Recurring sense of smell issues after chemo

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Shona
Shona Member Posts: 2
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer

It has been 10 months since I finished chemo and I am feeling fantastic due to regular working out, losing weight etc.  However, I have noticed that about every month or so I seem to go through a chemo sideeffect relapse: my eyelashes thin out, I may feel more fatigue but worst of all my sense of smell goes haywire.  I become very sensitive to smells and smell things differently from those around me.  Smell will stay with me all day which makes me think it's somewhat in my "head".  Yesterday I opened up a bag of my daughter's clothes and was assaulted with the smell of chemo as I remember it - this stayed with me all day and night.  It's driving me crazy!  Anyone else with something similar?  Any ideas as to how long this might last?

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  • 208sandy
    208sandy Member Posts: 2,610
    edited September 2012

    Shona - I had the "smell" problem for perhaps a year after chemo and the eyelash problem for three years (as well as my hair) but now eyelashes have started to grow back and head hair is starting to thicken - I had Taxotere and it can be quite devastating to some of us but I have noticed that after the three year mark even my skin has changed and gone back to normal (it was so fragile and dry and wrinkly after chemo) - you might want to check with your PCP about the "smell" thing - I had sinusitis off and on for years and she put me on a steroid nasal spray (Avamys) and it has made a huge difference - I wonder if perhaps having the tiny nasal hairs missing affects some of us - anyway check this out and see if it helps - I too had the "smell that lasted all day".

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  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited September 2012

    shona - are you on any hormonal therapy? I had a much more sensitive nose on chemo, but I also did when I was pregnant - could not tolerate the laundry soap aisle in the grocery store and some perfumes were overwhelming.  Your eyelashes may settle down after a while - I noticed mine were much better at the one year PFC point.  They have to get back into a normal cycle of only losing one at a time, instead of all at the same time, and it takes a little while for some of us.

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