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TBI head bang loss of smell and taste -help!

hi,

It's now been my Anniversary of my head injury, no smell, no taste and it's not coming back! what i am worried about is the 'phantom' smells or 'emanations' as the doc says. Lost 15 kg in 6 mnths just aint intrested in food anymore! caused depression and frustration and my 3 lovely daughters are still trying to put up with me! would appericiate any comments...
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Loss of smell and taste following head injury can be a symptom of concussion and this may take months to resolve. At times it is due to traumatic injury either to the olfactory nerve or to the olfactory center in the brain and this type of damage is permanent. If it is due to injury to nose internally then this may recover. The various tests carried out to detect the cause of loss of smell are CT scan of nasal sinuses, MRI of brain, allergy testing, and blood glucose levels. This is followed by quantitative smell test which helps identifies the degree of loss. You can change your diet to include highly seasoned foods and stimulate the taste sensations that you still have.
Be careful to ensure your safety around the home by using smoke detectors and electric appliances rather than gas, or use equipment that detects the presence of gas fumes in the home. Take care!

Helpful - 1
Avatar universal
Hi, I know this is an old post but wanted to come here to see whether any of you that have commented have managed to regain your sense of smell & taste? I am 3 months post skull fracture and have lost them ever since. Feeling extremely low about it and don't really know where to turn. People don't really understand and think its not that big of a deal - until it happens to you perhaps you don't. I look forward to hopefully hearing from some of you.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi Wildbill134  

I am going through the exact thing you are.  Although it has only been 4 months since my fall, my sense of smell and taste are gone.  One weird thing about this is, when my fall happened and I was released from the hospital in ICU for 5 nights, I came home and was able smell and taste food.  It only lasted for 4-6 weeks and then I totally lost it again.  I am seeing a new neurologist who referred me to a cardiologist.  The cardiologist has ordered different tests for me and so far everything has come back good.  I am a 55 year old woman who is in good health all around.  I get so frustrated because I think about food and what it used to taste like and when I eat it, nothing..  My friends do not understand and although they have been very helpful during this, they keep telling me that I should be happy since I won't eat too much.  I didn't need to lose weight, but have lost 9-10 pounds since.  
I fell and hit the front of my head and then went back like a falling tree and fractured the skull in the back.  Had a significant fall and the Dr. told me it was traumatic brain injury and that I was the talk of the hospital with my case.  
I hope you are doing better, since your original post was over 2 years ago.  
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Avatar universal
I fell off a porch and suffered a bad concussion in July, 2011.  Thank God, I didn't break my neck, spine, or severe TBI.  I'm still working but have no sense of taste or smell....this has been horrible!  I love to cook...but we had a party at work today, and all the good looking food was killing me...I'm severely depressed because of it....I don't cook anymore....I've lost a lot of weight, because I just don' care
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Avatar universal
I lost my sense of smell 10 years ago from head trauma due to a fall from a ladder. I fractured the back of my skull by impacting the asphault driveway. I do miss not having that sense. my sense of tase is sweet, sour, tart, and salt. Salt did not change before or after my accident. food textures are still the same. I can't tell the difference between instant coffee or Dunkin Donuts coffee. Scallops have the same texture with out flavor it's like chicken.  I was told by one of the neurologist that a part of my brain detached from the concusion. I wish there were a way of reataching it. The strangest thing is seeing smoke without a trace of smell.
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Avatar universal
immediately after my head injury, I resorted to large amounts of alchohol to fill in the missing gap.  This wasn't the best of ideas.  my depression will always be there along with the anxiety.  My anxiety is being controlled effectively by zoloft but as far as the depression, I've accepted it and I move on and forward everyday.  I'm been sober for more than a year and things are starting to come together.  In short, I wish I would of tacked this a long time ago. (20 years).  I may never be happy again like I use to but I'm functional and happy to just be alive.  (self positive reinforcement)
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Same here - no sense of smell from a skull fracture 2 1/2 years ago.  I get depressed sometimes too.  Miss the taste of food, can't really taste peanut butter, popcorn, coffee, all the good stuff.  It's also really hard to cook anything, and I'm the cook in the house.  Hang in there - you get used to it and if you don't think about it too much, it just becomes a part of you.  Don't let it get you down and enjoy your three princesses.  I have two children 9 and 12, they do the food tasting for me and let me know what it tastes like.  Would like to lose weight, I think I eat more to make me feel better (ice cream is great).  Would love to talk more....
Helpful - 0
1557894 tn?1295662359
yeh a few times i have accidentaly turned a gas appliance on and luckily someone else was there to smell the gas. too bad if there isnt anyone
Helpful - 0
1557894 tn?1295662359
it's been almost a year since my crash and when i went to the neurologist shortly after my release from hospital he told me that my sense of smell might not come back. and my wifes uncle hasn't been able to smell since he was 21.

luckily i havent lost my sense of taste aswell. although losing 15k's wouldnt be a bad thing in my case.

my sons also constantly try to get me to smell things.  it is hard.  i just pretend that i can smell them as they are not old enough to understand (2 & 5) it takes a while for everyone to adjust, my wife constantly says things like "ahh smell that" and my mother bought me aftershave for christmas. but you just have to learn to deal with it i guess.
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