Why do smells bother me during chemo and will this go away?

Smell sensitivity during chemotherapy is a common experience that many patients face, and the good news is that these changes typically improve once treatment ends. While the brain can form strong associations between smells and experiences, most people find that their sense of smell gradually returns to normal in the weeks and months following chemotherapy completion. Have others in the community found helpful strategies for managing smell sensitivity during treatment?

I didn’t have the smell issue, my problem was taste. I finished 5 months ago and am gradually being able to eat some things that I like but tasted gross while on chemo. The mention of Mac and cheese made me nauseous, now I can eat a couple of tablespoons. Unfortunately it just takes time. There are some things I may never eat again😩

I found the same as Denise, with taste. I always had a strong sense of smell, that didn’t change. But strangely, the foods that I don’t like now are what I don’t need, like it’s more of the junk food. I say my body is telling me I don’t need it so stay away.

Me too, smell, taste and texture. My husband inadvertently bought scented TP and it drove me mad trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. I insisted it was the TP he and my son said it hardly smelled even when they put it all in a different room I could still smell it and had to put it all in a sealed garbage bag. It eventually disappeared. I don’t get the metallic taste, but in the middle week taste is severely altered, but food texture is even worse, can’t tolerate chicken, fish other than salmon at the beginning then after 3rd round 2% Greek yoghurt, low fat cottage cheese and other things I had liked also became intolerable. I seem to need high fat to tolerate texture. My next experiment this time round is trying tofu, which I have never liked in the past, but it won’t feel like I’m eating hay, dirt or grass.😏My normal daily salads have sadly gone by the wayside, also like chewing hay I’ve also noticed that I think me skin has a chemical smell, can’t tell if it’s my skin or the inside of my nose