Anosmia

What am I Allergic To

2011-09-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

So another random anosmia post! The latest on the anosmia front is that after almost 40 years of living in a very dry southwest USA climate, the past 2 years being in a hugely populated, polluted, dusty and hot area of southern California, my wife and I have thankfully moved to a smaller community just north of San Diego and for the first ever, are 3 1/2 miles from the beach.

Wow...talk about a run on sentence!

So we are living near the beach where the temperatures got into the high 80's maybe 3 times during the entire summer and we are loving it.

When we first got here in the spring, I went to yet another ENT to have her take a look inside my sinuses. Of course she confirmed, and for the first time I actually saw the polyps in my sinuses. She was not so insistent on surgery but of course she said that it was an option.

She suggested two things. One was to use budenoside rather than Flonase or Nasonex or Nasacort and prescribed it to be used with a nebulizer twice a day. Well, that lasted about a month. I just could not deal with standing there with this nebulizer for 5 minutes or so twice a day.

The other thing she suggested was that I start my allergy shots again and felt that I might get better relief this time around. I told her I did them for almost 3 years and 1, my anosmia did not get better and 2, the polyps still kept recurring. She said she just felt she should test me again. So I asked her "what am I allergic to" at this point?? I felt that after 3 years of previous allergy shots, it almost just sounds like a money grab. She felt that doing it with an ENT might be better than with an allergist.

So I'm debating yet again whether I want to go through this. The drive down to see her, the drive back up, the expense etc.

Other than that, nothing much else to report. Best to all who occasionally read this.

If you want to know what Anosmia is like

2011-07-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

I was online just yesterday and found what is probably the best written article I've ever read about what it's like to be anosmic.

I'd have to say that almost 6 years after my onset of anosmia, my attitude is more of reluctant acceptance than this authors (even though I remain hopeful) but if you have a family member who is anosmic, or if you are trying to give friends or family an idea of what it's like, I urge you to read this brief article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-blodgett/anosmia-the-quiet-killer_b_648971.html

Another of my infrequent updates on my anosmia

2011-07-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

Once again I'm posting here. I deeply apologize to people who have left comments that I have not replied to! I guess I would have been better off creating some sort of forum where a thread type discussion could be held but for better or worse, my little anosmia blog is about the best I have time for.

And if anyone is still following, you can tell that I barely have time for even this!

So as of today, July 20, 2011 things are as they ever were. My last polyp surgery was back in May of 2010 and my last episode of good olfaction was around Mother's day of last year. For those not in the U.S., that falls sometime in mid May. I remember it because my wife poured me a glass of chardonnay. I almost cried it tasted so good!

There might have been fleeting moments of taste and smell after that but if so, I cannot recall when and certainly nothing past June of '10. Although I did have some unrelated health issues earlier this year where I had to do a 5 day cycle of prednisone that temporarily restored my olfaction....WONDERFUL!

We recently moved to a more climate friendly region of California about 3 or 4 miles from the beach and I recently visited yet another ENT locally. She has me on Budenoside using a nebulizer to keep the recurring nasal polyps to as manageable size as possible but even using this (stronger) corticosteroid, I still have major issues. Mostly on my left side.

My most recent CT scan from Feb of this year shows the same as it ever did: Terrible polyp growth on my left side, less so on my right and horrible congestion or crud in my frontal sinuses. CT scans of my sinuses show virtually ZERO black. It's all gray.

My new ENT has urged me to try allergy shots again and after my initial reluctance, I started thinking that while my last round of shots did not help my anosmia, I did have much better overall breathing for the 2 or 3 years I was on them. So I'm thinking if I can get on those again and yes, once again have the polypectomy, I might get relief and my olfaction back.

This new Dr told me that my last two polypectomies did not include computer assisted imagery which would be the only way to get up into my frontal sinuses. I know this is true based on my last ENT's comments. I guess my continuing hope is that with this procedure, my anosmia will be cured.

Obviously, I CAN smell and taste things as indicated with every dose of prednisone I've ever had. It's a matter of getting things opened up.

As always, good luck to all who can relate to this

Youtube video of a normal polypectomy

2010-05-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

This is NOT a video of my procedure. This is what a normal polyp looks like and I imagine it's how my first surgery went back in 2006. What's most amazing to me still is that there is virtually no pain and no blood from this surgery.

