I can smell a weird smell all the time, is it the PD
 

Hi

For the past few days I can smell something quite strongly, it is there wherever I go so it is not something at home. Is this a symptom of PD?
Caroline

I am not diagnosing at all, but I had the same symptoms start about 15 yrs a go, and I was diagnosed with PD 2 months ago. I'm sure that there could be other causes though, but this is just my experience. Kind regards, ladybird.

Yes, I had that when I was newly diagnosed. Don't know if it was the PD or the Mirapex.

me too
 

I experienced the same thing just before I was diagnosed; within one year.

been diagnosed since 2003 and have experienced that since 2005. loss of smell as well.

Did it go away again?. or am i stuck with it now

Yes, it went away and that doesn't happen now. It did come and go for a few years, and I'm afraid that I have lost my sense of smell now. Perhaps that was heralding the event. It's strange how this phenomena happens at such different times in the progress of each person's experience of PD. I don't think it's understood. Take care, Ladybird.

What does it smell like? Believe me, I had an incident with that one too. Turned out they thought it was in the head, and it turned out to be a bladder infection! The smell could be physical so I would advise getting a checkup if you think there's any chance it's coming from your own body.

uhhhm, i've lost half of my sense of smell, with a few exceptions.

it's kind of hard because it was really strong foul smell, to me, however, no one else seems to detect or smell it. after a few episodes, and dr visits, sure enough it was a sinus or ear infection starting. at least, i have a bit of warning.

at any rate, on a good day my shampoos, shower gels, conditioners and dish soaps smell wonderful.

on an off day they all smell like boiled cabbage and onions. mayhap, a good scent for food, not so much for hand lotion, shampoo or dish soap, eeeewe.

i try to keep a good variety of strong citrus (lemon, grapefruit, or certain berries) or plain soap scented sundries on hand to off set the days of everything smelling of stinky feet and boiled cabbage.

some perfumes or scents are too strong and i can taste them, some don't even bother me, i can't smell them.

accck i know my sense of smell is having an off day when my chanel no. 5 smells like cabbage.

ahhh but i do love the scent of a dark rich coffee, leather and hoppe's no 9 (a gun oil) :o

hope it helps

rotten smells
 

I too have had periodic smells that just drove me nuts. Always bad ones, it seems, lucky me. I've been through bouts with smelling dog poo everywhere even when the dogs are clean and not the source. Nobody else smells it. I went through a phase where any heat on my face (dishwasher/oven) evoked the smell of black pepper and sneezing. Quite often burning smells like plastic, electrical(scary), smoke(from fire and cigarettes) which nobody else smelled. I am very allergic to cigarettes so my body reacts by vomiting and getting a migraine even when I can't smell actual cigarettes AND when I smell these phantom ciggies. So I know it's not a mental reaction if I don't smell actual cigs and get the same vomiting and headache. I go through bouts of smelling dirt (ask in fresh turned earth) for months too. Which at least isn't unpleasant and doesn't worry me about fire. The bad things is that a lot of food smells bad to me (as in past expiration). I've eaten things I could not smell or taste were bad and got sick a few times. So now if the date is past I throw it out regardless.

The smells usually do go away and cease bothering me. I had one doctor call these olfactory hallucinations. Hallucinations are a side effect of several PD drugs so some of this could be hallucinatory in nature.

The thing is I was diagnosed as not having PD very recently. As I taper sinemet I am regaining my sense of smell. I can smell coffee in starbucks or my house for the first time in years. I am getting less and less inaccurate smells as in everything smells of dirt or just weird and not like I know it does smell according to friends or just knowing cheddar cheese doesn't smell like burning plastic.

I'm not so sure the PD or the drugs don't do the number on our noses. At least it does seem to change so that you may not be driven nuts by a bad smell for more than a few months.

I have very similar symptoms to Dogma, but it can't be drugs because I don't take ANY as yet. It must be the PD. The ENT specialist called it "Cacosmia" (smelling unpleasant odours), " Anosmia" (smelling no odour). Fancy names, but he had no idea of the cause. That was 13 yrs ago, and I was diagnosed with PD in Feb, so that was the cause. I have heard since that this quite common. Kind regards, Ladybird.

P.S. I'm not saying that drugs are not the cause with Dogma. They seem to cause so many serious side effects. It was just my case I was referring to. Ladybird.

I agree, it's hard to be sure which is the cause. I dunno. At least it seems the good news is most people seem to have temporary problems with really obnoxious smells. Hope this is the same. :D

Hello,

I've had PD for approx. 9 yrs. My sense of smell is very enhanced. It began in my early PD years with no PD drugs and has gradually increased over several years. It is very annoying and unpleasant. I often say to my husband, "Do you smell that?" Always his answer is 'no'.

less sinemet more smells
 

I have noticed as I step down sinemet dose that I smell more. I bought an angel's trumpet flower tree and can now smell it. I could not smell it the first time it bloomed. I did not smell the popcorn at the hardware store this week (their cute little-town America draw-in for customers) and the strawberries at the Farmer's market that my friend raved over and had to buy. I never had a great sense of smell but things seem to be returning.

