Any one have a loss of smell? I can not smell natural gas or my kids messy diapers.

My MS doctor said she would generally send someone with a loss of smell for an MRI to see if there was a tumor that was causing the problem but I had an MRI.

I told her I thought it was from my chronic allergies and sinus problems. She said sinus problems can cause loss of smell.

We didn't talk about if it could be related to MS but I do wonder. Anyone else have this problem? I am dx'd with MS so I am especially curious about those with a dx of MS.

You can't smell a loaded diaper?!? Most people would consider that good fortune ..I've never heard that MS can cause that, but who "nose"..Seems like everyday I'm learning something new about it. It will be interesting to see what you find out. I imagine that affects your sense of taste, too?

I haven't noticed a loss of smell with MS, persay, but, I do notice it when my sinuses are acting up.... nerves are everywhere, though, so, as Polar says, who "nose".

I am pretty sure it has to do with allergies or sinus trouble. My nose is almost always plugged on one side or the other.

Not smelling a yucky diaper is nice because I can change the diapers without too much trauma!

But not being able to tell the kids are messy does have its problems.

Not being able to smell the gas it a really big problem and dangerous.

We bought a gas detector.

LA

I've heard about a few people on the forums who have lost their sense of smell (not sure if it was permanent, or temporary), and have read about that as well ...

"Other less common causes of smell loss include chronic alcoholism (Shear et al., 1992), epilepsy Kohler et al., 2001), Kallmann's syndrome (Hudson et al., 1994), Korsakoff's psychosis (Mair et al., , pseudohypoparathyroidism (Doty et al., 1997a) and a number of common neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (Doty et al., 1997b, 1999"

http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/smell.asp

More commonly (although not much more), I've heard of PwMS who smell things that aren't there, like smoke, raw sewage, chemicals, boiling meat, etc.

Cherie

I've had just the opposite - I can smell anything and everything. Sometimes things that aren't even there!!

Same here.....

I have MS but also have terrible allergies and sinuses so I can't say whether my loss of sense of smell is MS related or not. I just assume it is from sinus issues as I have been that prior to MS diagnosis.

My MRI does show a cyst in one of my sinuses. This cyst gets irritated during allergy season as well as during colds/flus. Once irritated it swells, blocks off that nasal passage and I can't smell a thing.

On the flip side, we talking MS here so I guess anything is possible. Just think of all the possibilities MS brings. LOL.

Interesting. Well, I do smell things that are not there. There are two specific things I can not smell right now.

But I do smell things that others can not smell.

Either they really are not there and I am imagning it or I am picking up on something others can't.

I am cooking bacon and eggs right now and can smell those just fine.

I often think I am smelling a musty odor. I also think I am smelling a unrine smell.

But no one else can smell it.

It is just weird.

Probably a bit of both, LA. I sometimes have a very sensitive sense of smell, and notice things far quicker then others. However, I also get the weird smells (mostly smoke and a gross boiling meat scent), but they are not real.

Here's another link on the "loss of smell with MS" symptom. The good news is:

"The nerve cells servicing the olfactory epithelium are unique to the nervous system. Unlike nerve cells anywhere else in the body, the olfactory neurons are able to recover or regenerate after injury. This means that incidences of anosmia can be temporary."

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/B..._of_smell?open

Cherie