In my next post I'll describe my situation from my surgery I just had performed that was not quite this simple.

FESS Sinus surgery for polyps - Post Op Nightmare

2010-05-20T16:09:00.000-07:00

The moment I awoke from anesthesia I had a feeling something was wrong. After my first surgery which lasted about 45 minutes, my nose and sinuses felt a bit of stinging but there was no pain. However, I was breathing clearly without any problem.

This was different. As I woke up to the nurses calling my name, I immediately realized that I couldn't breathe through my nose. At all.

"Hmmm....that's odd", I remember thinking. Why was I so incredibly congested when I should be breathing freely?? And then it hit me. In my still foggy, hazy state of mind I realized (with no small amount of horror) that the doctor had to pack my sinuses. Something I never had done, even after my first reconstructive surgery to repair my septum and certainly not after my first polypectomy.

AAACCKKK!!!! Aaah well, what are you going to do huh?

My wife walked in, tears in her eyes because she knew how much I was praying this wouldn't happen and said, "Honey, I'm so sorry. He had to pack your sinuses". She was very upset for me.

Why in God's name did her have to do it?
Well, for starters, even though we knew my entire sinus cavity....all of them...were filled with polyps, crud and what not, what nobody knew was how difficult it would be for my doctor to remove them. So difficult that my 45 - 60 minute procedure took over an hour and half. And rendered the doctors surgical tool unusable in the process.

Next up!
Polyps made of "leather", teflon nasal tampons and my 3 day follow up

Nasal Polyp Surgery - The big day

2010-05-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

On Monday, May 3rd I was scheduled to have my surgery. Unlike the first surgery which was performed at my (previous) doctors in office surgery center, this was to be performed at an outside surgery center that my current ENT uses. I was told to arrive at 11:15 am and no food or liquid 12 hours prior. Based on past experiences, I knew that if I was to be there at 11:15, I would probably not be in surgery until 1:00.

We arrived a bit early and I filled out the minimal paperwork that was required and then we pretty much settled in for the wait. It was not until almost 1:00 that they finally called my name and brought me into the pre-op area where I was treated very kindly by the nurses. Our expectation was that the polypectomy would last appoximately 45 minutes and the nurse confirmed this with my wife who was not allowed to go with me into pre-op. Once inside, I got into the surgical gown, laid down on the bed and proceeded to answer numerous questions by the nurses. "When did you last eat or drink, what allergies to meds if any, what previous surgeries...." The usual stuff.

Within a short time they me hooked up to a needle and the anesthesiologist came in to ask more questions. She then had me on a drip to relax me....it definitely worked quickly.

Shortly after that, they told me we were ready to go and off I went into the surgery room.

It's funny but I was not nervous at all. Having had the surgery previously, I knew what to expect, i.e. a brief procedure, an easy wake up from anesthesia and no pain or blood from my nose but just a raw kind of sensation.

We got into the surgery room and unlike my first polypectomy where my doctor was already in there, the only people in the room were the anesthesiologist and a couple nurses. By this time, the drip they had me on had me feeling pretty good. I couldn't have been in there for more than 2 minutes when the anesthesiologist looked at me and said, "Okay Mike..are we ready?" To which I replied, "Yep". And she then said, "Okay, here we go"

And it was an instantaneous lights out to nap land for me.

Next up: Post Op

Second surgery for nasal polyps

2010-05-07T11:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has followed my minimal posts here has known that since October 2005 I've suffered from anosmia and nasal polyps. My first surgery for nasal polyps was in January of 2006. I'd say it was successful in regards to removing the polyps but as to returning my sense of smell, not so much.

I was told at the time to follow a strict regimen of nasal rinsing, allergy shots and corticosteroid sprays in the hope that the nasal polyps would not return and that my sense of smell would.

We can fast forward from 2006 until late 2008. During that time my sense of smell would come and go but I'd say that I had virtually no sense of smell or taste other than an occasional moment. I kept up with the nasonex and/or flonase sprays and nasal irrigation and also kept going for my allergy shots.

In November of 2008 my wife and I moved to a different area in southern California and I began noticing serious sinus issues. Extreme stuffiness, constant discharge, worsening of what few asthma symptoms I'd had and an overall feeling that my sinus situation was getting worse.

Being that I am loathe to see a doctor, it took some time before I had my allergist take a look at me. Sometime in late 2009 I scheduled an appt and he saw a large polyp in my left nostril plus what he described as a sinus infection and got me back on Flonase which I'd pretty much stopped using at that point.

