MY ANOSMATIC LIFE

Two months ago, I saw my Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) doctor and received some great news.

1)  My doctor said my polyps don’t look as bad as usual. This is good compared to past visits where a possible surgery was mentioned. I’m not paying for it… a third time… for them to grow back. It’s just not an option for me in the near future.

2) My doctor prescribed me a steroid called Budesonide (Nasal) that could possibly shrink my nasal polyps. Budesonide is a steroid that’s used to prevent the symptoms of asthma, but the Budesonide Nasal is used to treat nasal symptoms like congestion and shrink polyps.

It’s in a vial form that’s taken as a nasal rinse with sea salt and was supposed to be taken 2x a day for 8-9 weeks. Except, I didn’t make it to 8 weeks because of one of the side effects: wheezing.

Earlier this month, I started wheezing 3x a day. My puff count on my inhaler went from 128 to 58 within a week (I take four puffs). At first I thought my asthma was just acting up, but then I looked up side effects on the Internet again. Of course, wheezing/trouble breathing was right there. So, I stopped taking the Budesonide. There’s now less than 20 puffs left… Totally in the red…time for a refill.

I’m still having wheezing issues. I just randomly start wheezing throughout the day. I wake up wheezing sometimes. I even started wheezing when I was exercising the other day, which never happens. I can just sit/stand still and start wheezing. It’s ridiculously annoying.

But I started to smell again two weeks ago. My taste was impeccable. For a second, I thought this was it. Like, all it took was a steroid. Until it was gone again after a week.

I smelled everything up until last Thursday. Now, I just get whiffs of stuff every now and then. But when I put something right under my nose, I can smell it. So, that’s a great sign! My taste is mediocre. And I get to wheeze in exchange for smelling. Imagine that. It’s not the result I was picturing. Hopefully, this is temporary.

After this experience, I’m done with steroids. It’s not a viable solution. I’m not going to risk my health in exchange for smelling.

I actually see my doctor today. Guess we’ll see if the Budesonide actually shrunk some of my polyps. I’m curious to know.