loss of sense of smell after brain surgery

[needshelp85]

Hi

I am 22 and I recently (about 3 months ago) had brain surgery after i fell and hit my head in the bathroom. Since the surgery i have not been able to smell any other smells..everything i eat smells very much like the smell of barbeque and every perfume i've tried on so far has the very same smell. I keep hoping that my sense of smell will recover but it's been three months and nothing has changed.

Will this be a permanent side effect of the surgery or will I be able to recover from it?

[needcompasion]

It has been 37 years since my auto accident which resulted in open head fracture, brain damage, fracture check, nose and jaw along with nerve damage and severe debilitaing  pain,. Have had over 100 surgeries and am not any further along. My sense of smell and taste have not come back and never will. My eye was removed and fitted with fake eye. After over 10 surgeons, I am living with severe pain from the injuries and the massive amount of surgeries.At the present time I also have a open hole near socket area which is severely infected and with out IV antibiotics this will spread and turn to the pseudomonus infection that you can only get in a hospital. I had life saving surgeries, live in pain every day of my life. When I moved I found a great pain management doctor and now 6 years later my physician retired after all the new rules and regulations put in effect regarding opioids. After all this I am in search of a new doctor and explaining my story over and over to 35 offices to only get denials and speak with the rudiest women ever. My husband and I are really worried. How does some one get a doctor ????

[Peru2610]

I think it depends of the affected area of the brain; after my brain surgery I am more sensitive to odors, but my sense of taste (sweets specifically) was affected.  It was worse at the beginning, I couldn't taste much of anything, now it is a little better.  With time you could get it back, but it would be very slowly.

[Help4ourSon]

Sorry I forgot to mention.  The sense of smell is important, it connects to the deep brain region and can cause some depression with the loss.  We try to compensate with vivid colored foods, crunchy textures.  Make sure your home has CO2 and smoke detectors.

[Help4ourSon]

Our son lost his sense of smell after brain injury and brain surgeries.  He has noticed his sense of taste heightened and he can still "memory" smell.  Try to have familiar scents around you and stimulate the olfactory system even if you don't recognize the smell.  He went through lemon drops, pickles and other taste/smell stimulating foods for a long time.  Some people get it back, he didn't but the other senses have compensated.

[alanf05]

Could be a good thing! No, being flippant. This is common in brain injury/trauma. Your surgeon should have advised such. Whether you regain this sense is from lierature, largely a 'wait and see'

[delirious1949]

There is nothing one can say to you in a situation such as this and I am still looking for answers. I fell on the ice in March, 2014 and lost my sense of smell and taste following brain surgery. Wait and see platitudes don't help and I have not found a support group. Prayer is about all I can suggest.