I was cleaning out our coffee maker with vinegar earlier,
My adult son came into the kitchen, and commented with disgust how bad the vinegar smelled!!
What spooked me is that I could not smell it at all.
Thinking about it, I am not tasting my food either

Anyone else have these symptoms?
Is there anything to do about it?
Does it go away ever.

I want to taste my food again!!!!!!!!!

Best, Eva

I have not been officially diagnosed with PD as of yet. But I know I have it. I just need to see a MDS to confirm my deepest fears.
Anyway, I had 2 bananas yesterday. I tried smelling them, but I could not smell anything at all. I can smell other stuff though: mint, coffee, etc. But my sense of smell is deteriorating slowly but surely.
As for what to do, I have no clue what one can do. I am still in shock and absolutely devastated. But there's not much I can do. It will take me a little time to get used to my new life with PD.

Dear Friend;
I am sorry to hear of your concerns.
My loss of smell has come on gradually.
And it comes and goes.
I lived in denial for 3 years after my diagnosis. I took my meds, and lived in denial.
Now I have somewhat accepted it, and it is hard. With the summer heat setting in, there was no way I could be in denial.
I will say one thing, stay out of the heat. Heat makes my symptoms worse
When I finally went to my GP with my concerns, he said that the best way to diagnose PD is with the Sinemet. He said if you take Sinemet for 1 month, and the symptoms go away, you have it. And that is what happened with me.
Keep in touch. PD comes on in stages, and we learn to navigate through the different stages.
And ATTITUDE is everything.

A zinc deficiency can cause loss of sense of smell. Google it for more. I'm not saying no PD, just that other things can cause this as well.

As weird as this may sound. I am recovering a little bit of my sense of smell. I was able to pick up some scents walking down the street. Nothing overwhelming. But I definitely was picking up more scents. And this is easing up my anxiety. It's not much, I still have tons of muscle rigidity and little numbness in one arm. But this is a good sign.

Back in 1996 I notice gasoline smelled "funny" to me. No one else noticed and I attributed it to MBTE. Then gradually I noticed other things didn't register. When I was finally DX'ed in 2009 my doctor pulled out a bottle of vanilla and I had no trouble picking up the scent. It comes and goes. Most times I smell things my daughter doesn't and I'm "crazy", (gotta love having kids). One good thing about losing your sense of smell for me at least...I don't smell flatulance. Mine or most times others

I have noticed my decreased sense of smell many months ago. My wife would pick up all kinds of smells and I would be like "Are you sure?".
Now I only pick up some faint smells, and some other stuff I don't smell at all.
What's weird is that just a couple of weeks ago, I was eating normally. Smelling my food and enjoying it fully. Now I don't eat and I can't smell much.

Maybe you should wait until you actually receive a diagnosis of PD before you start your shock and devastation.

As has been stated to you already by other members, there are many causes of loss of smell (anosmia). The most common cause is severe upper respiratory infection, usually caused by a virus, which damages the layer of nerve cells. Other causes, can be head trauma, polyposis, allergic rhinitis and yes, Parkinson's Disease. But the facts are, while many, if not most, PWP have some degree of ansomia, most people with ansomia DO NOT have Parkinson's. In fact, mental disorders such as psychosis and schizophrenia are also associated with ansomia.

I previously mentioned three top hospitals in your area that have great MDS departments. They also are well known in other areas of health. With no disrespect at all, I really think you should consider speaking with someone about your emotional distress at this time. Going onto an online forum is not the place to solve severe health disorders, whether it is PD, or some other problem you may have.

Good luck!