If you got COVID and lost the ability to taste things, did it ever come back? Otherwise, did you experience any other long term consequences from the pandemic in general?

Didn't lose my smell or taste but after the initial flu-like stage of my infection was over I didn't really get any better. And my doctor made it worse by telling me to power through and start working again. Nowadays I can only leave the bed to go to the toilet.

I'm about to participate in a study with some experimental treatments. Stupid thing is that I have to do an exercise test at the beginning so that they can measure the effectiveness. I took a shower last week and that's left me in pain that will persist over the next few weeks. I shudder to think about what that exercise test will do.

But Portal taught me to do everything for science.

Christing shitbiscuits, that fucking sucks buddy. Hope they give you some sort of captain America serum.
- And an assisted shower!
Wish I could give you a bonus upvote for that last line 😂

Congrats on keeping a sense of humor mate, and positive vibes coming your way for the sciency bit 💙

Just a reminder that not only is covid not over, but in many places infections are on the rise again and people are still dying, while vaccines become less and less accessible, no other official measures taken (like recommending masks on public transport), and more and more long term effects of infection come to light.

As a vulnerable person, the fact that people talk about it like it's in the past scares the shit out of me.

It also seems like most people think that if they are vaccinated they can ignore it entirely.

Vaccinated individuals still experience the first stages of infection and still develope a high enough viral load to be contagious. The vaccines are effective at decreasing the duration and severity of infection, but they can't prevent it entirely.

People who know they were exposed should still isolate for a few days even if they are vaccinated.

Thanks for reminding me I need to start wearing masks again.
- Yup, covid really did ramp up the ableism in society to a whole new level..
  
  It's not only that people think that because they didn't feel that bad or have long term side-effects, covid simply isn't that bad or have serious long term side effects, so in their own minds they not only don't need to make any effort to protect themselves, never mind others (mostly already marginalised people they prefer to ignore in everyday life, so why not now), they also have a new (and constantly growing) group of people to scapegoat and gaslight and tell it isn't really that bad because it wasn't that bad for them, and that they should just "suck it up".
  
  I won't even start on the part capitalism and the governments and media who uphold and serve it have played in making it this way, and how a desperate and divided population benefits them, which is why they're never going to do anything about it..
  
  The more you look the worse it gets...
Same. I don't even know how to respond to questions like this. It's such a failure of our governments that people think loss of taste and smell from an infection years ago is the only lasting impact they're experiencing. It's a vascular disease that can damage every organ in the body and we're being forced to experience repeat infections. Unfortunately most won't realize what is happening until after it does, and there's very few treatments and even little care for prevention.

I'm a disabled organizer focused on covid issues, and every day I hear constantly from people about the barriers covid has to their lives. Some are new barriers like new health conditions, increased precarity, and rising debt. Others are finding existing issues that were already hard to navigate become near insurmountable. Many of us haven't had regular healthcare in years due to lack of covid safety or the system's complete overwhelm. So many of us are fighting to just see a dentist without getting covid, and it's nearly impossible.

And this is just from the folks who are aware of why covid should be avoided and what the current situation is, every day I talk to people who have long therm health issues from covid that now have to navigate a world they thought wouldn't affect the. Covid has and will continue to impact every aspect of everyone's life and it sucks seeing so many ignore it.

Edit to add- and yea, at least 7 million people died worldwide with over a million of that just in the US. The amount of people forever missing loved ones is hard to grapple with. A quarter of a million kids lost one or both parents, it's had profound impact to their life trajectories that we'll see for decades, and that's not even accounting for the health implications they'll endure along with the rest of society as we have continued repeat infections.
- Others are finding existing issues that were already hard to navigate become near insurmountable. Many of us haven’t had regular healthcare in years due to lack of covid safety or the system’s complete overwhelm
  
  I am part of this group, I was already struggling to get the kind of in-home care I actually need (because social services are direly and deliberately underfunded), now I won't even risk it because I know people won't/can't avoid bringing that shit in to my space. And that's just to name one of so many impacts it has had...
  
