never posted these individual smell disorder flags whoops. also with quick explanations of each disorder
the rose and red color represent smell and unity between people with different smell conditions. the wavy line also represents smell and the differences between ablility to smell or diffences in someones sense of smell. the colors correspond to the stripes in my smell disorder umbrella flag (link) and represent each specific condition
anosmia - complete lack of smell
hyposmia - lessened ability to smell
parosmia - brain incorrectly identifies smells, eg. a pie might smell like chemicals
phantosmia - smelling things that aren't there, olfactory hallucinations
dysosmia - any difference in smell that isn't a difference in the amount of smell being sensed. basically an umbrella for parosmia and phantosmia
btw it's anosmia awareness day! be aware of: anosmic people
[PT: btw it's anosmia awareness day! be aware of: anosmic people /End PT]
I made some userboxes for the occasion
[ID: Four red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user is anosmic. They can't smell." The second says, "This user can't smell." The third says, "This user is anosmic." The fourth says, "This user has anosmia." /End ID]
And some for other smell disorders too, under the cut!
Hyposmia
[ID: Three red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user has a reduced sense of smell." The second says, "This user is hyposmic." The third says, "This user has hyposmia." /End ID]
Dysosmia
[ID: Three red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user has a distorted sense of smell." The second says, "This user is dysosmic." The third says, "This user has dysosmia." /End ID]
Parosmia
[ID: Three red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user smells normally pleasant odors as unpleasant ones instead." The second says, "This user is parosmic." The third says, "This user has parosmia." /End ID]
Phantosmia
[ID: Four red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user smells things that aren't there." The second says, "This user has olfactory hallucinations." The third says, "This user is phantosmic." The fourth says, "This user has phantosmia." /End ID]
Hyperosmia
[ID: Three red userboxes with the smell disorder flag on them and white text with black outlines. The first says, "This user is sensitive to smell." The second says, "This user is hyperosmic." The third says, "This user has hyperosmia." /End ID]
I made a smell disorder flag and I'm pretty proud of it, here it is with the plain stripes and color meanings:
[ID: two seven striped pride flags with identical colors. the one on the right labels their meanings, from top to bottom, as: purple for phantosmia, blue for dysosmia, teal for parosmia, rose red for smell, white for hyperosmia, grey for hyposmia, and black for anosmia. End ID.]
and here's some versions with a rose in the middle because I think that makes it look incredible:
[ID: the same flags as above, but with a rose in the center, which is the same color as the rose red center stripe. the rose on the left has black lines and the one on the right has dark red lines. End ID.]
this means a lot to me so I gave it my best shot, any advice and/or feedback would be appreciated.
There is a lot of research out there that suggests acupuncture helps with dysosmia. So I started going 2-3 times per week in July 2018. After each session I would make a conscious effort to try to smell and even taste things when I left their office.
My acupuncture therapist, Chris, at Rocky Coast Acupuncture was fantastic. In fact, the entire staff were great! They’d do research, look up studies, try new methods, etc. I’ll give more info on that later.
I had some success after 2-3 weeks when I left their office. I could smell the air freshener in their hallway, I could smell a few flowers that were blooming in my yard, and I could taste wild raspberries too.
While this was super exciting, the smell and taste only lasted about 15 minutes. Then NOTHING, until my next appointment.
I took this as a good sign and it gave me some hope. I highly recommend you do your own research and find an acupuncturist who is willing to try new techniques as mine did.
Have a look at this link, it’s just one of many I found: https://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1575-acupuncture-restores-the-sense-of-smell
I wanted to put together a resources list for people with any kind of smell/taste disorder. (I’ve found the healthcare systems (in Canada, at least) isn’t really set up to diagnose/help this condition, so self-education and user-led support systems to the rescue!)
anosmia yahoo group This place is active and full of helpful people.
dysosmia yahoo group A little quieter than the anosmia group, but still a good support system for those of us with smells that are wrong (dysosmia) or shouldn’t be there (phantom)
Fifth Sense an organization based in the UK but seeking to support others outside the UK. Aiming to raise awareness, increase research, and support taste/smell disorder sufferers.
Smell Training is popular and many people have reported success or an increase in smell perception after engaging in training routines.
Anosmia Foundation - A good collection of resources.
Season to Taste: How I Lost My Sense of Smell and Found My Way by Molly Birnbaum. An autobiography about the author’s experience with a brain injury that propelled her on a journey around the world exploring scent and talking to people whose livelihoods are in the scent industry.
Does anybody know anything else? Feel free to add and build upon it! I’ll re-blog forever!
The surgery itself doesn't scare me too much. It won't alter my appearance or cause major problems. Sure it will hurt and the recovery process will suck, but whatever. My fear is that after it is over, I still won't be able to smell. The success rate is unfortunately pretty low. The chances that the damage caused destroyed the stuff in my nose that allows people to smell are high. All of my hope is riding on this, and I am not sure if I am ready to take this last chance and see it fail.
This summer I was not able to enjoy what I have my entire life. I couldn't smell cut grass, flowers, swimming pools, barbecues or anything of the sort. Fall is finally here and I cannot enjoy the smell of leafs, hay, mud or bon fires. Not to mention, this grately effects my sense of taste. The world is so bland now.
Nothing feels familiar anymore. Nothing smells like home or smells familiar and comforting. I depended so much on this sense, more than I ever realized. People forget this all the time and ask me to smell their perfume or cologne or candles or whatever and I try to pretend I can tell because I want to believe I will be able to so badly.
My doctor had me using this spray and medicine for two months before coming back to decide if I want to give the surgery a go. In two weeks, that time is up and I have seen no real change. He warned me this might be permanent. I'm not ready to find out if it is, but the sooner I keep on fooling myself with false hope- the more it will hurt if this fails.
Do any of you know anyone who was able to do something to get better? I'm sorry to whine and throw a pity party- but the party has begun.
