Two weeks ago, wife tested positive for COVID. Next day I started showing flu-like symptoms. Spent 10 days absolutely washed out, no appetite, no energy, producing massive amounts of phlegm.

Much better now, thanks, but there is what I assume is a side effect: My taste buds have changed.

I've been a coffee fiend for 60 of my 75 years and now I can't taste it. Not just doesn't taste good, doesn't taste AT ALL! That sucks.

Also, my go-to for lunch has been a sandwich on 12 grain bread for years. Usually ham or turkey breast. Again - tasteless.

Haven't noticed anything else yet, but those two have been staples and I really miss them.

The same thing happened to my dad when he got Covid in 2020. He is also a huge coffee fiend, he can't go without it for more than a half hour. His tastes changed too though, and he couldn't stand it. He switched to tea, which he disliked traditionally. Covid came and went, but it took months for his tastes to settle.

The good news though is that they did eventually settle, and once again you can't find my dad without a cup of coffee in his hand.

Same here a few years ago, no taste or smell for over three months.

At the end of it, I was walking through a farmers market and what is that? I CAN SMELL CANTELOUP! I sampled everything and bought a lot. Sure glad it came back.

Lost ALL sense of taste & smell when I had it in 2020. The week of Thanksgiving.

You know how terrible it is to eat smoked turkey and sweet potatoes and not be able to taste them. *sigh*

Took me months before I returned to mostly normal. There's about %5 of things I still can't smell.

@ Perception

I too switched to tea. At least I'm not dealing with caffeine withdrawal!

My wife lost both taste & smell after covid, 2020ish IIRC.
Both slowly recovered, smell taking significantly longer. For a couple years, PB and bananas were 2 foods she used to love that tasted awful. They're nearly back to being 'normal' again now.

Yes, have observed similar as above. No symptoms but lost smell/taste for several months. Makes it hard to be the cook of the family.

I've had Covid once and never lost my taste or smell.

I had a buddy though that said after he got over it everything he ate or drank tasted like curry for 6 months. He said he hardly drank any beer in that time because drinking an ice cold can of curry just wasn't appealing

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
Two weeks ago, wife tested positive for COVID. Next day I started showing flu-like symptoms. Spent 10 days absolutely washed out, no appetite, no energy, producing massive amounts of phlegm.

Much better now, thanks, but there is what I assume is a side effect: My taste buds have changed.

I've been a coffee fiend for 60 of my 75 years and now I can't taste it. Not just doesn't taste good, doesn't taste AT ALL! That sucks.

Also, my go-to for lunch has been a sandwich on 12 grain bread for years. Usually ham or turkey breast. Again - tasteless.

Haven't noticed anything else yet, but those two have been staples and I really miss them.

Yup, completely normal and it should all come back over time...several months at the most

I had an early case back in early 2020 and spent almost a month in the hospital.

I'd spent time in that same hospital prior while working security for in custody pre-trial prisoners and knew the food was pretty good. Couldn't taste a thing after I recovered enough to be able to eat...about all I got was texture.

When I was released and ended up in a rehab hospital to regain mobility my sense of taste hadn't returned. Was released to home after two weeks and still couldn't taste the jasmine in the jasmine rice...lived on Salesbury steak TV dinners since I couldn't taste much else. Only knew I was getting better when a buddy took me out for a Dim Sum lunch and I could actually taste some of the food.

On the plus side, I never had any desire to snack and loss a bunch of weight

Same here, in October 2024. It took about three months for taste to completely come back.

Happened when I got the Wuhu Flu in fall of 2020.

It lasted about a month or two. Seemed to be worse the first few weeks and then subsided gradually that I did not notice at first as taste returned.

But did not have the issue the next time I got the thing in Jan/22. Very mild sore throat, head and neck ache, about 72 hours. (my brother visited and had symptoms first, then me two days later and his job required mandatory testing after any leave or travel, so he tested positive two days later).

Have not been had anything since, not even sinus infection or cold.

And never had any shots.

I didn’t lose my sense of taste or smell.

However, I did lose my sense of decency.
.

2020 my wife lost smell and taste. Taste came back but she still has little to no sense of smell.

Had Covid three times since 2020. First bout was mild, but after the second and third, I lost most of my taste and smell. Two years since the last time, and I can smell and taste, but am still missing a lot of range in both.

Lost taste and smell as well, but only for a few days (thankfully). I hit the elderberry hard when it first hit.

What really spooked me is that my home is propane powered (stove and furnace). I was really hoping I didn't unknowingly and suddenly go boom.

By the grace of God, I have had it only once: in early 2020. As others are saying, it also took my sense of taste and to a lesser degree smell. I want to say for two months everything tasted bland. It hit me in early February that year; thought it was the worst case of flu ever, coupled with a bout of bronchitis.

You'll learn to find joy in the lack of being able to smell in the meantime while you wait for it to come back.

Man, that COVID business hit me hard. I wish it was even somewhat human so a feller could at least try to beat it to death. I lost my mom and several close friends to it. I work for the VA and at the height of the pandemic we were placing bodies in refrigerated trailers. That's just not something a guy expects to see in Amarillo, TX or anywhere in Smalltown USA I guess. I know things happen- I saw stacked bodies in Iraq. But to see it for the first time on our soil hit me in the feelers.
I had it in early '21, and like most others I lost taste and smell. I also got the guillain barre thing where I couldn't feel hot or cold in my arms or legs- scalded myself in the shower and with a bowl of menudo. I still got smell issues with smell. Natural gas smells like wet leather and a lot of food smells like it's well on it's way to being rotten. God how I wish COVID would stand up and fight like a man.

First bout with COVID, lost my sense of smell, for several months, and it took over a year to fully return. I just felt run down, no severe coughs or headaches. Got the monoclonal antibody treatment and felt normal with 36 hours. That treatment was pulled about a month later, due to "ineffectiveness". Yeah right.

Second bout with COVID, no loss of any senses, just felt run down with a little cough. Got a Z-pac and some cough medicine and felt better within a few days.

I had been taking some vitamins and Elderberry extract pills before I ever caught COVID, and both doctors said it probably helped to lessen the COVID effects.

The loss of smell helped - My parent's refrigerator died while they were on an extended vacation, and all the meat and other stuff spoiled inside. I cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer with no issues. The smell was so bad, that my wife couldn't stand to be in the house.

Loss of taste is a symptom of Vitamin D deficiency. Please have yours checked by blood test and supplement.