With diet change

[Brenda]

I anticipate doing the test panel in near future, but have changed diet and currently avoid gluten. With diet changes, I notice my senses of taste and smell are better which is good in most cases. I "feel" it's related to a different diet.

Most recently, I felt a change when I walked into the grocery store with an increasing flu-like feeling the longer I was in the store. Continued sneezing, watery eyes. It all went away after I left the store.

Another reason I felt this to be related is because it reminded me of years ago when I avoided sugar for hypoglycemia. After a while I felt nausea walking near candy and really sweet items - seemed I could smell it through the packaging.

Has anyone else noticed a positive change of senses, irritation or both with diet change?

Brenda

[desertrat]

Brenda, yes! How weird you would post this, because I was thinking about how my sense of smell and taste has changed. I believe we are "detoxing" and that our smell and taste are then enhanced. For example, along with my diet, I was taking drops to detox from chemicals and sprays. I noticed while I was doing this that I couldn't STAND the smell of perfume and whenever I was in Home Depot I had to hold my breath if I walked through the paint or chemical aisles. Freaked me out, to be honest. I went off all sugar, coke, etc. and when i began to introduce them back, (because I needed extra calories) I couldn't believe how sharp/tangy the taste of coke was. It hurt my tongue! Honestly, the smell/taste difference is not fun, IMO. I don't like being caught off guard by someone's perfume or the smell of something in a store which makes me feel sick. I wish my nose and tastebuds were not so sensitive because it is a hassle for me.
Mandy

[Brenda]

Mandy -

Interesting! I was curious and suspected that I may not be the only one experiencing this. I used to really like a cola, but have not missed it since diet change. Unlike your experience, the change in my sense of smell and taste has been mostly pleasant - except for the grocery store incident. I was recently shopping for a fragrance as a b'day gift for son's girlfriend and found that trying various fragrances was more pleasant than I remember - and I could tell them apart after trying several. I'll do a Home Depot test. Maybe we'll hear from someone else on this.

Brenda

[draperygoddess]

Don't know that I have noticed a difference in food smells, but PEOPLE smells seem much more potent to me! (That can be good or bad...)

[ssharril]

I have not notices the change in taste, but smells are definitely stronger. Strong perfumes are the worst.

[GF-aka Oma]

I also feel people and perfumes can bother me

[Lesley]

Perfumes bother me too. The Costco in our area uses a jasmine (a perfume I usually love when fresh, and in moderation) scented air freshener or something at the entrance. I nearly threw up when I reached the entrance, and had to hold my breath.

Today, in CVS, someone sprayed on a passion fruit smelling scent on herself. I love passion fruit, but I gagged and had to move out of the way really fast.

So yes, I do react more to perfumes.

[tex]

That's one of the reasons why I believe that my mother had either celiac disease or MC. Besides the D, strong scents, (especially perfumes, and air fresheners, etc.), would always actually make her sick. She would get migraines, complete with nausea, etc., from strong scents. I always felt so sorry for her, but back then, I had never heard of gluten-sensitivity, and apparently, neither had any of her doctors.

Tex

[DebE13]

Wow, I'm tempted to print this and take it to work to show the people I work with that I'm not alone. The people smells are huge for me. I work with the public and find myself discretely covering my nose because their smells are offensive. Although, I doubt there is a discrete way to cover one's nose. People odors in addition to perfumes cause me to get headaches and feel queezy. My husband & I were testing fragrances at Bath and Body Works the other day and I had wash my arms and leave the store. These smells used to trigger migraines but those have gone away since I've modified my diet. I've found going down the fertilizer aisle or car parts aisle (rubber) at the store bothers me too. I thought it was just another OCB problem.

Oddly enough, I can also say that I have lost my sense of smell and taste too. My tongue frequently has a scalloped edge and inflammed taste buds so I figure that's why my sense of taste is limited. My sinuses are always stuffy yet I have a clear airway. Go figure. I have stopped being surprised by what my body does, it seems like every week it tries something new to throw me off. I'm hoping someday we get along.

[tex]

Deb,

I'm going to guess that you are hypothyroid. Here's why:

Dysfunction of smell in hypothyroidism is an underreported but perhaps not uncommon condition. In a series of 18 untreated primary hypothyroid individuals, 39% (n:7) were aware of some alteration in their sense of smell. Dysosmia (distortion of smell) and hyposmia (elevated threshold for detection of smell) were both seen (3). These were generally reversible with thyroxine replacement. It was commented that distortions of smell and taste could contribute to anorexia and lack of interest in eating, which are common in hypothyroidism.

Similarly, cacosmia (reported illness from environmental chemical odours) was also more common in women who rated themselves as having been exposed to greater stress earlier in their lives; they also had greater prevalence of physician-diagnosed disorders including hypothyroidism (6).

http://www.endocrine-india.com/resource ... ypothy.htm

Note that the article points out that treatment with thyroid supplement does not seem to relieve the anosmia, unfortunately - IOW, apparently the damage is permanent. I believe that this is probably the cause of Barbara's problem, also. She had conflicting symptoms, due to nodules on her thyroid gland, so her doctor treated her for hyperthyroidism, (because nodules can produce additional thyroxine, resulting in hyperthyroidism symptoms). (I disagreed with her doctor - I believe that based on her clinical symptoms, she was hypothyroid, initially.) If she wasn't already hypothyroid to begin with, she certainly was after being treated for hyperthyroidism, (which interferes with the ability of the thyroid to produce normal amounts of thyroxine. She was able to stop taking the treatment after a while, suggesting that she was never hyperthyroid in the first place. Here's a research article on this topic:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1163545

Tex

[Brenda]

Hypothyroidism symptoms have been tricky. Mine is difficult to regulate and often requires labs every 30 to 90 days and med changes. I've done better on Armour, sometimes getting at compound pharmacy. Compound was more expensive and insurance would not cover. I have also purchased Armour from Canadian pharmacy when it was unavailable in US for a while.

