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Mary Sheehan: Hmmmmm....... "Gravy, pie and Pinesall?" <grin> NOT my idea of the ultimate in Thanksgiving fare, m'dear! Now if you'd have said turkey, pie and MORE pie <giggle> <--- guess who has a sweet tooth?) THAT'D be another story! Like you, my sense of taste and smell have become aggravatingly selective. <sigh> Standing next to someone wearing perfume, I don't smell it. Walking thru the cosmetics department of a store is like an thrilling olefactory assault!!. I love it SO much, that even tho I'm slightly allergic to the scents - collectively - I'll always make a detour thru Cosmetics when I'm in a department store.. Of course, I end up sneezing all over the place for a bit, but it's worth it just to have that few moments of heavenly SMELL!! <a-CHOOO> (grin) Now food is a mixed bag.. I guess like all other Parkies, my sense of taste has also become pretty darn selective. I often crave sweets, tho more rarely, salty food. I still adore pizza, but truthfully think that maybe it's just the whole "pizza experience" I enjoy, rather than the taste, 'cause I'm not so sure I CAN taste it! Guess the jury's still out on that one. Fruits = YUMMY, veggies = some, chicken 'n turkey = usually CAN taste 'cause when I make 'em, I spice them with herbs, wine, a dash of orange marrmalade, or cook with onions, green rred, & yellow peppers & mushrooms, and collectively, the meat plus the other stuff tastes maaaaaarvelous to me!! (I'm dying of hunger right now... can ya tell?) <grinning> (lunch time!) One thing I make a point of noticing when I eat - as kind of a total sensury indulgence - is TEXTURE. Prior to the PD, that wasn't much of a thing with me, and now I purposely savor the texture of various foods, to compensate for the lack of smell and taste. It might just be time for me to amble on into the kitchen and whip together some lunch before I start nibbling on the monitor or the keyboard! (Hmmm... wonder if THEY have any flavor I'd be able to taste!) <smile> Later.... Barb Mallut [log in to unmask] ---------- From: PARKINSN: Parkinson's Disease - Information Exchange Network on behalf of Mary Sheehan Sent: Sunday, November 03, 1996 11:10 AM To: Multiple recipients of list PARKINSN Subject: Loss of smell & taste In my case I had a significant loss of the sense of smell years before my PD was diagnosed, so PD medicines could not be the reason. I still can smell some things, like strong perfume if I sniff the bottle - but I can't smell it, if it's being worn by someone else. I can smell really fragrant roses but not lilacs. Pine scented cleaning solutions come in loud and clear, even at a distance. I also have a loss of taste with some foods but not others. Potatoes have absolutely no taste. Chicken and turkey taste like cardboard. Some vegetables have lost a lot of their flavor but fruits still taste good. Has anyone else noticed this selective loss of taste? The worst part of losing my sense of smell is on days like Thanksgiving. I'll be cooking turkey and everyone will come in commenting on how wonderful everything smells but I can smell nothing at all. Bummer! But at least the gravy and pie tastes good and I can always get out the Pinesall. Mary Sheehan