Replacing Lost Senses of Smell and Taste

[Steven Ernest Sykes]

I suffered a deactivation of my olfactory nerve in May of 2019, due to  a CT scan at <redacted>.    At 2:00 pm that date, I was administered a CT scan at that hospital, to obtain a 90-day follow-up to a February CT Scan.  But - the two nurses who were managing the scan failed to properly load the machine, and when they activated it, I received the same scan as some previous user - and as I my body was "slid" into the scanning tunnel, I received a strong scan - with just slight noise, and slight light glow.  No sense of pain, or any physical sense at all.  As I excited the tunnel 90 seconds later, I could hear the two ladies remarking (in Thai language, which I mostly understand) that they had made a mistake, and had given me the wrong scan.  They just told me that there had been a faulty scan - and they had to repeat it.  So - I got a second scan - which was  shorter.  I then went downstairs, and waited a few minutes - and the met with a doctor - who showed me both the February scan, and the new May scan.  My brain had basically transformed from being filled with a "tumor" ( I  had suffered a fractured  skull in January, then had an operation to "fix" my head, which left damaged tissue that appeared in the February scan), to being almost completely back to "normal".  All was declared good/healed - and I was sent back home.

 

Upon reaching home,  I noted that my senses of taste and smell were both "deactivated" (totally unresponsive) - so I just assumed that this was the "temporary" result of a duplicated CT scan.  But - over the next few days (and weeks, and months) I noted that neither sense ever returned.  I also noted that my tongue could still detect salt, sour, sweet, and bitter "flavors" - but detecting only quantity, not quality.    After a couple months, I went back to the hospital, told them what had happened, and asked them to repair the  situation.   At that point, they denied that my report could even POSSIBLY be accurate - because they had no way of "deactivating" my olfactory nerve - even if they wanted to.  They gave me a test, and confirmed that my sense of smell was gone - but said the had no way to repair/replace the loss.

 

It is now four years later - and I still have only my tongue's ability to detect salt, sour sweet and bitter - just by quantity, not quality.

 

I would like to repaid this problem.  I have heard that some Chinese doctors/clinics in Bangkok have been able to "recreate" destroyed  olfactory nerves - so I am hoping that someone else has experience with such a repair - and can refer me to the clinic to which I can go - and the approximate cost of such a treatment.  I need the map location, and hopefully a phone number or website or doctor's name.  Thai hospitals can do nothing to fix my situation.

 

I am awaiting a useful reply. 

 

Thanks.

 

Steve

67-year old US Citizen

Who has lived in Bangkok since December 1999

.

[Crossy]

I've removed the name of the hospital for legal reasons, shouldn't affect the responses.

[Lacessit]

There is some indication acupuncture can assist in restoring the sense of smell in COVID patients. I don't know whether it helps in this situation.

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9445155/

Edited August 20, 2023 by Lacessit

[Sheryl]

There is a Chinese Medicine Clinic at St Louis Hospital (on Sathorn). Not mentioned on their website, but it is there, ground floor.

 

Though I am doubtful it will help, no harm in trying and should not be too costly.

 

However I am not  at all sure you have been adequately diagnosed as to cause of your loss of smell and taste. There is no feasible mechanism by which a CT -- even a double CT -- could cause this AFAIK, and despite the timing if its occurrence.  it is is more likely related to either your head injury or a viral infection like  COVID (sometimes loss of taste and smell are the only symptom, and can take many months to return). The other things you report the doctors as having said (e.g. reference to a "tumor") lead me to think communication was poor and to also be unsure of the quality of the care you received.  I suggest you take all your records to the following for a consultation:

 

https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/Prayuth-Tunsuriyawong