  Otherwise I agree with everything else you've said, except that the government is failing, but only because I think they're doing exactly as they want and expect to do, we're (we being not only those already most vulnerable in society and to covid, but by extension the rest of the working class) just an after thought and acceptable collateral damage.
  
  I've been meaning to share this on its own, but it definitely belongs here too:
  
  https://donotpanic.substack.com/p/its-all-out-war-on-the-vulnerable
In the US Covid vaccines are available at any pharmacy for free. Accessibility isn’t the problem. People have just stopped getting revaccinated. The ant vac propaganda has been effective.
- And also, no they aren't available at any pharmacy for free. They're available at some pharmacies, if covered by insurance or you've applied through the bridge program, but still unlikely to be administered in a covid safe setting. If the vaccine is nearby and covered but I'll get covid while there, that is not accessible. The existence of the vaccines is barely anything towards actually controlling covid and reducing its impact on society and the ability of people who don't want to get it to access society.
  
  And let's remember, the vaccines help prevent the worst case scenario of hospitalization and death. They do not prevent infection, stop you from spreading the virus, or nullify the damage covid does to your body.
- Accessibility isn’t the problem
  
  Of course it is if people don't know about it being available. or about the importance of having it (never mind the time and mental energy to get another task done when you're working 3 jobs and have kids to feed). Accessibility isn't just ramps. And the US isn't the only country in the world.
  
  Yes, ant-vaxx propaganda is partly to blame, but this is a much bigger problem that is being deliberately neglected if not actively made worse by those in power for their own benefit.
I feel you. I'm a vulnerable person but in expected to just show up at work...

No pb with taste and smell. However, I experience difficulties staying focused when I talk, finding words, finishing sentences, especially at work

Personal best? Peanut butter?
- "problem"
I had never fully lost smell or taste just kind of dulled it. However the brain fog is what killed me. It’s been 3 years and I’m just starting to feel a little better. lol or maybe I’m just more used to it.

Hola. For me, I started getting a cough and feeling under the weather. I came home from work on that Friday and I hadn't eaten at all that day, was super hungry. It was Friday! I'm going to treat myself to some Mediterranean from this delish local place. Got my food, took a bite, bland af. Couldn't taste anything. Finished eating and fell asleep watching the simpsons on the couch like I tend to do when I'm not feeling well.

Woke up the next day and couldn't smell or taste anything. Immediately took a home test which came back positive. Made a appointment for a test through my doc on Monday which of course came back positive.

Things got worse, brutal cough for at least a month. Complete brain fog for over a week, couldn't put thoughts together, which made it so i struggled to complete regular day to day things. Super fatigue for a could of weeks. After maybe 10 days my sense of smell and taste came back.

I never lost taste/smell. But, I lost everything else. I can't work anymore because of covid. It fucked me in the worst way. I'm an American and our disability system is fucked too. So I've been without pay for 2 years. I'm out of money. I don't know what to do tbh.

I can’t work anymore because of covid

Why can't you work anymore because of covid? Do you have a weakened immune system so you can't risk being exposed to covid, or did you get covid and now have long covid symptoms? If it's the second one, what long covid symptoms are preventing you from working? I believe you, but it's just so vague that I'm not sure what you're referencing
- Thanks for asking.
  
  It's actually both. I have some other health issues, so it's not just the long covid, but covid was the last straw. From covid alone, I have heart issues, lung issues, GI issues, brain fog, extreme fatigue. And because of the heart issues, i currently cannot take any adhd meds, so my concentration is shit. I also experienced medical trauma during this time, so i have a bunch of mental health issues now too.
  
  Basically, there is no part of my body that hasn't been affected by covid. It is a terrible disease that i wouldn't wish on anyone.
  
  And yes, i am vaccinated and boosted, which i think is the only reason i didn't die.

Had it in 2021, taste was gone for only three days. Afterwards some things tasted off for a few weeks, chocolate tasted like ammonium. That's gone now. Endurance was mostly gone afterwards, and I stil have trouble remembering names, even of people I've known a long time.

