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Oliver Sacks – Hallucinations

It happened fast. In September 1999 I felt great. I’d had a hysterectomy in the summer, but I was already back to daily Pilates and ballet classes, feeling fit and full of vigour. Four months later I was still fit and vigorous, but I was locked in an invisible prison by a disorder no one could see, that no one seemed to know anything about, that I could’t even find a name for.

The changes were gradual at first. In September tomatoes and oranges started tasting metallic and a bit rotten, and cottage cheese tasted like sour milk. I tried different brands; they were all bad.

During October, lettuce began to smell and taste of turpentine  and spinach, apples, carrots and cauliflower tasted slightly rotten.

Fish and meat, especially chicken smelt as if they’d been rotting for a week

My partner couldn’t detect the off tastes at all