For the next few months, my condition worsened to the point that I was spending most nights in a sleepless state due to the congestion in my nose. Breathing was almost impossible and life since early 2010 has been somewhat of a depressing state.

As I've blogged about in the past, the fact that I enjoy more than my share of cocktails and cigars did not help matters. It's obvious that any alcohol is a vasodilator for me and only worsens congestion.

Matters only got worse so about 8 weeks ago I finally went to a new ENT in my new area. He did some observations and scheduled a CT scan which revealed massive polyp growths in both nasal passages and all sinus cavities filled with both polyps and infection. He was pretty astounded that I'd been living this way for the length of time I had been.

Needless to say, surgery was scheduled! May 3rd 2010 was the big day! 5 days prior I started a 50mg/day dose of prednisone which of course had a nice effect but considering the condition of my sinuses, very little olfaction returned.

By Sunday night, May 2nd I was so tired of feeling the way I had been for so long that even though I was nervous, I was ready for surgery.

As a side note, my current ENT had informed me that while he uses FESS and rarely needs to pack after surgery, it is always a possibility. Since I'd been down this road before and my first surgery was FESS and required no packing, I was looking forward to a quick recovery.

Almost 2 years since my last post??!!!

2010-04-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's not say I don't at least check the blog from time to time as I do moderate all the comments that come in but good lord...2 years since I checked in with any updates of my own? Seems like there should be some kind of punishment for that like permanent exile from all social networks or something.

Well, there have most certainly been developments in my condition and will be posting my latest situation shortly. Suffice to say for now that I'll be going the surgery route yet again in a few short days!

Luxury cruise for an anosmia sufferer

2008-06-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have been on 4 or 5 cruises over the years but the last one was about 6 years ago which was before my anosmia occurred.
Well, we recently went on an Alaskan cruise aboard the Princess cruise line. We had a spectacular time, saw great sites and of course one of the big attractions or draws for people who cruise is the vast amounts of food that is served on board a cruise ship.

Well, let me tell you, it pretty much sucks to have all this super high quality food being served and not being able to smell or taste it! As a matter of fact, since I became anosmic in the fall of 2005, I've probably only had a handful of meals in really good restaurants because I really don't care anymore. So this was the first time in this situation.

Just a note from the very strange life of an anosmic!!

More thoughts on smoking, allergies and anosmia

2008-04-21T14:51:00.001-07:00

Well it's been some time since my last post so I thought I'd at least get on and give yet another update and some thoughts. As it is, I still am not able to smell or taste anything. I am still getting my allergy shots although I'm doing once a month now. How long does this last anyway??

I will say that my allergies are definitely better. I had a little episode the other day of some stuffiness and I was really shocked as I've had virtually no allergy symptoms for some time. I had a couple glass of wine the night before so it could have been due to that. The allergy shots have not helped my anosmia however which is unfortunate.

I had posted some time back about not smoking cigars for a while and seeing if that would help but it didn't but something dawned on me recently and I'm giving it a shot again.

Here's what I was thinking: For years I smoked cigars occasionally. Maybe on a Sunday afternoon while relaxing in the yard. In May of 2005 I started smoking a cigar every day. Or if not, close to it. I continued this pattern throughout the summer and into the fall of 2005. Those who have read my earlier posts know that I was on vacation in New York in October of 2005 when I lost my sense of smell.

Since that time, except for my experiment with giving up cigars, I've continued to smoke them to one degree or another. Sometimes only on the weekend but (being honest with myself here) for the most part, I have smoked a cigar a day for some time. And it just keeps nagging at me: Is this the main factor for my anosmia? Is it possible that the cigar smoke is enough of an irritant to cause inflammation which in turn blocks any aroma from getting up into my olfactory region?

So, I've once again stopped smoking cigars. When I first tried this I honestly can't remember if I truly stopped or if I cheated once in a while. It's been about 10 days and nothing has changed but my wife feels IF it's the reason, it might take some time for olfaction to resume. I will continue to post here occasionaly to let people know the results. If anyone has any input or info on smoking and anosmia please comment.

Allergies gone but 2 years of not smelling

2007-12-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

I have been terrible at posting lately (an understatement) but as I passed a somewhat dubious milestone in October of this year I thought it would be a great way to announce it!

