Alisha Fearer
28-04-18, 18:32
Hello again. I’m sorry, I know I have posted things about my health anxiety before and to be honest, I was doing quite well until it came back full force!
Well, I had a really bad cold for weeks, and I’ve only just got better. I feel fine and everything seems back to normal except I keep getting a whiff of this strong smoke smell up my nose that comes out of nowhere, happens for a second then goes away. It is definitely a phantom smell because of its nature and the fact no one else ever smells the smoke and I can’t smell it at all after I have that sudden whiff. It is so scary because I looked it up on google which I know I shouldn’t do, I am very silly and of course on google it told me that phantom smells are caused by epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, neurological damage and the dreaded - BRAIN TUMOUR. In the past, I went through a horrible manic episode of health anxiety where I was convinced I had a brain tumour and it made me very unwell. I was physically sick with anxiety, thinking catastrophic thoughts about having to deal with having cancer, having to have the frightening surgery, just the whole process in general. The thought I could very easily die, basically very doom and gloom.
It got triggered by having constant pains in my head that lasted I think over a week, all day every day I was having all these horrible aches and pains in my head and also mild phantom smells that were changing, like going from things like the smell of laundry detergent, perfume, cheese, dirt. They kept changing but were vague. Luckily all that ended after a while and I was able to let go of my anxiety since my symptoms disappeared but now, I’m having this alarming smoke phantom smell and I’ve had it for days now. It first started with me sitting on the couch and I kept getting that 1-2 second duration of smoke smell on and off in a course of only a few minutes. I’ve never ever had that before. I have actually had a smell of smoke up my nose before but only just once on the very rare occasion, basically like nothing to worry about but now I’m getting it every day. I can have it mild, like just a vague smell of smoke, then it can come very strong. I’m not sure why!! I’m now scared all over again that I have a brain tumour because that’s one of the symptoms, not to mention I’m also getting this weird sweet sensation around the tip of my tongue.
This may sound weird but it’s like...you know when you eat something sweet and you have that sweet taste, it’s like that but without anything sweet being in my mouth. I try drinking non-sweet drinks, washing my mouth out but the sensation of sweetness is just coming and going almost all day long. Stupidly, I looked this up as well on the net and it did say it can be related to “disruptions in the olfactory system” (olfactory being smell) Of course I had a severe cold which has probably caused some damage but it’s the not knowing that’s getting to me. I obviously have no clue what is causing it so it’s making me anxious (thing is, you fear the worst don’t you?) Also it said it can be related to diabetes but I’ve had two blood tests recently in the span of a few months and there’s no signs of any diabetes.
Most things I found related to an unexplained sweet taste are nothing major, but one thing that’s totally freaked me out is the fact when I was looking up about the neurological disorders that are known to cause the sweet taste, one part was about brain tumours :lac: and how they can cause neurological problems that mess up the olfactory system and cause taste issues. So in summary, not only do I keep smelling smoke but also I’ve got a sweet taste/sensation on my tongue and BOTH of those things have been linked to brain tumours!! Can you believe it? So now my fear is full-force and I’m trying to be rational but I am so eager to get my butt to the doctor now on this big mission to get a brain scan.
Sorry if I sound really silly, I do not want sympathy or anything, I know I shouldn’t have googled my symptoms and I should have learned my lesson but it is hard to fight the compulsion sometimes, don’t you fellow HA suffers agree? I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced these symptoms and have any idea of what it could be. I do understand that the bad cold I had could easily have something to do with it but for some reason, that thought isn’t easing my fear and I’m thinking the worst, having catastrophic thoughts. :wacko:
Well, I had a really bad cold for weeks, and I’ve only just got better. I feel fine and everything seems back to normal except I keep getting a whiff of this strong smoke smell up my nose that comes out of nowhere, happens for a second then goes away. It is definitely a phantom smell because of its nature and the fact no one else ever smells the smoke and I can’t smell it at all after I have that sudden whiff. It is so scary because I looked it up on google which I know I shouldn’t do, I am very silly and of course on google it told me that phantom smells are caused by epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, neurological damage and the dreaded - BRAIN TUMOUR. In the past, I went through a horrible manic episode of health anxiety where I was convinced I had a brain tumour and it made me very unwell. I was physically sick with anxiety, thinking catastrophic thoughts about having to deal with having cancer, having to have the frightening surgery, just the whole process in general. The thought I could very easily die, basically very doom and gloom.
It got triggered by having constant pains in my head that lasted I think over a week, all day every day I was having all these horrible aches and pains in my head and also mild phantom smells that were changing, like going from things like the smell of laundry detergent, perfume, cheese, dirt. They kept changing but were vague. Luckily all that ended after a while and I was able to let go of my anxiety since my symptoms disappeared but now, I’m having this alarming smoke phantom smell and I’ve had it for days now. It first started with me sitting on the couch and I kept getting that 1-2 second duration of smoke smell on and off in a course of only a few minutes. I’ve never ever had that before. I have actually had a smell of smoke up my nose before but only just once on the very rare occasion, basically like nothing to worry about but now I’m getting it every day. I can have it mild, like just a vague smell of smoke, then it can come very strong. I’m not sure why!! I’m now scared all over again that I have a brain tumour because that’s one of the symptoms, not to mention I’m also getting this weird sweet sensation around the tip of my tongue.
This may sound weird but it’s like...you know when you eat something sweet and you have that sweet taste, it’s like that but without anything sweet being in my mouth. I try drinking non-sweet drinks, washing my mouth out but the sensation of sweetness is just coming and going almost all day long. Stupidly, I looked this up as well on the net and it did say it can be related to “disruptions in the olfactory system” (olfactory being smell) Of course I had a severe cold which has probably caused some damage but it’s the not knowing that’s getting to me. I obviously have no clue what is causing it so it’s making me anxious (thing is, you fear the worst don’t you?) Also it said it can be related to diabetes but I’ve had two blood tests recently in the span of a few months and there’s no signs of any diabetes.
Most things I found related to an unexplained sweet taste are nothing major, but one thing that’s totally freaked me out is the fact when I was looking up about the neurological disorders that are known to cause the sweet taste, one part was about brain tumours :lac: and how they can cause neurological problems that mess up the olfactory system and cause taste issues. So in summary, not only do I keep smelling smoke but also I’ve got a sweet taste/sensation on my tongue and BOTH of those things have been linked to brain tumours!! Can you believe it? So now my fear is full-force and I’m trying to be rational but I am so eager to get my butt to the doctor now on this big mission to get a brain scan.
Sorry if I sound really silly, I do not want sympathy or anything, I know I shouldn’t have googled my symptoms and I should have learned my lesson but it is hard to fight the compulsion sometimes, don’t you fellow HA suffers agree? I’m just wondering if anyone else has experienced these symptoms and have any idea of what it could be. I do understand that the bad cold I had could easily have something to do with it but for some reason, that thought isn’t easing my fear and I’m thinking the worst, having catastrophic thoughts. :wacko: