posted
Just wondering, does anyone else feel like they have a heightened sense of smell?
I'm having a really hard time with this. I can't even wear perfume anymore. My girls painted their nails lastnight and I had to leave the room. Even some foods about put me over the edge. Just got a cabinet put in the laundry room and I can smell the stain. Can't even go in there.
Guess I should have taught my 11 and 9 year olds how to do laundry before the cabinet came. Posts: 111 | From northeast Iowa | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
I've got a "bionic" nose. I know exactly what you mean about being overwhelmed by scents. Usually this is a problem, however one time, I saved our office (wher I used to work) from burning down. I insisted that something was burning. No one else could smell a thing. They all thought I was crazy.
Like a bloodhound, I followed that burning smell with a friend in tow. We found the culprit. A co-worker had lit a candle and placed it on a high shelf. He forgot about it and went to lunch. The ceiling tiles above the lit candle were burnt. I put out the candle and later the janitor replaced the ceiling tiles. The co-worker was admonished not to ever light anything in his office again.
No one teased me after that! ;-)
I get physically sick from colognes, perfumes, nailpolish & remover, pressboard used in furniture, fabric coatings, flowers, lawn & garden shops, clothing stores, etc.... The list goes on and on. My LLMD says with treatment, this should get much better. He was very aware that Lyme makes us oversensitive not just visually or hearing, but also with our sense of smell. It's sort of similar to what happens during pregnancy when the sense of smell is greatly heightened. Kayda
Posts: 582 | From midwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
A blocked autonomic nervous system causes this. I had it so bad - so bad. The sympathetics are in dominance. Downy is probably the worst!
Detoxing and cleaning out the body is a must. Avoid all chemicals and get onto an extensive colon cleanse. www.drnatura.com Be sure you have no dental infections - they are the worst.
And then as you lighten the load of all the neurotoxins (see www.neuraltherapy.com/Neurotoxin elimination protocol) things will get better. It takes a while and it takes patience. Avoid all chemicals in personal care products. Avoid all heavy metals and if you have them, be sure you go on a metal detox program.
I went through all of that - but do not get paranoid thinking you are allergic to everything and anything. Avoid the worst, things you know set you off, but then try to relax about it.
Use some of the mop-up products that I have been posting about. Do a search. Every bit helps.
Take care.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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trueblue
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7348
posted
I thought I was the only one with the 'bionic' nose, heh!
I can smell things no one else can and am sensitive to all kinds of stuff. I once came downstairs and asked my mom if she was eating sour cream. She said, "Yes about a half hour ago in the kitchen." I smelled it coming down the stairs. Um... it's not like sour cream has a very powerful smell.
My powers also have been used for good. I used to work as a home energy conservation technician. Going to people's houses and checking their insulation, appliances and offering suggestions and installing energy saving devices.
Anyway, long story longer... In homes with natural gas I would almost always find a leak. The guys from the utility started asking where my next stop was so they could plan their day easier. In the beginning I thought they're all gonna think I'm a nut but I was right everytime no matter how tiny the leak.
I could do with smelling a little less and not winding up gasping for air because someone is wearing perfume. My mother used to keep hers in the car, because I wouldn't let her spray it in the house.
The weird thing is sometimes covering an offensive odor with something I like, and can handle, kind of nuetralizes it.
Today I had staples taken out from the GB surgery and the nurse put some kind of glue on to stick the steri-strips too. I foudn the solvent, which was alcohol and removed any extra but it was still making me gag. I just put a drop of patchouli oil on the front of my shirt to overpower it and that seems to be helping a bit.
sorry July, got carried away... open the windows in the laundry room if there are any it'll speed up the out gassing a little.
You can try tying a bandana over your nose and see if that makes it possible to go in there for short bursts. That sometimes helps me to do something like scrub the tub. It's better than with out, in any case.
Heh, maybe for my birthday I should ask for a respirator mask. hmmmm...
-------------------- more light, more love more truth and more innovation Posts: 3783 | From somewhere other than here | Registered: May 2005
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I have about half of my ability to taste and smell since I got lyme...... or maybe the loss of taste and smell if from the treatment?
Posts: 258 | From Washington State | Registered: Nov 2005
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dontlikeliver
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4749
posted
Yes, I have this much to some people's annoyance!
Posts: 2824 | From The Back of Beyond | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
I have to differentiate between sense of smell and chemical sensitivity.
I have lost a great deal of my sense of smell. One of the more interesting Lyme-related therapies I've attempted(at the time no undertanding about Lyme) was to look at violet light flashing 6 times per second for 20 minutes.
That gave me back my sense of smell for a year and a half. Color light triggering the brain. Interesting. The color light machine is called the lumatron, invented by a Dr. Downing.
Then there is the chemical sensitivity, which is overwhelming. Clindamycin antibiotic took this down for awhile, showing me it was Lyme-related.
Isn't it interesting how there's never a dull moment around us, in that at any time, a chemical exposure can happen, and poof, I'm outa there.
Like visiting my folks and when they cooked a bag of prepared popcorn, there is some oil in it that is a Lyme no-no, and I had to open all doors and windows and air out the place for an hour.
Also, I can't touch much fabric, which is a real shopping drag. I keep patching my old clothes and they're wearing out!
Posts: 13171 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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posted
I am also extremely sensitive to smells so much that I have to use scent free products for everything, where available - laundry, bathing, dishes etc. Synthetic smells are worse for me than natural smells - ie lavender, peppermint, citrus. I'm also extremely sensitive to sounds - tv, music, loud talking. All of these things have the tendency to bring on migraines for me.
Posts: 11 | From Dover, NH | Registered: Dec 2006
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you mentioned new shelf in laundry room; it's not the stain; it's the pressboard with putrid smell in it; can't think of the name right now of course; neruo lyme brain in action!
hubby made me 6 shelf boards when he set up my corner pc area; all needed to be taken back to store and replacing with wood NOT SMELLING! huge difference is no smell vs. terrible smell.
Others above summed up everything i contend with also.
i think we all need those drs. masks with us when we encounter OFFENSIVE smells!
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posted
When I was a little kid going shopping with my mother, every time we went through the detergent and cleaning section the smell was so overwhelming I would have to be taken to the bathroom right away or just wet my pants right there. And yes, I was too old for diapers.
Smell of perfume is beyond bad for me, but what I have found since being on abx and I suppose since I have no bacteria in my mouth or anywhere else, other people's breath can knock me into nausea for long enough I miss a meal.
I buy All free and clear and it has made a difference in my sleeping.
gambler
Posts: 243 | From chicago | Registered: Dec 2005
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Andie333
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7370
posted
Like others have mentioned, I have heightened sensitivity to both sounds and smells.
Prior to Lyme, I ate fish several times a week, but for a year, I couldn't be anywhere fish was cooking, and I had to avoid the fish section of the grocery store.
I've actually moved in a restaurant when someone at an adjacent table had perfume that was too strong.
Sounds were almost as bad. The worst for me was losing my appreciation of music for awhile. It just seemed like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
Things I've done that help: balancing out negative smells with others I can handle. I often use essential oils for this.
For sound, getting a white noise machine, so the least little sound at night doesn't jolt me awake.
Patience has helped, and a sense of humor. Plus the realization that this really is one weird disease.
After 18 months of treatment, these sensitivities have decreased. I love my ipod now, can listen to music in the car. Last week, I even ordered fish at a restaurant.
It just takes time...but I can definitely empathize!
Andie
Posts: 2549 | From never never land | Registered: May 2005
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groovy2
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6304
posted
Hi All
Candida (Yeast)can make you Real sencitive to smells and sounds --
When I had bad candida the smell of anything made me sick- phone ring and I would jump high
Once I got the candida under control thing were much better--
I think Babs made me jumpy also--Jay--
Posts: 2999 | From Austin tx USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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