You are currently browsing the yearly archive for 2007.
It’s been a little over 5 months since my head injury (3/31/07) and I can say that I am doing better than I used to. That’s not to say I can smell/taste right again but there is some improvement to speak of. The only ‘right’ smell I get at the moment is from roses. Funny eh? I still can’t tell my son’s poopy diapers apart from oatmeal cooking on the stove! Well at least I don’t have the horrible exhaust smell in my nose any more, so that’s a big relief. Of course I still miss a lot of ordinary smells such as the ocean, rain, fresh-cut grass and the list goes on…
My taste is improving too I suppose although it’s hard to say. It could be that I am getting used to the new and weird smells/tastes. I can tolerate strawberries better now but I still can’t eat bananas. Cherries and raspberries have been the best-tasting fruits so far. Watermelon tastes almost normal too. However onions, garlic and cucumbers are another story…
Fried food is the worst tasting and I am not really missing it (except for calamari). Most cooked or hot food taste bad. I eat a lot more sushi now as that seems to be the easiest to tolerate. I haven’t had a burger in months… I still eat pizza even though it doesn’t really taste good. I guess that’s one thing I can’t give up; bread and cheese.
I can enjoy drinking tea again. I could even tolerate some wine recently. Coffee though is still too harsh. It doesn’t smell or taste like coffee at all. It’s a disturbing one.
So overall I want to believe that I am getting better and hoping for more as I approach the 6 month mark when doctors say to expect some recovery. Then again, what do they know?
Besides trying to eat healthier, I started taking alpha lipoic acid this month. I’ve read that it might help with smell disorders. We shall see… I also try to take my multivitamin daily. I’d like to hear from people who have benefited (or not) from taking alpha lipoic acid. I would also LOVE to hear from those who have been lucky enough to see some recovery from their smell disorders, especially those with a head injury history like mine.
My smell/taste situation is pretty much the same. Everything is greatly distorted. On top of that I started getting tingling and numbness in my hands and arms lately. I am not sure if it’s related to my injury or not, but it’s starting to concern me. I get intense ‘pins and needles’ feeling in my fingers in both hands even after little activity such as carrying grocery bags or brushing my teeth. I am definitely going to see a neurologist to find out more.
I’ve reached the 12 week mark this month when I was hoping to see some recovery. I can’t really speak of a recovery yet but there might be some improvement with my sense of smell.
I still have the non-stop foul odor in my nose but it’s not as strong or unbearable as it was back in April. It’s not like a poisonous exhaust smell any more. It’s more like a rancid snot, sweat, rotten food or trash mixture. I feel it stronger first thing in the morning and at different times of the day. Heat definitely makes it worse. I am not sure if the saline I try to use daily is really helping either.
I am still severely hyposmic; that is I get very distorted smells and tastes. I can detect an odor around me but I can’t tell you what it is. I can sometimes tell that it’s a sweet smell, but that’s only because I get the same smell from most sweet things. That is not to say it’s a normal sweet smell or the same smell normosmic people get from sweets. I’m just learning and getting used to the new smells I get from things. It’s neither horrible nor pleasant.
The worst part is that most food tastes like the foul smell in my nose. My taste is very distorted too since taste is 90% dependent on smell. Everything has a new smell and taste for me. I can taste if something is sweet, sour, bitter or salty, but I don’t get any flavor. I taste the nasty smell as I swallow food. Therefore, eating is still not an enjoyable task. It’s more of an experiment each day to see ‘if things will taste somewhat normal today’..
I was having little muffins with colorful pieces in them the other day. I thought it was some kind of a fruit cake. It turned out they were ‘pepper muffins’. Red and green pieces in them were actually peppers, not fruit. That’s a summary of how my taste is right now. I wouldn’t be able to tell what I am eating if it wasn’t for the texture. I definitely wouldn’t get it right if I were blindfolded.
Fried food still tastes bad but maybe a bit more tolerable? I normally stay away from it except for just trying a few fries every now and then to test my taste. Surprisingly, french fries tasted a bit better last night. Broccoli on the other hand was a disappointment. Most fruit still tastes rotten. I really miss strawberries. Cherries and grapes taste edible, but I still don’t get full flavor. If I can tolerate a food then I consider it good at the moment. Some sweet cereal tastes really foul. Most sweets including chocolate taste very similar, but not at all like the real thing. Some are more bearable than the others.
