Loss of smell and taste

[bev]

Hi, I am Bev and my husband was diagnosed with early onset PD a couple of years ago- before that he experienced loss of smell and taste. One doctor said it had nothing to do with PD and others said they just do not know- Has anyone else had this experience?
My husband is still working in a busy career and doesn't really take an active part in any type of research about his symptoms- he seems to want me to do that and feed it to him in bits and pieces. I encourage him to pay more attention to the signals from his body- he just went off the neupro patch and is trying to find the right dose of requip - was having some problems with day sleep episodes and driving- He got a new primary car doctor- who suggested dropping all meds and adding back one at a time- Has anyone had experience doing this?
my best to all

[redImp]

Hi, Bev,
I can observe that I lost my senses of smell and taste after I fractured my skull 30 years before symtoms of PD began to surface. But there is so much unknown re-PD and so many different symtoms and combinations of them that it is difficult to offer useful comments.
A few years ago I was permitted to increase my Sinemet Plus to what I now realise was much too high a dosage, and then to wean myself slowly right off it and then to increase the dose to something much lower for my long term good. Ropinirole hydrochloride was added at the same time. I had no real problems with this 'experimenting' and ended up with doses just below the threshold of involuntary movements. Since then doses have very gradually inched up and their timings have been fiddled around with to get the best results while holding the overall drug intake down as far as possible.
I have taken part in a number of UK university/UK PD Society funded studies and feel a sense of satisfaction that I am contributing a (very) tiny amount to the battle against the disease. I would encourage others to do the same.
Like your husband, I tended to let family and friends keep me informed of advances/retreats in the battle while I immersed myself in the last years in an interesting career. I could ignore my PD for long periods of the day at that time, and why not, for the future could look pretty gloomy, to say the least!!
Anyway, good luck to you both.
redImp

Originally Posted by bev

Hi, I am Bev and my husband was diagnosed with early onset PD a couple of years ago- before that he experienced loss of smell and taste. One doctor said it had nothing to do with PD and others said they just do not know- Has anyone else had this experience?
My husband is still working in a busy career and doesn't really take an active part in any type of research about his symptoms- he seems to want me to do that and feed it to him in bits and pieces. I encourage him to pay more attention to the signals from his body- he just went off the neupro patch and is trying to find the right dose of requip - was having some problems with day sleep episodes and driving- He got a new primary car doctor- who suggested dropping all meds and adding back one at a time- Has anyone had experience doing this?
my best to all

[Roxanne]

Hi, Bev. My husband has lost his sense of smell, also. Looking back, it was probably one of his first signs of PD.

[tich]

Hi, I was recently been diagnosed with PD. I lost my sense of smell and taste quite a few years ago and I am also wondering if this was the start of things for me...

Tich

[MichaelWayne]

I find this discussion very interesting. My sense of smell has been leaving me for years, until it is nearly non-existent now. No one ever had an explanation for this. In fact, most people act like I have made this up. Although most odors that I come across in my daily life are not to be missed much (porta potties, temp heat sources for construction, construction workers), I miss the smell of food and flowers and such. Well, I guess that may be the least of what I'll be missing soon enough. It makes me wonder just how long ago PD began. I was noticing as much as 10 years ago that I couldn't play my guitar well, and I just wrote that off as declining interest.

[artsuds]

My name is Art. I was diagnosed three years ago having PD.
I don't know when but I too have lost my sense of smell.
I am 72; I also have type 2 Diabetes, I don't know which to
blame for whatever symtoms I have.

[heather]

my husband lost sense of taste,a few years ago
he was a savoury man, and very seldom eat puddings
now all he will eat is puddings and chocolate

[ltd-addition]

Originally Posted by artsuds

My name is Art. I was diagnosed three years ago having PD.
I don't know when but I too have lost my sense of smell.
I am 72; I also have type 2 Diabetes, I don't know which to
blame for whatever symtoms I have.

Hi Art
blame them both ! but just a glimmer of hope for you if you email me ive news re your diabetes
ltd-addition

[ltd-addition]

Originally Posted by artsuds

My name is Art. I was diagnosed three years ago having PD.
I don't know when but I too have lost my sense of smell.
I am 72; I also have type 2 Diabetes, I don't know which to
blame for whatever symtoms I have.

Hi Art
blame them both ! but just a glimmer of hope for you if you email me I may have news re your diabetes
ltd-addition

[mema98]

I'm mema98 (Catherine), just posted a new thread about my 60 year old husband with PD. He lost his sense of smell at least 10 years ago. Never knew that it could be related to PD, but that must be one of the earliest symptons.