I talked about the change in my being able to detect scents and that it had to have been the brain changes from my Mounjaro. Tirzepatide Brain: The Nose Knows goes into the science of scent changes on tirzepatide and possibly semaglutide as well.
I alluded to the scent of Mounjaro and wanted to talk about that for a moment.
What’s Up (My Nose?)
When I started the Mounjaro, I sensed an odd scent. It didn’t smell like any of my previous hallucinations (which are completely normal and typical for me, even on medications for my Bipolar Disorder 1), but assumed maybe it was a whole new scent for me to get used to.
I do not read or watch social media. I haven’t watched the news since 2016, also when I disconnected from Facebook. Only recently have I subscribed to Google Alerts to get new and scientific information about GLP-1s. So it didn’t even dawn on me to Google about the interesting new smell I was having.
It waned and I forgot about it.
Until I had my next shot.
It was back and started about two hours after I took my injection. Now it was on my radar and I began charting it.
Not only did I smell it in my nose, I could really smell it when I peed. Squinting, I thought I was silly to think I could smell Mounjaro when I went to the bathroom, but after it waned, then began again after the next shot, I knew that was what it was.
By that latest shot, I wanted to know if it was the tirzepatide that smelled that way and while I couldn’t smell the liquid itself, the moment I finished the injection I all but stuck the bottom of the pen up my nose. I smelled nothing.
Someone Else Has to Have This, Too
I Googled and it was on TikTok and Reddit mostly where people talked about the aroma (or, as some people said, the stench) of the medication. I don’t visit either of those places, but could see through the Googling that people did have the same experience I was having.
The description of the smell varied from person to person. Some said it smelled like ammonia. Others said it was a tart smell. I don’t find it unpleasant at all. It doesn’t smell like anything I’ve ever smelled before. I’ve tried to sit with it (in my nose, not on the toilet), trying to come up with a description, but I still can’t figure it out. It isn’t bad, but doesn’t smell like a rose, either.
Have You Noticed the Scent of Your GLP-1?
If you, too, have a new scent in your life that you attribute to your GLP-1, how do you describe it? Does it bug you? When did you realize it was the medication?
I don’t have anyone close enough to smell my breath. Has anyone had a friend or partner say they can smell your medication on your breath? And I do NOT mean Sulphur Burps! (Thank goodness I don’t have those!)
Let me know your thoughts!