It was 2 years ago, October 5th 2005 to be precise, that after years of terrible
allergies, sinus congestion and sinus infections, I lost my sense of smell and taste. My wife and I had gone to New York for a vacation and it was there that I noticed my sense of smell had disappeared. Some of the best restaurants in the world and I can't taste the food?? At least we made it through the better part of the vacation before it happened.

Well, as past readers of my Anosmia blog have read, I had subsequent nasal polyp surgery which didn't help, I'm currently in a maintenance phase of allergy shots which haven't helped (although they have done wonders for my allergies), I tried abstaining from all alcohol and cigars, I've learned to actually love nasal irrigation, have been on a steady regimine of Nasonex, Flonase, Veramyst or some other sinus spray and yet, I still cannot smell anything nor taste anything.

A dose of prednisone does bring back my sense of smell and sense of taste of course that goes along with it, but as we know, you can't live on prednisone. So the doctors (primarily my allergist) feel that there IS olfaction. It's not like a virus killed off my olfactery nerve. But why I can't smell after all this time is a mystery.

I can say that my allergies and sinus congestion has all but disappeared thanks to the allergy shots and nasal irrigation I do and I'm thankful for that at least but
I truly feel for anyone who has just developed this condition and I always try to talk with anyone who wishes to discuss it. I've learned to live with it yet still hold out hope that one day I will be able to smell.

Update on being alcohol free

2007-04-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I haven't had any liquor in my system at all for a month and while I was convinced that this would help me smell (even after my last experiment yielded no results), I still am anosmic.

I have however noticed a few things: For starters, even though I cannot smell anything, I do notice that I am much less congested in my sinuses.

Also, while I cannot taste. Or for those sticklers out there, while I cannot taste FLAVORS, my sense of taste of bitter, salty, sour, sweet etc is a little better. Olives for example do give off more of a tang than they did.

So even though I still suffer from anosmia, stopping drinking or even imbibing less, has had a benefit.

The only problem is that we are going on a wonderful motorcycle rally this weekend where there'll be about 75,000 other bikers. It's quite the party and anosmia or not, I'm going to enjoy some beers, some martinins and some cigars!

Upon return I think I'm going to give accupuncture a try.

Strange sense of smell

2007-03-31T23:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the fact that I've discontinued all alcohol intake for some time but a few days ago I had a strange sense that I'm smelling something. It's not any kind of definable odor or aroma nor is it unpleasant. It just seems that I'm getting something.

Now, this could be all in my mind or it could be what is known as "phantosmia". If I'm not mistaken, some people who suffer from anosmia also have this condition where they seem to smell scents that aren't actually there. Although unless I'm mistaken, those "smells" are usually very unpleasant if not repugnant. Again, it's hard to say what's going on here and in fact it only lasted a few days but it was interesting to note.

I've run out of my prescription of Nasonex and haven't used it for about a week so I imagine it would be an opportune time for me to call my ENT and get my prescription refilled. Maybe it will help!

Allergy Shots helped during the dry winter

2007-03-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Well, southern California has finally ended the driest winter in recent memory and my sinuses held up fairly well. I was figuring that with all the dry Santa Ana winds we had this year and very little rain, my sinuses and allergies would be at their worst but they actually held up.

I think the allergy shots are helping with reaction to allergens but I am somewhat disappointed that they have had no affect on my anosmia. I'm in a maintenance phase on the environmental part of my shots (dust mites, dander, etc) but am still working up with the grass and pollen shots.

I've also totally stopped drinking, mostly due to just getting lazy and happy sitting around watching tv but also because it really was having an effect on my sinuses. I tried stopping before to see if it would help my anosmia which it didn't but I can honestly say that my sinuses are much less congested in the morning. Who knows, maybe somewhere down the road my sense of smell will return. I still wake up every morning and get out of the shower thinking I might smell some coffee but it hasn't happened yet.

What's your favorite food?

2007-02-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

If you can't really "taste" anything. What's your favorite food? I've found that there are some foods that I enjoy more now than before my anosmia. Some not so good for me!

Being involved in bodybuilding and fitness for about 25 years, my diet was always important. I always ate fairly bland food (turkey burgers, tuna, chicken breast) so I was surprised when I became anosmic that it actually bugged me that I couldn't taste anything. I mean, turkey burgers and skinless chicken breasts aren't the most exciting flavors. So now that texture and taste (sweet, sour, salty etc) are what I crave, I've found that my healthy eating isn't so healty anymore. I need to pick things up and try to get back on track.