I had the name thing before covid was even a thing (sorry not belittling your pain just had to be a smart alek. really though I have always been so bad with names and faces im not sure I would notice if covid made it worse.)
- Don't worry, I get that reaction a lot. Also the "that's just aging" reaction regarding both the forgetting and the endurance (stamina?). But if you can't remember the names of people you speak every week, and who don't have forgettable face and demeanor, that's not normal for me. Also, if you suddenly are exhausted after walking a stair where this was no problem before, that's also not normal.

My sense of smell still sucks, and it's been almost two years since I had COVID. It's marginally better than it was, but is still substantially worse than it was pre-infection.

EDIT: Okay, this is a bit of an exaggeration. My sense of smell has mostly returned, but for example, nuances in the taste of food seem to have become permanently dulled, and it sucks tbh. Something, as subtle as it is, has changed.

I had it 4 times that I'm sure of. Long term effects saw me bed ridden for the larger part of a year with my stamina and immune system still heavily affected to this day.

Smell and taste are back to 75% I'd say, could all be in my head but I swear stuff had a stronger taste/smell 2 years ago.

When I had COVID, certain food or sauces were tasteless or even awful. For example, beef burger and mayonaise - they became awful in taste for me.

Took almost A year to get the taste back.

My father had COVID when there was no vaccinates yet and he still hasn’t got his taste back on certain things like coffee.

ETA: Forgot to say his smell is 50/50 as well. He sometimes does smell things and sometimes not.

I got it at the end of 2020, before any vaccinations. It fcked me up good, made me struggle to cycle 2 minutes to the supermarket in the following weeks. At some point I mostly recovered, but not totally. My nose was almost completely closed, which also caused ear problems and a sore throat. I had a surgery done, which did open it up somewhat but didn't fully solve the issue. I'm still having issues now. My nose is almost always very dry, sometimes painful, and also quite often not as open as I'd like. This also still causes ear and throat issues regularly, especially with cold dry air. Luckily my second run-in with covid (after vaccination) was only a temporary pain in the ass and went away without any issues after suffering for a week.

I had OG covid just after Xmas 2020. Didn't eat for 3-4 days, and was so excited for the first time I felt up to eating. That's when I discovered I had no sense of smell. The basic tastes were there, salty, sweet, etc, but no nuance to it. With just the texture to go off, my basic white-bread-and-ham sandwich was like eating a wet sponge. It stayed that way for about 2 weeks, I think (the brain fog was real, too, don't remember much of January 2021).

Started to come back slowly, and was normal by the end of March. Nothing much long term to report. Smell might be a little more sensitive now, if anything. We have cats, and I'm always the first to know when the box needs cleaning.

My sense of taste was dulled and my sense of smell was totally 100% gone(I'm certain I could've been sprayed directly by a skunk and still smelt nothing at all) for about a month, with them slowly going back to normal over the course of another month or so. I also developed minor brain fog, which still hasn't fully left over 3 years later.

The brain fog was the worst. I had horrible insomnia too. I had to start on sedatives and anti-anxiety meds after I recovered. They initially put me on some poison shit like Xanax. I quickly switched that out for trazodone and medical marijuana. I could sleep but things were still way off.

I eventually got put on sertraline and adderall during the day, a 10 mg edible in the evening and I take a trazodone a hour before bed. I sleep better now than I have at any time in my life and I feel great. I don’t feel like I have the same raw cognitive capacity that I used to, but I’m attentive, productive and don’t struggle to perform basic tasks like I did after I got sick. Overall, I feel more capable than ever even if my mental processing speed is lower than before.

My wife and I had very different experiences. I had one bad day in bed and was fine after. She was sick for at least a week and lost her since of smell (and much of taste) for about 6 months with another 6 months recovering.

Caught it in the first wave, bed ridden for 7 days. Lost both taste and smell for about 3 weeks then they both came back. I consider myself lucky.

No long-term side effects from getting covid twice, my endurance didn't really change after I got better but it was kind of depressed for a week or so afterwards, and my sense of taste was gone for about 3 or 4 days.

Other than that, my dad got it once and now he's not alive anymore, so get your booster shots and mask if you want to.

