Hi,
I am really excited to have found this place for discussion and discovery.
I really just started with perfumery DIY about a month ago.
That I ventured into this hobby was quite unexpected for my friends and family. You see, I have been anosmic for the most part of a decade. Not just a little anosmic, I couldn't smell the difference between water and vinegar. The problem was an auto-immune disorder that resulted in my sinuses being continuously blocked. Steroid therapy would free my nose and bring the sense of smell back for a couple of weeks but that was not a long term solution. Sinus surgery was another option but most doctors warned me that it would also be a temporary solution, so I never really considered it.
Fortunately, a doctor in my family pointed me towards a recently developed immune-therapy, which was primarily aimed at others aspects of the auto-immune disorder. But it felt like it also suppressed the immune response in my nose as I could sometimes smell something again. So I wondered whether surgery could now perhaps have more permanent effects.
And (so far) it did.
It turns that one needs to "relearn" how to smell. The nose-doctor suggested that I start with a sample set of familiar odours made for people who had recovered from olfactory deficits. That process went quite quickly but I always felt like I had missed something during the long "senseless" period. This led to being curious about perfumes and, being a tinkerer, now to try and recreate some perfumery.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope to learn and contribute to this great place!
I am really excited to have found this place for discussion and discovery.
I really just started with perfumery DIY about a month ago.
That I ventured into this hobby was quite unexpected for my friends and family. You see, I have been anosmic for the most part of a decade. Not just a little anosmic, I couldn't smell the difference between water and vinegar. The problem was an auto-immune disorder that resulted in my sinuses being continuously blocked. Steroid therapy would free my nose and bring the sense of smell back for a couple of weeks but that was not a long term solution. Sinus surgery was another option but most doctors warned me that it would also be a temporary solution, so I never really considered it.
Fortunately, a doctor in my family pointed me towards a recently developed immune-therapy, which was primarily aimed at others aspects of the auto-immune disorder. But it felt like it also suppressed the immune response in my nose as I could sometimes smell something again. So I wondered whether surgery could now perhaps have more permanent effects.
And (so far) it did.
It turns that one needs to "relearn" how to smell. The nose-doctor suggested that I start with a sample set of familiar odours made for people who had recovered from olfactory deficits. That process went quite quickly but I always felt like I had missed something during the long "senseless" period. This led to being curious about perfumes and, being a tinkerer, now to try and recreate some perfumery.
Thank you for reading my story and I hope to learn and contribute to this great place!