I'll post on some food that I used to love but can't bear in my next post bBut for now, here's some favorites:

Celery
Potato chips (especially the super salty/vinegar type)
Almonds
Cheddar cheese (can't figure this one out, probably just the texture)
A GOOD hamburger
Seltzer water/club soda
Hot peppers
Granny Smith Apples
Olives
Hot Dogs
Pickled Herring
Sardines

I ate most all of these prior to being anosmic but they are favorites right now.

Still Anosmia but some food is good

2007-01-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

I've recently been taking a look at the types of foods that I enjoy now more than I used to since I've been suffering from anosmia. Nope..still can't smell anything.

For about 3 months I've noticed that it's definitely texture that appeals more than anything else. Crunch is good. I've always loved nuts, carrots, chips and anything crunchy but I have been eating celery like it's going out of style.

And even though I can't taste it, I always dip the celery in either hummus or sometimes peanut butter. With the peanut butter it's definitely the salty taste that is appealing to me and with the hummus I usually get the spicy type so I get some kind of heat/burn.

For a while, any type of pasta was disgusting to me. There was something about the texture that was completely unappealing. But lately, as long as I put some hot red pepper flakes on it, any type of pasta or italian dish is good.

And even though they're crunchy, apples have very little appeal. I still eat them and usually the sour Granny Smith type but it's not sour enough to make it something really enjoyable. Bananas that I used to love are now pretty much out of my mind. Again, it's something about the texture.

And that's what it's coming down to: Texture and the basic flavors of salty, sweet, sour, etc.

First liquor, now cigars

2007-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well, the new year has brought no relief from my "condition". Not that I was expecting to wake up on January 1 and be able to smell the coffee or anything. My little experiment with not drinking brought no change but someone said something to me over the holidays that kind of made me think.

As I think I've mentioned, I love cigars. Up until this all started I loved the taste and aroma of a GOOD cigar. But even though I haven't been able to taste one in over a year, I've continued to smoke them. Sometimes one a week, sometimes 3 but I also go on binges where I'll smoke one every night.

My brother in law mentioned how irritating smoke is to sinuses, which of course I knew, but I never figured I'd give them up and see if there's a change in my "condition". I'd go days without smoking one and never noticed any change so I figured they didn't have anything to do with it.

But if I look back to when this started back in the fall of 2005, I was pretty much smoking them non stop. Is there a connection? Is the cigar smoke causing inflammation? Will it take weeks of not smoking them to see any improvement? I'll give it a try. Hopefully it will help.

So much for laying off booze

2006-12-22T13:12:00.000-08:00

Well, we're into full holiday mode: Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years celebrations. My little experiment with abstaining from alcohol lasted about 10 days with no effect whatsoever. In all fairness, it might not have been enough time but I honestly didn't feel any different in regards to olfaction.

So now that it's the holiday season and people have been cooking everywhere, it's a little depressing to say the least when you can't smell anything from hanukkah latkes to roast beef. So screw it, I'm going to drink if I want. Hell, even when I could smell, drinking always dulled it.

I'm now wondering if the cigars I smoke have an effect on all of this so I think after this is all over, I'll try laying off of those and see how it goes. I guess I'm still hoping that there is ONE THING I can do that will change all of this.

In the meantime, have a great holiday season. May 2007 bring full olfaction back to those who don't have it!!

Alcohol's effect on my sense of smell

2006-11-28T15:35:00.000-08:00

For a few years prior to losing my olfaction, I noticed that anytime I drank alcohol there would be an immediate effect on my sense of smell (and therefore, my sense of taste). Sometimes it was dramatic, other times not so much. But it always annoyed me that if I wanted a cocktail before dinner or a glass of wine with dinner, there would be the subsequent reaction and it became impossible to do both at once.

I've never been a big wine drinker but as my palate matured over the years I did enjoy good wine with food. Frustratingly, it got to the point where I'd enjoy one or the other. And even if I did opt for wine or a pre-dinner cocktail, it wasn't long before I couldn't taste that either! Imagine enjoying a great cabernet and by the second glass you can barely taste it.