Yes and yes. Took about two weeks to get the sense of taste and smell back

I had COVID at the beginning of 2021, I've lost smell, even when I got out of it for a few months soft drinks like Coke, sprite or tonic tested like paint thinner, raw onion and my own sweat smelled like rotten eggs, fortunately after some time it stopped, drinks sooner than onion though

A family member has lost their taste and smell 3 times now. They got it back the first time but barely did the second. Can't say for sure on the third time though as they have not got it back yet.

It varies, sometimes comes back within 1 year but different than before, so stuff that one tasted good now tastes bad. I will look for some saved links about this when I get a chance, but of course you can also try web search.

I was at an immediate care clinic this morning for a non-Covid sinus infection and I was asked three times if I had lost taste and smell. Apparently they are looking for that as a primary symptom of long Covid.

Lost my sense of smell and taste for about three weeks but then it went back to normal.

I didn't have any other symptoms and didn't realize I had COVID until I tried smelling some freshly blended horseradish and couldn't smell anything, but man did it still burn the nostrils. Would not recommend.

I have a friend that also had it and lost smell and taste for a month or two and it's mostly come back, but coffee tastes disgusting to him now.

i didn't lose my taste, but my brother did. he ended up getting it back after a few days.

long term effects of the pandemic? working from home is normalized and i love it

My wife lost them for 3 weeks. Had she not been vaccinated, it probably would have taken longer.

Totally lost my sense of smell for about 2 weeks, but it came back pretty quickly. The worst long term symptom has been a substantially heightened gag reflex. Talking while chewimg gum has become a balancing act or I start heaving, just brushing my molars is enough to trigger gagging some days, and brushing my tongue after my teeth is a sprint to avoid puking. It's trash.

Totally lost my sense of smell but it was fully back within a few weeks.

Had COVID in 2022. Lost sense of taste and smell. I can say I didn't lose it permanently since it has come back. Whether in part or fully, I don't know. I smelled anything with a strong and recognisable smell to try retraining my nose. Perfume, Vicks, even newspapers.

I didn't get COVID during the peak in 2020 but my mental health has taken a massive hit. The NHS has taken a massive downturn since the pandemic, and I don't see it getting any better.

The first time I didn’t lose my taste it just made a few things taste slightly weird, most of it didn’t last too long but orange juice tasted a bit different for a few weeks. I’m pretty sure I had it again over Christmas as I literally had no taste when I woke up on the morning of the 27th, but it slowly came back throughout the day. Again orange juice tasted slightly weird for a few days after but now I think it tastes normal? Or at least more normal than it did last week

My sense of taste kind of came back, but severely muted for some things. Coffee never quite got back to the same level of flavor, for example. I've also noticed my ability to taste salt is pretty shot. I can, but I have to add stupid amounts of the stuff. For an example, I had to do a clear liquid diet about a week ago prior to a medical procedure, and drinking some broth with 748mg of sodium per serving just tasted like drinking greasy water to me.

In terms of long term effects, it's a bit harder to say. I got covid for the first time in August 2020 (yay for being an essential peasant!), and I was out of work until May 2021. I had to do months of PT because of what my primary doctor called a post-viral fatigue syndrome. At its worst, if I tried to walk more than a block away from my apartment and back, I would wake up the next day feeling sore from my neck down to my toes. I remember a day where I slept for 12 hours, woke up and made and ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and just doing that left me so tired I went back to sleep for another 6 hours or so.

Other stuff is less clear. It certainly started manifesting and presenting symptoms after I had COVID, but correlation and causation being what it is, it's hard to definitively say what might have just been low-level and not bothering me that much before and what could have been kicked off by COVID. I developed photophobia, Hashimoto's thyroiditis and some nerve damage after being ill for the first time, which are all fun.

I guess the photophobia is the easiest to manage, I just need to wear heavily tinted glasses at all times, as I get these awful migraines if I don't. Uncovered light bulbs, TVs, monitors, whatever can set them off. The thyroid condition I get to take a synthetic hormone basically for the rest of my life and get blood work done 4 times a year to see how it's working. The nerve damage I get to take another medication pretty much for forever as well, thanks to US insurance. Instead of a daily pill, my neurologist could give me an occipital nerve block every 3-4 months, but insurance doesn't want to pay for them unless it's done at a pain management clinic. For reasons I can't work out, every pain management clinic I looked at with my referral seemed to be out of network for everyone, so it'd run me like $700 for the initial visit and $400 every 3-4 months after that. I guess they know they've got you if the pain is bad enough? Anyway, my prescription has been working so far and it's the only thing I don't even need to pay for before hitting my deductible, so I have that going for me.

