What the SMELL?

I have to say that doing AIP doesn't seem to be eliminating whatever is causing my sneezing and nasal congestion.  Which is really disappointing.  I miss a LOT of foods.  But I'm sticking it out.  I started on January 6.  It is now January 31.  For the most part I've made it 25 days (I did have a couple slip ups Sushi and Manhattan Chowder).

My sneezing is less than it was when I started (this is a REALLY HARD thing to quantify), but with the deprivation I feel (it's all psychological - I don't like being told I can't have/do something) I had really hoped for better results.

On the up side, I was down close to 10 pounds the last time I weighed myself (almost 2 weeks ago, which was 2 weeks into it).  I pretty much only weigh myself when I go visit my mom, so I have no idea what my current weight is.  I can tell you my jeans are considerably looser than when I started this.

The other night all I could smell was the Dial hand soap from our bathroom after Justin had washed his hands.  There are a lot of smells that once they hit my nose, they don't go away.  I can taste them. Every breath I take is tainted by these smells.  They linger no matter how long it has been since I was exposed to them.  Dial soap happens to be one of them.  (I think the list could go on for days, but one of the worst offenders are the garbage sold by Victoria's Secret as fragrance)

An idea struck me as we were sitting on the couch.  Maybe I could replace that smell with another!?  I ran downstairs to my drawers of essential oils (for my witchery as Justin calls it), grabbed the peppermint oil and started sniffing it.  Never mind that I felt like a junior high kid sniffing markers or glue.  My nose had just started the sneeze tickle as I was in the process of doing this.  After a few strong inhalations, I felt the spasms  that I was on the verge of subside.  While I didn't have a lingering scent of peppermint stuck in my nose, I no longer had the Dial stuck there.

Is it possible to "reset" my sense of smell?   Really, scents have caused me to feel overloaded and overstimulated for years.  I despise most things scented (natural occurring scents tend to be okay in moderation) because the overwhelming smell and resulting taste are unbearable).

I've been testing this "reset" idea for the last few days.  When I can feel the "tickle" or spasms creeping up on me, I inhale a few times with the bottle of peppermint essential oil right below my nose.  It doesn't work 100% of the time, but it seems to cut down on the frequency and severity of my sneezing attacks.  Again, it's super hard to quantify unless I start counting the number of times I sneeze each day.

My next question to resolve in this "reset" idea is the scent itself.  Is there a specific scent that is going to work?  Is it just any scent that is more pure and not artificial?  I started Sunday night with peppermint (it was the first bottle in my drawer).  Would Tangerine work?  Thyme?  Cypress? Clove?

I plan to switch it up to and test other oils.

Another question is will I become dependent upon a scent in order to control my sneezing?  Will I have to "wean" myself off of this method?

Does this all mean that my sneezing is purely psychological in nature?  Perhaps it is a neurological dysfunction?

I don't know.  All I know is that I can't wait to add foods back into my diet.  I really miss eggs, nuts and chocolate.