I remain unsure which part of the smell issue is PD and part might be sinemet. I smell things like feta cheese now and coffee while other smells elude me. There is the possibility that sinemet causes Parkinsonian symptoms like other drugs are proven to do like Reglan etc. I no longer have dystonia or dyskinesia but did noticeably shuffle last night at a block party so that the hostess asked if I needed a ride home after one glass of wine. :rolleyes: In reading some old posts it seems like there is some debate on the topic.

I believe a common non-motor symptom of PD is the loss of the sense of smell.

My sense of smell has proved to be opposite of this.
The Sinemet seems to bring about that strong, unpleasant smell, maybe like you were talking about.
I've found that I'm allergic to the Teva and Purepak brands of Sinemet. When taking the Mylan brand of Sinemet, I didn't have that one strong, unpleasant smell. But, my pharmacies can't get it anymore, of course.:Sigh:
Anyone else have this problem?

a friend of my mom's
 

She is allergic to sinemet suddenly and we just found out. I'll pass this on most def. b/c she's doing horribly. Apparently it ulcerates her esophagus. Thanks so much for mentioning this. It had not occurred to me. :Thanx:

Hello Dogma,

The inside of my mouth, esophagus, tongue are irritated and often bleed because of the Sinemet. Also, about 30 mins. to an hour after taking it, I start coughing up "stuff".
The pharmacist told me to take a Benadryl, and if it helped, then I would know I was allergic. Well, it helped. Although, I wasn't supposed to take Benadryl because I also take Selegiline. So, if she doesn't take an MAO inhibitor, and if she is able to take Benadryl, that would be a good test.
I'm still trying to find a pharmacy who can get the Mylan brand of Sinemet.

Sometimes, I think the adverse effects and side effects of these PD drugs are not worth loosening up, being relieved of the pain, and getting about more quickly.:rolleyes:

Glad I could help, even though it was an accident.:)

Tonya

more than you know
 

Sometimes the best things happen by accident. I'm forwarding this link to my mom and X'ing fingers. BIG thanks.

What you are experiencing are "olfactory hallucinations". I had exactly the same thing 15 years before I was officially diagnosed with PD. After these episodes, which were so disturbing, because they were always powerful and noxious types of odors, and then I lost my sense of smell completely. I was not officially diagnosed with PD until 4 years ago. Prior to that I had alot of non-motor symptoms, like "olfactory hallucinations", urinary incontinence, chronic insomnia, severe anxiety - my motor symptoms started many years later. Loss of smell is a major bio-marker for PD. My sense of smell has come back about 25% over the past few years. Please speak to your Neurologist about this...sorry I don't have better news for you.

Lexie

Hello Lexie,

My daughter's name is Lexie, btw.

I don't know about Caroline, but it's always nice to know you're not alone in experiencing these odd symptoms.
So, thanks for identifying this for us. Addiing another symptom or check mark to the PD list isn't good news, but at least we can place it there and file it away.

Thanks again,
Tonya

olf hallucinations
 

I too still have olfactory hallucinations-in my case all sinemet caused. I suspect there are different causes/sources for such. I could swear something was bad in my fridge this week but someone here said no it smelled fine. Why is it always the stinky stuff. UGH! :p

update on sinemet allergy
 

My Mom's friend that had to stop sinemet cold turkey due to allergy has emerged much better finally. They were sure she was going to die at the time I first posted. She did get very ill but is now functioning fairly well with no sinemet and feels better than she did before. I'm trying to get details on WHAT exactly she is taking now. Her age and health make it rather difficult to quiz her filtered through my mom. The great news is that she is sinemet free after many years and feeling better than she has in years. Bad news is it darn near killed her to quit cold turkey, I can't imagine.

I am getting the same problem since a couple of weeks. I noticed it first when i entered the kitchen then something like burning smell, burning onion, something like that but later it starts to appear all time. and my smelling power is now almost zero. I can't distinguish and get any smells of foods or perfumes but instead of that use to get same bad smell. this smell also appears strongly when taking shower and the shampoo that i use to apply in my hair and the shampoo coming down with water smells almost badly and can not get that shampoo's smell. And I asked about it with my wife but she doesn't smell it. I am really in tension now. what might be the cause of it and really want to know? So, I started so search in the google and got this forum which is really similar to my problems so hurriedly registered and posting a comment. and now what I should do? Please anybody there to help my problem.

For six months all perfumes smell disgusting
 

I have developed an aversion to all products with added fragrance. Laundry soap, my expensive perfumes that I have worn for years, shampoo, ect. This smell is very distorted and chemical in nature. Cant burn candles anymore. This smell problem came on suddenly and I remember when I became aware of it and has not relented. Help.

some ideas
 

Two things I would consider if I were you:

1. I have gotten more sensitive to chemicals as I've aged, and can no longer stand to go into places that are heavily perfumed like Bath and Body Works, many clothing stores, walking past the women's counters in many stores where they have all the perfumes....these are now off limits and literally make my eyes water and give me a headache! I don't know why, other than to suspect they are using harsher/more chemicals than they used to and/or I am just more sensitive.

2. Zinc deficiency is known to cause issues with our sense of smell. It is very dangerous to supplement minerals unless you do the research, so be smart about it if you think this may be an issue for you. Also, many minerals need other minerals in certain ratios to work properly (or not cause a problem).

Many PWP report issues with their sense of smell also bnd that may be true in your case....but I would keep other causes in mind, as possibilities. I think too often docs just attribute everything to PD and sometimes, there really is something else at play.