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.