I had the courage to get back in the kitchen and cook more lately. That’s an improvement I guess but I am still not getting any normal smells. I still get a very distorted and unpleasant smell from onions, garlic, and most spices. I can’t smell most of my favorite spices like mint, cumin or oregano. I get some kind of a smell but not a pleasant one or like the real thing. Even yogurt tastes weird. I try to cook and eat more healthy and kind of rewire my brain and teach it to like the foods I used to enjoy. I quit eating beef altogether (especially after watching ‘Fast Food Nation’)! I don’t enjoy chicken either. I only cook or order fish and veggies. I still eat pizza and pasta too but pizza still smell and taste funny. I usually get it without the tomato sauce which tastes quite unappetizing. I always loved tomatoes and still insist on eating them fresh but they smell/taste really unpleasant when cooked since my head injury.
The only good smells I get are from roses and rose scented candles. I thought I could almost smell them ‘right’ the other day, but then again I am not sure if I’d really be able to tell they were roses if I didn’t see them. I get somewhat of a pleasant smell from Speedstick deodorant although vague. Most alcohol based stuff like cologne, perfumes and sanitizers don’t smell right or pleasant. Soap and shampoo still smell pretty bad too.
I do miss a fresh clean smell very much like freshly cut grass, clean clothes, ocean breeze or baked bread and mostly the smell of my baby…
This is what it says on my Olfactory Function Test results. Olfactory function testing was administered using the butanol odor detection threshold test and the seven item odor identification test. My butanol detection threshold scores were 10/50 on both the left and right sides.
In the odor identification test, I was unable to correctly identify all seven of the common test odorants except for one, baby powder. Trigeminal nasal sensations were evaluated using Wintergreen, Vicks and Ammonia and were found to be intact bilaterally. Test results indicate that I have SEVERE HYPOSMIA on both the right and left side. My score is 20/100 (too close to anosmic!).
This is how the scale goes;
0-10 Anosmic
20-40 Severely Hyposmic
50-60 Moderately Hyposmic
70-80 Mildly Hyposmic
90-100 Normosmic
I am still only getting distorted smells. I haven’t had a ‘normal’ smell so far. The bad smell in my nose is still always there but not as horrifying as it used to be last month. It’s still rusty, rotten and rancid; not a pleasant smell to wake up with every day at all.
Food has no flavor. I don’t even know why I still have the urge to eat at all. It’s mostly to experiment if things will taste somewhat different and better. Fried food is the worst. I can’t stand the smell, I don’t eat it at all. (Well I try a couple of fries once in a while to see if there’s any improvement.) Fish is still the easiest to tolerate. Salad is good, refreshing and crunchy. It’s all about texture now anyway. The worst part is fruits even don’t taste right. Strawberries and bananas still smell/taste rotten! 😦 I can somewhat enjoy apples and red grapes (green ones are too sour). It’s odd because I normally like sour, and don’t care too much about sweets.
Of course another bummer is I can’t taste chocolate! Sweets seem to have the same weird smell and taste. I can tell if there’s an ice-cream shop around from the waffle cone smells, but it’s nothing like the real smell of the waffle cones which I used to love. Desserts, cakes, cookies all taste the same!
I’ll go try my husband’s crepes with chocolate sauce now which used to be one of my favorite breakfasts. I wish I could smell/taste at least some of the food somewhat normal. The smell I am getting from the kitchen so far is nothing like it should be.
I had my appointment at the Smell and Taste Clinic at VCU in Richmond today. I didn’t do well in the smell test at all. I got 20/100 right and some of those were just guesses.
I thought chocolate and coffee were spices. Ivory soap smelled like rubber or burnt something. Peanut butter and cinnamon were too vague for me to even detect a smell.
The only ones I got right were baby powder, Vicks, wintergreen, and ammonia. The only pleasant smell was the baby powder. The other three burnt my throat. Ammonia was the worst! It hurt my nose and throat with even a quick whiff.
Dr.Costanzo was really nice and friendly. He tried to encourage me about my condition, however, he didn’t have a miracle cure to bring back my smell either. He thought my trigeminal nerve was still working and that was why I could still differentiate between some smells – even though all my smells are distorted. I need my damaged olfactory nerves to regenerate so, maybe, I can get a normal smell again. He said it was still too soon for a full recovery. In a study he did that included 700 patients, 1/3 of them got better in 3-6 months time. He thought I had made some progress. The foul odor in my nose is not as horrid as it was a month ago, but everything is still greatly distorted. I haven’t had any familiar or ‘correct’ smells since my injury.
