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Suggest Remedy For Smell Disorder In A Person Suffering From Adrenal Fatigue

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Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2015
Question: I have lost about 70% of my ability to smell. And I now seem to always smell burning metal. I feel that my body is emitting this smell but when I ask people if I smell like burning metal they all say No.
I had a Very bad flu 10 months ago that took over 2 months to recover from.
I had a large molar removed 8 months ago (1-2) which had a crack in it. I now only have 2 teeth left that have amalgam fillings. All other fillings are porcelain.
I am 62 years old, female & suffering from a medical diagnosis of Adrenal Fatigue. HELP please.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dariush Saghafi (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Need to take a BSIT or PSIT to analyze dysosmia

Detailed Answer:
Good afternoon. I certainly think that at the very least your sense of smell (and taste) need to be analyzed a bit further to see if there is any relationship to the problems you have been told you may be having with your adrenal glands. You should know that at present, mainstream thinking in the medical community does not recognize "adrenal fatigue" as a bona fide medical diagnosis that can be related to any known pathology of the adrenal glands. There is such a thing as adrenal insufficiency and even adrenal failure which also is recognized by the name ADDISON'S DISEASE.

I won't argue the point that at some point BEFORE the adrenal glands become actually INSUFFICIENT or FAIL they must be "decreasing" in function....and that's kind of where the concept of adrenal fatigue comes into play. But again, mainstream Western Medical Science does not have a way of correlating an adrenal gland which is "sputtering" or "on the fritz" to an actual pathology or even significant abnormalities at times with the hormones produced and so we're stuck with saying "adrenals are normal"....which then, lends itself to a somewhat quirky and paradoxical situation of going from perfectly "normal" to suddenly "insufficient" or "failed."

According to the medical community's way of thinking with respect to this type of disorder the problem patients run into being diagnosed with the entity of "adrenal fatigue" as an explanation of symptoms of fatigue and other issues is that there may be treatments offered that in some cases can cause more harm than good. And that's where patients should be very careful when being this diagnosis by people who are not licensed medical professionals.

For example, as a neurologist- if I were to tell you that I thought you suffered from "adrenal fatigue..." (and I'm not saying that I would necessarily) the implication would be that as a licensed M.D. I would've worked you up for every other possible explanation of your symptoms (whatever they may be) that led someone to use this quite NONmedical term on you.

Bottom line is this....I believe there are objective ways and medical professionals such as ENT or neurologists (such as myself) who could do a full physical examination on you to discover more information on your changes in smell sensitivity (likely tied to changes in your taste as well since the 2 senses are intimately linked) and this should be done ahead of other testing.

You also should get either a BSIT or PSIT done (Boston Smells Identification Test or XXXXXXX Smells Identification Test) and have that scored as part of the further workup that I recommend later down in this response.

Also, I would recommend getting an MRI of the brain with gadolinium contrast since the symptom of smelling something odd or something which is not there can suggest the presence of a mass lesion in the olfactory groove such as a meningioma.

CT scan is sometimes not sufficient if the lesion is small or just starting out but an MRI would pretty much see in there pretty decently and tell us what the status of your olfactory nerves are which is important for our diagnosis.

I might also run a heavy metal screen in your blood and urine just to be sure you are not having some rare blood toxicity that could other wise be missed if not actively looked for so you may wish to ask your doctor to send you for that as well.

I hope I've satisfactorily responded to your dilemma and given you some ideas to discuss with your doctors. If so, may I ask your favor of a high star rating with some written feedback?

Please send me more comments or inquiries in the future by going to my web address at:

bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi

I would be honored to answer you quickly and comprehensively.

This query has required a total of 16 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile a return envoy to the patient.
Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dariush Saghafi

Neurologist

Practicing since :1988

Answered : 2472 Questions

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Suggest Remedy For Smell Disorder In A Person Suffering From Adrenal Fatigue

Brief Answer: Need to take a BSIT or PSIT to analyze dysosmia Detailed Answer: Good afternoon. I certainly think that at the very least your sense of smell (and taste) need to be analyzed a bit further to see if there is any relationship to the problems you have been told you may be having with your adrenal glands. You should know that at present, mainstream thinking in the medical community does not recognize "adrenal fatigue" as a bona fide medical diagnosis that can be related to any known pathology of the adrenal glands. There is such a thing as adrenal insufficiency and even adrenal failure which also is recognized by the name ADDISON'S DISEASE. I won't argue the point that at some point BEFORE the adrenal glands become actually INSUFFICIENT or FAIL they must be "decreasing" in function....and that's kind of where the concept of adrenal fatigue comes into play. But again, mainstream Western Medical Science does not have a way of correlating an adrenal gland which is "sputtering" or "on the fritz" to an actual pathology or even significant abnormalities at times with the hormones produced and so we're stuck with saying "adrenals are normal"....which then, lends itself to a somewhat quirky and paradoxical situation of going from perfectly "normal" to suddenly "insufficient" or "failed." According to the medical community's way of thinking with respect to this type of disorder the problem patients run into being diagnosed with the entity of "adrenal fatigue" as an explanation of symptoms of fatigue and other issues is that there may be treatments offered that in some cases can cause more harm than good. And that's where patients should be very careful when being this diagnosis by people who are not licensed medical professionals. For example, as a neurologist- if I were to tell you that I thought you suffered from "adrenal fatigue..." (and I'm not saying that I would necessarily) the implication would be that as a licensed M.D. I would've worked you up for every other possible explanation of your symptoms (whatever they may be) that led someone to use this quite NONmedical term on you. Bottom line is this....I believe there are objective ways and medical professionals such as ENT or neurologists (such as myself) who could do a full physical examination on you to discover more information on your changes in smell sensitivity (likely tied to changes in your taste as well since the 2 senses are intimately linked) and this should be done ahead of other testing. You also should get either a BSIT or PSIT done (Boston Smells Identification Test or XXXXXXX Smells Identification Test) and have that scored as part of the further workup that I recommend later down in this response. Also, I would recommend getting an MRI of the brain with gadolinium contrast since the symptom of smelling something odd or something which is not there can suggest the presence of a mass lesion in the olfactory groove such as a meningioma. CT scan is sometimes not sufficient if the lesion is small or just starting out but an MRI would pretty much see in there pretty decently and tell us what the status of your olfactory nerves are which is important for our diagnosis. I might also run a heavy metal screen in your blood and urine just to be sure you are not having some rare blood toxicity that could other wise be missed if not actively looked for so you may wish to ask your doctor to send you for that as well. I hope I've satisfactorily responded to your dilemma and given you some ideas to discuss with your doctors. If so, may I ask your favor of a high star rating with some written feedback? Please send me more comments or inquiries in the future by going to my web address at: bit.ly/drdariushsaghafi I would be honored to answer you quickly and comprehensively. This query has required a total of 16 minutes of physician specific time to read, research, and compile a return envoy to the patient.