I was dx'd with hypothyroidism when my son was five months old, and I did not have physical strength to pick him up by the end of day. I had been treated for hypoglycemia for years. At the time dx'd, Dr stated that I most likely had hypothyroidism instead of hypoglycemia the entire time. He believed childbirth caused a "thyroid crash" as though the fuel was "turned off" to my body. Before dx and treatment, I would spread a sheet on the floor and many evening necessities were done there - fed and dressed baby, folded laundry, etc. due to weakness and lack of energy.

Since hypothyroidism is so common, why isn't there a patch? - an option of patch vs pill? I've asked Dr if there is a patch available for various meds so that liver is not involved with the process. Of couse I would look like a mummy if all my meds were in patches. I chose sublingual B-12 instead of pill due to malabsorbtion issue. Is my "stab in the dark" logic right, wrong or does it matter?

Brenda

[tex]

I hear you. Hypothyroidism can cause all sorts of problems, and regulating the treatment is not nearly as simple as most doctors think it is. A few months ago, I think I might have received a bad batch of Armour, because I started having hyperthyroid symptoms. Foolishly, I cut my dose way down, and in about a week or 10 days, I was having trouble breathing. I was unable to sleep at all, a couple of nights. Fortunately, it dawned on me what might be happening, so I upped my dose again, and in about a week or so, I could breathe again.

Back in the summer, I was having increasing bradycardia, then in the fall, it reversed, and I began having tachycardia. Cutting my dose did help the hyperthyroid symptoms, (the tachycardia disappeared), but severe shortness of breath is no fun at all. So I'm back on my former dose, and still short of breath, but not at an intolerable level. I can't decide whether to try increasing the dose, or not. My doctor is clueless.

Since many other hormones are available in transdermal patches, I would assume that thyroid hormone could be handled the same way. The problem of course, is dosage. Patches are a much more expensive method of delivery, and developing a patch for every dose would be an expensive process. Since thyroid hormone can be effectively taken only once a day, (whereas most other hormone supplements have to be "metered" into the system at a somewhat uniform rate, throughout the day, there's no real incentive to develop a transdermal patch for thyroid treatment. At least that's the way that I see it.

Sublingual lozenges are the best way to take B-12, IMO.

Tex

[DebE13]

Tex- good info, thanks. I'll have to get a copy of my recent lab results. I've had numerous thyroid tests and had a ton of lab work done this fall (after 6 tubes of blood in one sitting I was surprised there was anything left ) and eveything came back as "normal" including the thyroid tests. Can they screw up on that too? I shouldn't be so harsh but it's hard to trust that they know what they're doing.

[desertrat]

Deb, always, always have your lab results and keep the previous ones too! The results can show a "pattern" of your tests--what you are maintaining and what you seem to be low/high in. I take an average of 15-16 tubes of blood for various tests every 4-6 weeks. (Yes, I know that's a lot, but my PA and insurance company are okay with that and I have been fortunate enough to catch warning signs of low/high results and correct them before they become serious). Now, as for "normal" readings....ha ha ha! Most physicians will quickly scan the report and if they are all within the normal range they will tell you are "fine". Even if you are within one point of going into the high or low range, they usually don't care to point it out or even notice. Now comes the hard part! Finding someone who will actually scour the report with a fine eye. My PA does that; she will take over 1/2 hour each time to explain to me what her concerns are. My PA is almost as good as Tex at what to look for! You need to have a medical person who is willing to sit down with you and spell out each result out AND put two and two together as to what might be the cause of an abnormal reading. Yes, this is difficult, but not impossible. Always carry your recent lab work with you. You may never know who you find (doctor wise) who can accurately read your results. And, if you can, ask for more blood work for various things that regular blood work tests don't show. For example, zinc, iron, B1, etc.
Mandy

[tex]

and eveything came back as "normal" including the thyroid tests. Can they screw up on that too? I shouldn't be so harsh but it's hard to trust that they know what they're doing.

Most doctors are quite happy if the TSH, (thyroid stimulating hormone), result is in range, and they will typically totally ignore any other thyroid markers that might be out of range, (such as T3, T4, etc.). For example, my TSH was midrange, and my Total T3 and Total T4 were fine, and my doc was as happy as a lark, until I pointed out that my Free T4 shouldn't be below range. (He only checked Free T4 because I specifically requested it - otherwise he only checks total T3 and total T4).

He tried to convince me that a low Free T4 marker didn't matter, but after I pressed the issue, (after all, there's a reason why they have a "normal" range for all those markers), he offered to try a trial prescription, to see if it helped my symptoms. It did, of course, so we upped the dose a time or two before settling on one. Anyway, the problem now is that on my last test, my TSH was below range, and my Free T4 was barely in the low end of the normal range, so obviously something is seriously wrong, (since those are contradictory results). That's why I tried reducing my dose, only to find out that I couldn't do that safely. Maybe I need more T4, but less T3. When spring comes, we're going to have to hash that out, one way or the other, with some much more serious testing.

Anyway, to answer your question, most doctors are happy campers if the TSH result is within the normal range. The patient could be almost bald, with their eyeballs bulging out of their sockets, and as long as the TSH is normal, their doctor will insist that everything is fine.

Tex