Dr. Costanzo didn’t think the controversial zinc would help either. I am not taking anything other than regular vitamins at the moment. They didn’t prescribe anything today either. They just told me to be patient and wait.. and be careful in the kitchen and with gas etc..
It’s been over two months, 65 days to be exact, without ‘normal’ smells and taste. I did well in the taste test today, however since taste is 90% dependent on smell, I still have no flavor. I just taste the basic four and the same stink in my nose that gets carried onto my food too. I am anxiously waiting for the ‘big day’ when things will smell and taste right again.
My condition seems to be more unique and difficult to recover from due to its cause. These articles don’t give me much hope but facts are facts. There is a slim chance that I might get my sense of smell back in months or years–that is if I am lucky enough..
Recovery of olfactory function following closed head injury or infections of the upper respiratory tract:
“During an observation period of approximately 1 year, more than 30% of patients with post-URTI olfactory loss experienced improvement, whereas only 10% of patients with posttraumatic olfactory loss experienced improvement. Furthermore, age plays a significant role in the recovery of olfactory function. ”
Treatments for olfactory loss from Head trauma(HT)/ Post traumatic injuries:
“…the olfactory system has the ability to regenerate. Indeed, there is the potential for recovery after a head injury and animal studies have demonstrated that recovery is possible. Costanzo recorded cells from the olfactory bulb of a hamster and demonstrated recovery within nine months. However, in humans the prognosis is much lower and the estimated possibilities for recovery vary widely from 15% to 39%.”
“It is generally believed that this aetiology can not be treated with drug therapy. However, approximately a third of sufferers do recover with the most likely cause being natural regeneration of the olfactory system. The onset of regeneration usually occurs within three months of the trauma ; beyond one year then the chances of recovery are slim. Early recovery may occur due to mechanisms such as the disappearance of blood clots, and later recovery, due to regeneration of neural elements. Complete recovery may take approximately five years.
CAUSES of OLFACTORY LOSS
| Aetiology | % patients |
|---|---|
| Head injury | 19* |
| Post URI | 17* |
| Nasal/sinus disease | 16* |
| Idiopathic-nasal | 17 |
| Toxic exposure-nasal | 5 |
| Multiple | 5 |
| Congenital | 2 |
| Age | 1 |
| Idiopathic-oral | 9 |
| Miscellaeous-oral | 6 |
| Toxic exposure-oral | 1 |
* Main causes of olfactory loss, which accounted for >50% of the reported cases. (Original data obtained from Seiden, 1997). (ANOSMIA by Helen Gatcum and Tim Jacob)
I had my appointment with the new ENT on Tuesday. She was the best of the three specialists I’ve seen so far. She couldn’t offer any treatment for my anosmia or dysosmia either, but at least she seemed to be more caring and aware. She gave me a sample of Nasonex to try for my congested nose. She said this spray would also help with the itchiness and allergy symptoms that I get from time to time.
The good news is my BPPV is getting better. The doctor did the dreaded test to see if I’d need more treatment to move the crystals back to their correct location. The scary spinning was gone, so she just gave some home exercises for me to do on my own. The audiologist also did a hearing test which I passed with flying colors. Despite my first ENT’s concerns, I have no hearing problems. It is my nose that is totally out of function at the moment.
The bad smell in my nose has become less fume-like but more of a rotten food/trash-like odor. It’s still unbearable and overwhelming. Unfortunately, my taste has become worse. The nasty stink in my nasal cavity seems to get attached to the food in my mouth and goes down my throat with each and every bite. Therefore, everything tastes pretty much the same, just like the nasty smell in my nose.
Meals have turned into very unpleasant experiments for me. I try to eat or drink different things to see if I’ll be able to taste anything ‘normal’. I haven’t had any good results so far. The strawberry, banana, peach smoothie I had the other day tasted just like sugar water, with no flavor at all. Walking into a restaurant is still quite a challenge. All the food smells intensify the rancid smell in my nose. I am yet to detect any ‘normal’ or pleasant smells.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there.
My only wish for a present today was to be able to smell my son again. It didn’t happen…
I’m still grateful that I can see and feel him, and he’s a healthy and smart kid. Thanks to him I can find the strength to still go on with my struggles.
I love you so much Emre. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.