I've also noticed my ability to taste salt is pretty shot.

That's really interesting - for most people it is the nasal receptors that are included - lost of "taste" is actually lost of smell. I'm not sure I've head of someone losing salt, sweet, soutr or bitter.

Lost the ability to smell and taste. Both slowly started to come back over a few months, in the end I want to say it took at least 8. It doesn't seem quite as good as before but it's mostly back to normal.

As for other long term effects, I seem to have been mostly spared except that whenever I get a viral infection, I usually have terrible joint pain.

I got the extreme end of the stick. It fucked up my heart AND lungs.

Yep, brainfog and I partially lost taste, only to spicy food!

So I spiced stuff up anormally for like 6-9 months then less and like at 1.5 years it just came back just like before and spicy things are super duper spicy again.

I never fully lost my taste (maybe 80% lost during active infection) but it only partially came back. It feels like there's a "section" or "zone" of flavor I can't taste anymore. Like a blind spot. I am extremely saddened by it and have an even more complicated relationship with food now.

It also rewired my taste and some smell so some things taste really different. For example, coffee tastes like stagnant mildewy mop water and smells like a recently used litterbox. Only minor variations for brand, at home drip vs. barista, etc.

Going into a coffee shop smells like venturing into a crazy cat lady's condemned home.

I lost what little faith I had left in our current arrangement of society and our capacity to cooperate within this context. My worst fears were realised as it became apparent just how many people, entire governments even, are more than willing to abandon the vulnerable to the capitalist machine. The fact that at one point people were trying to argue that death is actually not that bad and not being able to go to bars and cafes was actually the real injustice. I'd say that's a pretty long term consequence for me personally.

I got it towards the end of 2020 and was hospitalized for a week with pneumonia and a collapsed lung. The acute infection had me sick for a month. My last day with a fever was exactly 4 weeks after the first day I felt symptoms. I had lingering symptoms for about 6 months after.

As far as taste, I got that back quickly. I lost my taste within the first 2-3 days. I heard from someone that spicy food helps so I ate the spiciest food I could find. My lips were burning, my hair was tingling and I was sweating so I knew it was hot. I could almost feel like I was tasting spice, but the sensation would quickly go away. The next day I was able to taste a little bit and within 24-48 it was mostly back. By the time I was hospitalized, I had fully regained taste. I didn’t get my sense of smell back for probably another 3 weeks after that.

It was about 45 days for me before my taste and smell came back, I got it the first round in 2020 and I felt like death for about a week then I felt fine but couldn't taste or smell anything for 6 weeks.

I had things taste a little like chlorine, or something, for about 3 days. It sucked.

My only symptom during Covid was that I slept very poorly for 2 days. I only took a test because I'm an avid runner, and after a run on the second day, my watch dropped my VO2 max by 10%, which was highly unusual.

Since then, however, I noticed a certain aversion to alcohol. I can't get a buzz from drinking anymore, but I get a headache a few hours after even a single drink. I've been already down to a drink per week, thanks to no social life during Covid lockdowns, so this is not a big loss.

I lost my job, does that count?

As in, the pandemic reduced revenue causing layoffs?

Smell and taste took maybe 3 weeks to come back fully, as far as I can tell.

I found that making myself smell strong things seemed helpful, whether placebo or not. Like whiffs of essential oils and stuff.

The fatigue was the worst part. That took at least a month to get over the hump.

Got covid at least 3 times, maybe more. All 3 were pretty minor. Was pretty much couch ridden for 5 days during one of the illnesses, but could still talk and cook and clean and whatever. It was just hard. The other 2 could have been mistaken for minor colds.

Other than that, no long term effects. My girlfriend also had it and she states her eyesight has taken a nosedive since. Possibly related, possibly not.

I've got the first 2 mandatory (for work) vaccines in Canada, but nothing since.