As I've just passed my one year anniversary of being anosmic (woo-hoo!), something got me thinking about all of this: Could the fact that have at least one and usually more drinks almost every night be contributing to at least some of my anosmia?

I recently did some searching online and found that one of the effects of alcohol can be inflammation of nasal/sinus passages. As I always noticed an effect and since I've become quite the martini drinker, I thought I'd stop drinking and see if it has even the slightest effect on my sense of smell.

So, as of Monday November 27 I'm laying off alcohol. I would hope that any benefit would happen almost immediately, i.e. within days. As of the 28'th I've noticed no benefit but we shall see.

Congenital anosmics

2006-11-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

So I found a nice anosmic forum where I put a few posts and introduced myself. I soon found out that most of the folks on there are "congenital" anosmics. That is, they have been without the ability to smell anything since birth.

When I mentioned in one of my posts that I cannot taste anything, I was "corrected" in that I can indeed "taste". I just do not get any "flavor". I mentioned how, yes, I can in fact taste and that I understand that the taste buds only taste sweet, salty, sour etc. But whether you call it flavor or taste, all food is the same, tasteless/flavorless. A pizza has the same taste as oatmeal, that is NONE!

A few people replied (all who were congenitally anosmic it seems) that they all can in fact taste things. One gentleman suggested I try rolling food around my mouth, over and under my tonge etc so that my taste buds can get the true taste of the food.

The image of this to me is, well, not pretty.

Look, as any anosmic knows, the taste we get from food comes from the aromas that are dispersed through chewing. This is obvious. But it seems to me, and not wanting to be disrespectful to anyone who's had this miserable condition all their life, that if you were NEVER able to smell, you don't know what true taste is.

I would challenge anyone who is congenitally anosmic to take 3 sticks of chewing gum: 1 flavored spearmint, one peppermint and one wintergreen and tell me which are which. I don't think it would happen.

For someone who once knew what a glass of grapefruit juice tastes like, I find it hard to believe that someone who has never smelled, actually knows what it really tastes like.

I can't smell food, so I can't taste food

2006-10-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's hard to explain to people why I cannot taste anything that I eat. When I tell them it's because I can't smell anything they cannot grasp why that affects my sense of taste. I usually leave it at, "You know how food is tasteless when you have a cold?" That usually drives the message home that your sense of taste is really derived from you ability to smell. As you chew food or drink liquid, it's actually the aroma from this that is getting to your brain.

They get confused though when I tell them that yes, I can "taste" salt, sweet, sour etc. Or that if I eat a hot pepper, yes, I do feel the burning sensation. But for instance, if I were to eat a piece of cake, I could taste/feel the sweetness of the sugar on the vanilla frosting but I am unable to actually taste the vanilla itself. Or if I eat a sour apple, I can feel the sourness but cannot actually taste the apple. It can be frustrating and I usually don't even say anything when someone says, "Wow that was a great meal, how was yours?" I usually just say it was really good.

Nasonex, Flonase - Allergies!

2006-10-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

I actually have found humor in my problems with allergies, sinus polyps and anosmia. You'd be hard pressed to find something amusing about not being able to taste a cup of coffee in the morning or to smell a pizza but during my never ending attempt to restore my sinuses to some workable condition, I've tried some amazing stuff.

After my sinus surgery to remove the polyps, my ENT advised that I do a twice daily treatment of Nasonex, Flonase or some similar corticosteroid. As my insurance offers better coverage on the Nasonex, that is what I've been on.

Now, Nasonex, like all the others, is a metered spray that you blast into your nostrils. The hope in my case is that this will decrease inflammation and also keep future polyps from growing. You simply spray the Nasonex into your nose.

However, after having no effect for months, it was suggested that I need to get this spray way up high in my sinuses. Since gravity is in play, the spray will not get high up in the sinus cavity while you're standing.

So what to do?

One morning, just after I had gotten out of the shower. I took the Nasonex for my morning ritual. This time however, immediately after spraying the Nasonex into my nose, I plopped down on the bed on my back with my head inverted and hanging over the edge of the bed. The goal of course was to allow as much of the Nasonex to reach my sinus cavity as possible.

The effect however was different: As I lay there with my head hanging off the bed, naked as the day I was born but certainly not as cuddly or cute, my wife walked into the bedroom.

If she thought I'd had a heart attack and collapsed in this position or that I was performing some strange sexual ritual she did not let on but stopped in her tracks for a moment.