Vertigo— I can’t say the treatment fixed everything yet, but there might be some improvement. I am not spinning as fast when I lie down or get up from bed but there’s still some dizziness. I feel a bit ‘off’ whenever I move my head throughout the day too. It’s a weird feeling. I feel off balance as if I am about to fall sometimes, but I didn’t so far. I also have blurred vision. My neck and the lower back of my head hurt from wearing the cervical collar for two days after the treatment. It didn’t help that I slept on the reclining chair those nights as directed by the audiologists after the treatment. My ears still hurt some since they blew warm air into them during the ENG test. I feel more pressure too.
Yesterday, I talked to the audiologist who treated me for BPPV last Friday. He said some dizziness was expected and that it was unlikely that my spinning would completely go away after just one treatment.
He asked if they called me from the office for a doctor’s appointment. I told him the secretary who called suggested that I see this doctor who was both an ENT and a neurologist since I wanted to see both. Well, it turns out that was wrong information. The doctor I was recommended was only an ENT who specializes in ear and surgery. (Great news for me, I still don’t have an appointment with a neurologist!)
The soonest appointment they said they had was for June 18! I already had to wait for over 3 weeks for the ENG test before they could diagnose and treat my vertigo. I had to call and beg them to move it to a sooner date. For a change I got lucky, I was able to move it up to May 15. So now I am going to see a new ENT who will probably have to do another treatment for the BPPV, and who will hopefully be better in helping with my smell disorders, or at least refer me to a decent neurologist who can detect the extent of nerve damage.
Smell— I am still smelling the nasty snot/crap like stink in my nose. The burning in my mouth improved in the past week but still no break from dysosmia. Sometimes, I might even get a little hint of a different odor from smelling Speedstick deodorant, but the nasty smell usually takes over. The shampoo and soap type smells worsen this unpleasant odor in my nose. How I miss a clean fresh smell after a shower!..
Taste–No improvement. I taste the same horrid smell that’s in my nose. It gets transferred to my throat as I eat. I quit eating meat and chicken. Chicken smells and tastes gross. I’ve been eating mostly fish and salad lately. It’s not like I can taste anything but at least fish doesn’t taste bad like chicken does. I guess fish is mild and bland enough that it doesn’t add any more to the bad taste in my throat. Let’s just say that meal times are not my favorite times of the day. I certainly miss cooking and the nice food smells like lemon, garlic, and baked goods…
Temporal bone fracture–Now that I am off steroids, I feel the headaches and pulsing pain in my head a lot more. If I move my head in a wrong way, the pain gets worse. Stress doesn’t help either. I try to hold and massage the back of my head to ease the pain. My left shoulder pain (from a previous accident in December) is quite bothersome lately too. I haven’t taken any painkillers this week.
1. Which cranial nerves and/or part of my olfactory system are damaged that cause my loss of smell (anosmia) and distorted smell (parosmia)?
2. Why did parosmia start two and a half weeks after my injury? I didn’t have this nasty burnt flesh like smell the first 19 days after I fainted.
3. What is causing this God-awful nauseating smell? Could it be the nerves regenerating? (wishful thinking!) Could it be caused by Prednisone? (The first 6 pack of it didn’t cause anything.)
4. Why did I faint? I was weak and dehydrated from throwing up the night before, and it seems like a stomach bug that hit the whole house since other family members got sick that weekend too. However I can’t help wonder why it hit me so hard.
The only other times I fainted in my life were; once when I was pregnant. That was after a trip to Turkiye when I was 3-4 months pregnant. I was jetlagged for almost a week (it seems to hit me harder the older I get. Of course it was expected to be worse while pregnancy). I went for a walk with my aunt and on the way back, I got dizzy and nauseated as I was going up the stairs. I fainted while my aunt was trying to open the door, but luckily she was there to hold me. I didn’t collapse and hit my head or crack my skull like this time. After the incident, I didn’t worry much about it, thinking it was normal during pregnancy.
And the other two times were years ago when I was in high school and college. I passed out whenever I was given a penicillin shot; one by a nurse, one by a pharmacist. So now I make sure to put down that I am allergic to penicillin on any medical records.
So this was really the only time I fainted kind of out of the blue. I wonder if there were any other underlying causes. My husband thinks it was normal after throwing up so much and being dehydrated. I don’t think he can handle any more things going ‘wrong’ with me. Temporal bone fracture, BPPV, anosmia, parosmia; all due to head injury. I think I got more than enough to deal with.
No Smell No Taste 
Recent Comments