There are some very interesting points being made here. Smoking is notorious for deadening the senses of smell and taste. Fortunately, it recovers fairly quickly after quitting.

I have always say "I have a nose like a hound." because I smell things that others do not or perceive them at very small concentrations. Perhaps it is just the way some of us are "wired". But, I also like Karen's point about chemo playing more of a role in the whole taste/smell perception aspect. Our brains are amazing organs that can play tricks on us if there is even the slightest change in physiological balance.

I am reminded that with both of my pregnancies, my first symptoms were hypersensitivity to smell and altered sense of smell. I remember that I couldn't drink out of our water glasses because everything smelled and tasted foul. We used to store the glasses rim-side-down and I could sense the smell/taste of the shelving in a the cabinet. Many things like this happened before I even knew I was pregnant...and believe me when I tell you...we tested as soon as we could when we were trying to have kids!

Also, I couldn't stand the smell of coffee (which I normally love); the smell of shampoo, soap, and deodorant sickened me. I couldn't stand being near my poor husband! I had to get all unscented products. We all know that these changes are due to the flux in brain chemistry/hormonal balance that is occurring rapidly during early pregnancy. So, the changes in brain chemistry from chemo may play more a role than we think. It makes sense to me, anyway.

I think the other changes that occur during/post radiation such as loss of taste, intolerance to certain textures, etc. could be explained, in part, due to the lack of saliva and mucousal damage and all of the other horrible things that radiation does to you.

For all of you who are suffering with these issues, I do hope that they pass with time. Some things may never be the same, but hopefully they will improve/normalize over time.

At least we know that we are not "crazy" or "imagining things". If I smell something that someone else can't smell, I joke that "I must be having an olfactory hallucination!".