My Journey with Anosmia

Noun: the loss of the sense of smell, either total or partial. It may be caused by head injury, infection, or blockage of the nose. Origin

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Let’s go to Italy!

Fast forward to November and I take a trip of a lifetime with my mom and sister to Italy!  BUT I still have no taste or smell.........

How does one go to Italy and NOT be able to taste the local food & wine?

It was an awesome trip, regardless!  Literally, the only thing I could taste or smell at this point was the smell of diesel fuel, stale cigarettes (which weren’t near me, just a smell that was constant in my nose), and I could taste really stinky feet cheese.  So that’s what I tried to eat a lot of.

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E-STIM & TENS for Anosmia?

What is E-STIM?  It sends mild electrical pulses through the skin to help stimulate injured muscles or manipulate nerves to reduce pain. 

I read an article by Dr. Eric Holbrook, who I have mentioned in an earlier post, that talks about using a type of e-stim for anosmia.  So I asked my acupuncturist, Chris, if we could try it.  She said, why not?!  So at my next session, after some research on her part, we gave it a try.  

Chris connected select needles to the TENS Unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation).  Some were connected near my olfactory bulb, others in my ear, etc. 

Chris would turn up the pulse of the TENS just enough so I could feel it in the needles.  I found the entire 45 minute sessions to be so relaxing that I looked forward to them every week.  I tried to go at least 2-3 times per week. 

After each session I would get home and start my smell training right away!  I saw small signs, albeit they didn’t last long, that this was having a positive affect on olfactory nerves.  Or at least that was my HOPE!  

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Success with AcuPUNCTURE!

There is a lot of research out there that suggests acupuncture helps with dysosmia.  So I started going 2-3 times per week in July 2018.  After each session I would make a conscious effort to try to smell and even taste things when I left their office. 

My acupuncture therapist, Chris, at Rocky Coast Acupuncture was fantastic.  In fact, the entire staff were great!  They’d do research, look up studies, try new methods, etc.  I’ll give more info on that later.

I had some success after 2-3 weeks when I left their office.  I could smell the air freshener in their hallway, I could smell a few flowers that were blooming in my yard, and I could taste wild raspberries too.

While this was super exciting, the smell and taste only lasted about 15 minutes. Then NOTHING, until my next appointment.

I took this as a good sign and it gave me some hope.  I highly recommend you do your own research and find an acupuncturist who is willing to try new techniques as mine did.

Have a look at this link, it’s just one of many I found:    https://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1575-acupuncture-restores-the-sense-of-smell

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Start Acupressure Right Away!

Try these 2-3 times a day.  It’s amazing how it opens your nasal passages and also relaxes you. 

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Found THE BEST Dr. at Mass Eye & Ear in Boston! BUT.....

After my doctor told me there was nothing we could do except wait months possibly years to see what happens, I decided to find the best doctor in the field of taste and smell loss!

That lead me to Dr. Eric Holbrook, chief of rhinology at Boston’s Mass Eye and Ear and associate professor of otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School.  He’s known worldwide for his ongoing studies, research and papers. 

So I call his office to schedule an appointment (it’s still July 2018), BUT I can’t get in to see him until February of 2019.  I feel so deflated and lost since I can’t even get to talk to him about what he thinks I should be doing to get my olfactory nerves regenerating in the meantime. 

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It’s all about the SMELL Baby!

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Try to Taste what you Smell!

So while I’m smell training I’m trying to let my brain remember what things should taste like.  It’s so hard and so frustrating when you know what vinegar should taste like but you can’t taste or smell it!!! 

Don’t give up!!   I was so excited when AT LAST in July of 2018 (4  months into anosmia) I could taste the vanilla I was smelling. It wasn’t strong, but it was there.  I nearly drank a bottle of vanilla over the course of the next few weeks.  

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Smell Training Begins....

So the research says, You need to retrain your brain and that anosmics need to KEEP TRYING.  Your brain knows what things smell like, you just need to help it remember! Everything I read said you should try any and all of the following:

-Essential oils - don’t try peppermint, for some reason your nose can always smell that one.....I used tea tree, eucalyptus, lemongrass, mint & others.

-Open a jar of peanut butter, or bottle of vinegar, or smell fresh ground coffee.

-Dive into the fridge!  Smell everything and I mean everything!  Mayo, cheese, pickles, mustard, fresh herbs, OJ, ......

-Spice Cabinet - I kept several spices next to my office chair and smelled them several times a day or while I watched TV at night.  It’s became routine.  I had really good success with this, as I started smelling cinnamon and vanilla within a few weeks. 

-Smell the Roses - It was late spring so flowers and berries were coming out.  On my walks with Kena I would smell any flowering bush and would try to taste the fresh raspberries in my yard.  I had some success with this after acupuncture sessions.  More on that later!

-Even the GROSS stuff - Yup you got it!  I would open the trash can and even try to smell Kena’s poop as I put it in the doggie bag!  I’m sure the neighbors all thought I was nuts! Oh well!  

Don’t lose hope!  YOU NEED TO DO THIS SEVERAL TIMES PER DAY!

https://whyy.org/segments/retraining-the-brain-after-losing-the-ability-to-smell/

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Take Time to Smell the Roses!

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Kena looks like I felt with no smell or taste!

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My ENT Appointment Arrives!

Much to my dismay, the Doctor said it was viral and the virus had damaged and possibly destroyed my olfactory blub/nerves.  He said, there was nothing he or I could do and that I would have to wait and see if my olfactory nerves could regenerate or if they were ‘dead’!

I literally left his office in tears!  I thought, well he‘s useless and I’m not going to just wait and see and do NOTHING!  I’m going to research this, find the best damn doctor I can and try to treat myself. 

I started smell training, which was recommended everywhere I looked, and started acupressure and acupuncture immediately too. 

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It’s May 2018 and I’m Alarmed!

I still don’t have my taste or smell and I’ve called my ENT to get in for an appointment to find out what is REALLY going on!  But I can’t get in until late June. 

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The Fifth Sense!

Fifth Sense exists to provide support and advice to people affected by smell and taste-related disorders, and so that society can understand what it means to suffer impairment of one or both of these senses.

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Question:  What do Dog Poop, Burnt Toast and Cooked Bacon have in Common?

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Kena is doing her part to stay clean during our quarantine! #malamute, #disinfect,

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The difference:  Dysosmia & Dysgeusia vs Anosmia & Ageusia!

Before I continue my story, I think it’s important to understand the difference be these and what I’ve learned that I never knew.

Dysosmia and Dysgeusia are a severe smell and taste disturbance! They are a distorted smell or taste perception, either with or without an odorant stimulus present.

Anosmia & Ageusia are the absence of smell sensation and taste.

It’s also important to note that your SMELL gives you your taste. This I did not know.......Your taste or taste buds allow you to taste sweet, savory, salty, spicy foods. It’s your smell that allows you to taste FOOD. So yes, bacon is salty (that’s your taste) but how bacon really tastes is because of your smell.   

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Did We have COVID18?

Here’s how it started:  My Husband went on a business trip to Boston in early March 2018......by the time he got home he had a severe respiratory flu.  He promptly shared it with me and we immediately gave it to my in-laws who were visiting. To this day, they still thank us for that and, in fact, still say they feel some effects 3+ years later. 

About a week into our flu, I lost my smell and taste.  It was St. Paddy’s Day to be exact and I remember the last thing I tasted that day (a burger at our local brewery).  I wasn’t really alarmed, at first, as I sometimes lose my smell and taste when I have cold (as I already mentioned in a previous post). 

But it’s gets very REAL from here on out........