Noticing her standing in the doorway to my side but not wanting to turn my head for fear the Nasonex wouldn't reach its target I simply offered, "Good morning!" To which this beautiful woman I've lived with for over 22 years replied, "Honey? What....are you doing?"

Before I could even offer my scientific explanation, she simply rolled her eyes, turned around and said, "Coffee's on"

No sense of smell, allergies and nasal polyps

2006-10-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

When we got back from NYC it became apparent that something was going on. Literally overnight I was not able to smell anything. And with that loss of smell goes your sense of taste as well. It would come and go but for the most part, any olfaction (sense of smell) that I had was severely compromised.

I decided I'd go to my doctor and let him take a look. Maybe it was just a sinus infection? He is a good doctor but he said he could see nothing wrong but as a precaution, prescribed some antibiotics. These of course proved pointless. I kept having fleeting moments of olfaction but it was becoming increasingly frustrating and to be quite honest, depressing.

I had some sinus surgery a few years prior so I paid a visit to my ENT to see what he could do. After scoping me out and ordering a CT Scan he told me that I had a terrible situation with nasal/sinus polyps. They needed to come out and with luck, I'd be able to smell again.

For those that don't know, anosmia is typically caused by one of three factors.

Head Trauma
Viral infection
Sinus inflammation or polyps

As I'd had no head trauma and wan't truly able to pinpoint any kind of cold (virus), plus the fact that my olfaction had come and gone for some time, it seemed as if the cause was sinus inflammation caused by my polyps and constant allergies. I was relieved because if your anosmia is caused by head trauma or infection, it almost certainly will not come back.

The surgery was scheduled for the end of January 2006. Now keep in mind that my sense of smell, while greatly diminished and fleeting, did make brief returns. By brief I mean a few minutes here and there.

I was prescribed prednisone for pre-surgery and knowing very little about all of this, was amazed at how my sense of smell came back completely. My ENT had told me this would happen but to not get too excited since it would be temporary.

Well, my surgery was a success in that the polyps were removed. Unfortunately, after the prednisone wore off a few days after my surgery, my ability to smell was gone once again.

My ENT said that there was hope but that I needed to see an allergist, stay on a daily regimine of cortico-steroid sprays (for life) and needed to do daily nasal rinses. Without these, the polyps would probably come back.

As for my sense of smell, since my surgery it has virtually disappeared. There have been moments where it returned and in fact in late March of 2006 I had a spell of 3 days where it was back. Alas, as of this date, it has been gone almost entirely other than another round of prednisone with my allergist.

I am remaining hopeful. Maybe it's naive or pollyanna-ish. But I will continue to try to find a way to restore what I've lost.

You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone

2006-10-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

I guess I probably could have started this blog a year ago but better late than never. It was October of 2005 that I first realized I had a problem with my sense of smell. Now, before I get into the particulars, I will say that over the past few years, whenever I'd have a drink or a cigar, I'd notice a drastic reduction in my ability to smell something. I can't remember how many times I'd be getting ready to cook something for me and my wife, say a barbecue, and I'd have a cocktail while getting things ready only to have to ask my wife to smell something to make sure it was fresh.

I guess I just never thought anything of it. I'd always heard that alcohol can dull senses in some people so I chalked it up to that and figured that if I wanted to enjoy a drink, that was the price I had to pay.

The word anosmia never even existed in my vocabulary until last October. My wife and I were visiting NYC for our first trip to the Big Apple. What a great time! That was one of the best vacations ever. Of course, being New York, we did a lot of walking and of course eating and drinking.

We had taken the subway from mid-town to Little Italy where we had a nice lunch. I should mention that over the summer I had been smoking a cigar every night so of course I brought some to New York with us. While in Little Italy we stumbled across a cigar shop so I went in. The owner was a great guy and when I told him what type of cigars I liked he offered me some handmade premiums. While walking back to the subway I lit one up. It was one of the most enjoyable cigars I'd ever smoked. Unbeknownst to me at the time, it would be one of the last times I was able to taste a good cigar.

That night, we were eating dinner and about halfway through I realized I couldn't taste my food. I felt fine but said to my wife, "I can't taste anything, I wonder if I'm getting a cold". We both brushed it off and continued our dinner and had a great time with the rest of our trip but the loss of taste really bugged me.
At that time I never even realized that not only could I not taste anything, I could not smell anything either!