued so much, before.

Determined not to be a victim of this pandemic, I started googling. What could I do to fix this? All I found were articles on olfactory training. Olfactory training is basically smelling very pungent things, including essential oils, on a regular basis, to retrain the brain to make connections. And I tried it. With no success.

Then, about a month ago, I also started experiencing systemic inflammation. My joints ached, my body was swelling, I felt fatigued, and I felt like my insides were on fire. I had heard that this could be a long term complication of Covid, too, so I renewed my searching with fervor. I was determined to not let the rest of my life be dictated by symptoms.

And then, serendipitously, I found my solution. And this is where I get to remind you that I am not a medical doctor. I am only sharing my experience of what worked for me. Before you consider taking any supplements or trying anything new, you may want to check with your doctor.

I happened to be going through my podcast list, looking for something to listen to on a roadtrip, and I came across this podcast, where two functional medicine doctors talked about working with patients to heal symptoms of long-covid or post-covid complications, using functional medicine.

They discussed how and why covid impacts so many systems in the body, the pathways that were affected, and they recommended supplements to help.

I immediately went out and bought CoQ10, Niacin, vitamin D, vitamin C, and Zinc, at the dosages mentioned in the podcast. I started taking the doses as recommended. And within 3 days, I had regained a small portion of my sense of smell. I could smell really pungent things like citrus and coffee again. I felt hopeful for the first time in the 8 months I had been without a sense of smell.

And then, I had another epiphany strike. During my googling, I had read that post-Covid-19 anosmia was usually caused by damage to the olfactory neurons in the brain. Then I remembered an ad for FourSigmatic mushroom coffee that I had heard over and over on another podcast. How is this related?

I remembered that Lion's Mane mushrooms that are a significant part of this coffee were considered natural nootropics - that is - they were supposed to help brain function, and increase focus. So I did some more research, and sure enough, Lion's Mane mushrooms have been shown to increase Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) in the brain, and promote the growth of new neurons. Most of this has been studied in the hippocampus, and in relationship to Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

But, as supplementation with Lion's Mane generally has few to no side effects, and I had already tried everything else, I figured I had nothing left to lose. So I ordered myself some FourSigmatic Mushroom coffee, since Lion's Mane is often consumed as a tea or tincture anyway, and I have a daily habit of drinking coffee in the morning already.

Within two days - two days!! - my sense of smell had mostly returned. I'd say I'm at about 80% capacity for sense of smell. There are still some things that smell altered. And some foods taste slightly different, but for the most part, I feel like I am largely back to normal.

I knew that I couldn't keep this to myself. This news was too good not to share. Most of what we hear on the news and in our social media feeds is about the dangers, the fears, and the complications of Covid, not the strategies for recovering after it.

So again, I am not a doctor, and I recommend that you consult with your doctor before taking any medical advice. But this may help someone else, too, and if so, this information needs to be shared.

If this helps you or a loved one, please let me know! I am so interested in following outcomes for others, too, so please leave me a comment if this works for you!

Also, as a note, several of the links in this article are affiliate links, for which I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

And if you found this information helpful or useful, please consider leaving a tip as a thank you, and check out my other articles for natural help with mental illness.