Seeking adivice from a Doc re: my wife...

[Drdogface]

About three weeks ago my wife and I...with another couple...spent a weekend in the area around Tahoe..in the snow. On that Sat. morning we all went to Squaw Valley ski area where my wife (age 53) wanted to got ice skating. Took only a minutes before she fell backwards and really whacked her head on the ice. I was not skating due to a recent shoulder surgery. She was surely dazed but did not lose consciousness. We had a paramedic examine her and he gave her some oxygen. She felt a bit better after a while but of course had a headache. The PM said she likely had a mild concussion. He was great, BTW.

The next day she was really sickly and sore..not a surprise...and has gradually gotten better since except for her sense of smell and taste which is all but gone..or so she says. For the life of me I can't get her to see a Doc...not just now, but anytime but that's another issue. She took a week off work and said her headache was more severe with movement and mostly in the frontal area. This got gradually better and she now has no headache.

I'm aware of the possibilty of sub-dural hematoma developing some time after head trauma but she doesn't seem to have worsening symptoms like nausea, headache or vision problems.

Please, can one of you Docs gimme some advice on this and the loss of smell and taste...what to do if anything.

Many thanks...my med degree is in Vet Med ;-)

[Moses]

Yikes! This is a post-concussive state with neurological impairment. She needs to see a neurologist yesterday.

http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/178_06_170303/kha11095_fm.html

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

er, immediately, call 911

[Noah930]

I agree with seeing the neurologist. I had a buddy in med school with a similar problem. Fell and hit his head in college while skateboarding. Lost his sense of smell. I don't know if he ever had it checked out with a neurologist. Clearly, if it was deadly he would never have been around to tell us about it. But we all think he probably sheared off his 1st cranial nerve (the one responsible for your sense of smell) as it passed through the cribiform plate from the brain to the nose. Certainly not life threatening, but he did admit that it sucked not really having much of as sense of smell or taste anymore.

I don't want to tell you to tell the neurologist what to do--that's up to his/her judgement and your comfort with their advice. But just hearing your story without the opportunity to examine your wife, I admit that were she to come into the ER while I was the trauma surgeon on call, I'd probably lean towards getting a head CT to make sure there's no head bleed.

[Drdogface]

Thanks guys...owe you one. I had the same kinda thoughts but for me, as her hubby, to get her to see a Doc I'd have to hog tie her and toss her in the truck. Maybe with the advice of 'Real Docs' (I hear that line all the time ;-)...she'll go. If we get any local med attention I'll post the results for you info.

What a great resource this OT forum is....thanks ...and thanks to Wayne for having all of it.

[Dottore]

Curiously a very good friend of ours had the same issue. She was hit in a crosswalk by a taxi. The taxi was going fairly slowly - but she was knocked down and smacked her head on the pavement.

She had a few bruises but was completely OK except that her sense of smell and taste was gone - or rather it was gone almost all of the time. Occasionally, sometimes for a few hours or even a day it would return.

She's been like this for three years now. Doctors say it may come back completely - but then again it may not.

The medical evidence of this impairment led to a quick and generous settlement with the Taxi company's insurers. But still its a real bugger - not being able to taste food in particular.

[the]

Wow, I had the exact same thing happen to me. I whacked my head once (while I was in a student health center!) and was unconscious for some amount of time, not quite sure how long.

When I woke up, I had really impaired memory. That slowly came back to where it was, but my sense of smell never really came back, or at least not to the extent it was before. I can definately smell things, but not like before.

Although, oddly, on some rare days, it seems to come back. This does not happen often. When it does, it's such an odd experience. It makes you realize how much a sense of smell can trigger memories.

That was almost 20 years ago. I really should have sued the school, a "quick and generous settlement" would have been nice!

[competentone]

Originally posted by Drdogface
...to get her to see a Doc I'd have to hog tie her and toss her in the truck....

I'm not a doctor, but from what you described in your original post, doing whatever you have to do to get her to a doctor is the right thing to do!

Although, I'd suggest "hog tying her and placing her gently in the truck" would be the better action!

[austin552]

My wife is bumped in the head also...

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

Squaw Valley, eh?? maybe thats the ticket!! i have been going to Breckenridge with my brothers for years and they are still stinky!!

[notfarnow]

Not a doctor but I lost my sense of smell 4 weeks ago. I also have a funny smell that trails everywhere... almost like an air freshener. Not unpleasant, but odd. Started getting nosebleeds too. Doc says it's polyps in my sinuses but was worried enough to send me in for a CAT scan just to make sure.

I would think with a mild concussion & those symptoms... they would want to check that out pronto.

[Drdogface]

Jake,
Yeah, I think I recall your post on that. Glad to hear it's not serious.

I 'talked' to my wife last night. No F'ing way she's gonna 'spend the money' for a scan. She is getting better but what a bone head attitude.

[89911]

These things are nothing to take lightly. Have your wife read this tragic article about a local teenager if she still isn't convinced.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/search/s_490292.html

[Drdogface]

Thanks for that. Trust me when I say that I don't take it lightly. I did read that article and have heard a ton of similar stories...one from a co-worker of my wife who lost her own brother in a similar manner.

She promised me last night that if her taste/smell had not returned fully by Monday she'd go for a consult. She only gets angry when I push her. Been trying to get her in for a basic physical and PAP for five years. Nothing but excuses.

[Moses]

Time for some "tough love".

[notfarnow]

Originally posted by Drdogface

I 'talked' to my wife last night. No F'ing way she's gonna 'spend the money' for a scan. She is getting better but what a bone head attitude.

Crazy talk. I hate to be dramatic, but imagine all the potential "what ifs". It's an issue worth pushing, even if it means an argument.

[Drdogface]

Trust me guys...and thanks for your advice and for caring about this...I have had major fights about her general reluctance to get routine medical advice. On this issue...which is surely more urgent...I'm making headway. I may well have to enlist the help of her girlfriends. Frankly, I don't understand it. I have explained the possibilities and keep probing her re: symptoms. She says she has no headache left and her taste and smell are coming back.

[Moses]

No paps and probably no breast cancer screening, too? Do you have kids?

[nostatic]

dude. seriously.

she should see a shrink in addition to getting some preventative health care. you shouldn't have "major fights" about seeing a doc when necessary...

then again i'm twice divorced to take that with a salt lick

[competentone]

Originally posted by Drdogface
...I have had major fights about her general reluctance to get routine medical advice. ... Frankly, I don't understand it. I have explained the possibilities and keep probing her re: symptoms. She says she has no headache left and her taste and smell are coming back.

Don't try to "persuade" her, don't try to "argue" with her, just bribe her.

Think about what your wife really likes and offer it to her as a reward after she visits the doctor.

I can get my wife to do just about anything if I promise her a half-hour full body massage!