I have been on Pregabalin since June of this year and since about September/October, I have noticed my smell and taste change significantly. It’s not covid as I’ve already tested twice, so I can only relate it to medication, chemical imbalance or something more physical (brain related).
Everything around smells really bitter and sour and I’m struggling to eat some of my favourite things because my taste and smell are SO altered. My body odour has changed and smells really pungent, to the point where I’m sometimes showering 3/4 times per day, but it doesn’t help. My partner can’t smell any differences at all, so I know it’s just me that can smell them.
The bitter and sour smells I get are also transferring to my tastebuds, and I’m beginning to taste the bitter/sour smells without even eating, so it’s like the smell is transferring to my saliva, which is really bumming me out.
I’ve started getting a lot of headaches too, but a new symptom so have noticed in the last wee while is that mid conversation, I completely forget what I’m talking about and go off in a tangent. I have also noticed my head feels like cotton wool most of the time, and that it feels like I’m slurring my words a lot.
Do any of the symptoms ring true to anyone? I’ve tried finding information in every area of the internet and had no luck. I have called my doctors, but no one seems interested at the moment.
Any help would be appreciated.
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nurseblue
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Hi, these are all symptoms of so called long-covid. Depending What covid tests you got, they may be negative after initial infection at some point whereas the symptoms you describe can be long lasting. Ask for a Covid 19 antibody test as this should remain diagnostic much longer. If that doesn't show anything, you would be a candidate for a thorough endocrine and autoimmune workup to help determine the cause. Best of luck, ethereal
Hello. Thanks for your reply. I’m not sure whether I had covid before. Back in April, I developed Bells Palsy, but at the same time, I felt a little run down, but also lost my taste and smell for 5 and a half weeks. Never had a cough or anything else, including a fever., and only had loss of taste and smell. I’m not sure of the duration of long covid, but I can’t imagine it being 8 months later and I’m still getting these effects. I’ve asked for a covid antibody test, but not sure whether anything would show up as I’ve already had dose 1 of 2 of the covid vaccine.
Congrats on getting the vaccine, although it may render useless the antibody tests as a means to determine whether or not you had Covid19. Bell's Palsey is another symptom of Covid. As to the Pregabalin, possibly some of the symptoms individually you describe could be attributed to side effects, but it seems unlikely that they all are. What doses are you on? You may want to slowly reduce it to see if that helps. You will get withdrawal effects similar to narcotics if you do this. Unfortunately I have read of many instances of long-covid lasting since the disease was originally contracted in February/March and is ongoing. In absence of a definitive diagnosis, and considering the lack of definitive tested treatments for long covid, I think it can't hurt to have further diagnostic tests.
I’m in 150mg take a day and have been since June. I did think about Covid causing the Bells Palsy, but it could have been down to stress aswell due to level of pain I was in at the time x
Hi nurseblue. I am on Pregabalin as well and I can identify some of your symptoms. The thing about forgetting what you're talking about mid-conversation is one. I've been letting things burn in the kitchen as well, which is not good! Your head in cotton wool, that's another one. Regarding the strange taste, that is possible as you get a very dry mouth from the medication, so things will taste different. This is the same with your body smell. If the medic has changed how food tastes like, you can bet it will change how things smell. Those 2 things go together. Be careful about the fact that this medic is known to impair your judgment. On the leaflet it says something along the line that you will hold true facts that don't exist. I've actually asked my family to keep an eye on me at that level and I informed my line manager as well, just in case I really mess up something at work (at least I have an excuse now. ) I'm taking the medic for nerve pain and headaches and it seems that after several weeks it stopped working and the headaches got worse. Unfortunately, Pregabalin is part of this medic family known to cause massive side-effects and Pregabalin is one of the most innocuous. Your doctor won't have many alternatives, I believe. I am to see my pain doctor next month and I will see what he is saying.
Hi I've just started pregabalin 3 days now and getting more sleep with my fibromyalgia pain along with osteoarthritis pains. Things looking better so far.
Hi, I just wondered where you saw the information that, “you will hold true facts that don’t exist”? I am no advocate for Pregabalin, though I have been taking it for a number of years but I have not seen that before. The Patient Information Leaflet does list many possible side effects some common, some uncommon or rare including: disturbance in attention, memory impairment, feeling abnormal, change in perception of self and a warning about possible decreased concentration, if you are driving or using machinery.
Hi Folksing. You're right, I just realised that it wasn't on the leaflet (which actually proves me right on what I was saying ) It is on this site: drugs.com/sfx/pregabalin-si... It says: 'false beliefs that cannot be changed by facts' and 'poor insight and judgment'. I refer to this site as it gives further info on medic than what you can read on the leaflets.Take care.
I was given Pregabalin for a severe pinched nerve injury. It didn’t help my neuralgia at all.
I had no idea how severely it in combination with Cymbalta detrimentally affected my brain functioning, my emotions and my senses.
I became extremely irritable because I hadn’t slept in almost a year. Sleep deprivation is real. I almost died from lack of sleep.
My son became afraid of me because I was so upset/ hurt that doctors had gas lighted me. I was treated with disrespect and in a punitive way. I had to do all the research about my nerve injury and locate doctors in my country or abroad who knew about it.
My son moved out and I had our dog. My son came for a visit after I’d long quit taking Pregabalin and he mentioned that our dog stunk. I couldn’t smell a thing! I took the dog to our vet and ten of his teeth had rotted!
That’s when I realized I’d been poisoned by that combination of meds.
I really lost my appetite. I wasn’t eating well and I lost a massive amount of weight.
It took smelling essential oils of lavender, frankincense, clary sage and citrus to help me regain some of my sense of smell and taste. I’m still not fully healed.
So my answer is yes, that medicine is toxic to the olfactory bulb in our brain and to the temporal lobe of our brain. I’ve no doubt it causes many more problems. I’m so glad I was able to wean off these meds. They were useless.
I needed surgery but my doctors wouldn’t help me. I’ve had my surgeries but they were all done years too late. I’m lucky to be alive.
Hi nurseblue, I’ve been taking Pregabalin for about 8 years for neuropathic pain. I started on a low dose and am now on the maximum dose. Pregabalin definitely makes you forget things, exactly in the way you describe, like forgetting what you are saying halfway through talking. It gives you a head like cotton wool, gives you a dry mouth and has made me put on weight. I have put up with these things because it helped with the pain and you learn to cope with them (not the weight gain, that’s a constant annoyance). I haven’t noticed any strange tastes or smells & my body smells ok. I have experienced something like the strange taste when I had systemic thrush and my mouth tasted metallic. Hope some of this helps.
Hi . I have been on pregabalin for 6 months now whilst waiting for hip replacement. I have completely lost interest in cooking and eating as nothing has any flavour really salty and sweet are fine. It tastes like food has gone off and I ask my partner and he said its fine. I can only smell really strong smells like curry or car exhaust. And no its not covid as have been tested and all clear. I have not had the jab as feel it's unsafe as still on clinical trials and that's a political issue for me. I have since had hip op 6 weeks ago and am now reducing my meds from 200mg pregabalin to 160mg per day. I will hopefully get my smell and taste back as pregabalin does dampen down the senses. Yes wooly head and forgetfulness is sometimes a problem. I'm not sleeping well after op so this doesn't help. Hope you are feeling a bit better now.
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) I'm taking the medic for nerve pain and headaches and it seems that after several weeks it stopped working and the headaches got worse. Unfortunately, Pregabalin is part of this medic family known to cause massive side-effects and Pregabalin is one of the most innocuous. Your doctor won't have many alternatives, I believe. I am to see my pain doctor next month and I will see what he is saying.
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