{"id":290,"date":"2009-03-22T02:54:03","date_gmt":"2009-03-22T06:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/?p=290"},"modified":"2009-03-22T02:54:03","modified_gmt":"2009-03-22T06:54:03","slug":"anosmia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.archibaldjude.com\/spew\/2009\/03\/22\/anosmia\/","title":{"rendered":"ANOSMIA"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Anosmia (\u00e6n\u02c8\u0252z.mi.\u0259) is a lack of <\/em>olfaction<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, or in other words, an inability to perceive smells. It can be either temporary or permanent. A related term, <\/em>hyposmia<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, refers to decreased ability to smell, while <\/em>hyperosmia<\/em><\/strong><\/a> refers to an increased ability to smell. Some people may be anosmic for one particular <\/em>odor<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. This is called “specific anosmia” and may be genetically based.”<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – (http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anosmia)<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have Anosmia.\u00a0 That is, I am an Anosmiac.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I have lost my sense of smell, and therefore what I am able to taste.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I may spend the rest of my life without these 2 senses.<\/p>\n

The cause of my condition is nasal polyps that were first detected by an Ear\/Nose\/Throat doctor (otolaryngologist, otolaryngology) about 5 years ago (2004).\u00a0 At this point, I still had what I think was full use of my olfactory nerves.\u00a0 My reason for going in was a string of severe sinus infections.\u00a0 When the sinus infections became more frequent & more severe, a CT scan was ordered.\u00a0 Despite some of the take-away words the ENT used like ‘dramatic’ and ‘extensive’, he didn\u2019t recommend surgery for to remove my polyps and scrape away the sinusitis (the crap that\u2019s lining and more or less occupying over a third of what should be free flowing passages & air-filled cavities).<\/p>\n

I think it must have been around 2 years ago that I began to notice the complete loss of smell for a few days to a week at a time, completely unassociated with a recent of pending sinus infection or upper repertory flair up.\u00a0 It would just go away for a bit, and come back.\u00a0 Perhaps once a month this would occur.\u00a0 Again, for a couple of days only.<\/p>\n

Slowly over those 2 years, the ratio flip-flopped.\u00a0 There are now roughly 2-3 days a month where I am aware of my sense of smell.\u00a0 The smell of coffee grounds is my main YES\/NO test.\u00a0 If burying my face in a tin of freshly ground coffee triggers a smell response, I know its there.\u00a0 I know I have a day or so.\u00a0 Then weeks on end with nothing.<\/p>\n

I suspect everyone can relate to the condition though, for everyone has had a head-cold or other upper-repertory flair-up and have had their 2 intertwined senses shut off or reduced.\u00a0 Its one of the most commonly cited characteristics of a cold.\u00a0 But when it comes to the total loss of it, most simply cannot relate.\u00a0 Most will deny it, but its one of the senses that gets trivialized.\u00a0 That unlike sight or hearing, the loss of the others are marginalized.\u00a0 No concessions can be made.\u00a0 No one knows.\u00a0 If it comes up, it has to be announced.<\/p>\n

I cannot smell my children.\u00a0 I cannot smell my wife.\u00a0 I no longer gather any form of enjoyment from the foods I eat or the beverages I drink.\u00a0 The world around me is reduced to a colourless fog.\u00a0 If there were a gas leak, I wouldn\u2019t know.\u00a0 Selfish as it sounds to mention amongst these, what else is there in life one can indulge in without the smell or taste associated with it?<\/p>\n

In late 2008, I began to see Dr Gary Rust, a new ENT, who took a different approach with my condition.\u00a0 He ordered a new CT scan, this time with a technology called a Stryker Protocol (http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/3z4rby) which would assist in the positioning and guidance of the surgeon\u2019s tools.\u00a0 Unlike the previous ENT, Dr Rust not only informed me that I was definitely a candidate for surgery, but he phrased it in a way I needed to hear it:<\/p>\n

“You\u2019ve been doing the treatment of it for over 5 years.\u00a0 Throwing antibiotics and prednisone at it when it flares up. Maybe its time to try the other way.”<\/p>\n

And with that, I was in.\u00a0 I would give it a shot.\u00a0 After he’d had a chance to look at the 1000’s of high-resolution images the CT scan pumped out, I asked to see them.\u00a0 As busy as he was, he brought me into his office and loaded the software & images up.\u00a0 He showed me a deviated septum on my right that would have to be broken in order to work that side.\u00a0 I saw the tell-tail black-white-grey scales of these slices of the human body. White is bone, black is air, and grey is tissue.\u00a0 I saw clearly that in ALL my sinus cavities, the thickness of grey lining the edges was occupying what looked like half the available space.\u00a0 Above my eyes (frontal sinuses) and most significantly in the cavities behind the cheeks (maxillary sinuses) was clear pockets of air, with clear lines of grey tissue that doesn\u2019t belong.\u00a0 But in the cavities high-behind my nose (ethmoid sinuses) and all the complexities of the turbinates were COMPELTELY grey.\u00a0 No black.\u00a0 Only on some slices was I able to see any clear passage of black\/air leading up thru the turbinates and into the frontal & maxillary cavities.\u00a0 No wonder they’re so caked with gunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That was February 2009.\u00a0 The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday April 8th.<\/p>\n

He was very pragmatic about the chances though.\u00a0 I mean, from a litigation point of view, I\u2019m sure he’s quite hesitant to give me, the patient, ANY outlook one way or the other.\u00a0 But he apologized and said it\u2019s really a 50\/50 thing.<\/p>\n