Findings and followup reports

As soon as other people have tried the program, and provided feedback, I will publish some findings. For the time being, here are updates from me:

16 January 2014:

Still very good news overall – and I have retained an excellent sense of taste and smell over the last few weeks. 

I've now resumed taking the daily curcumin (1g in the morning and 1g in the afternoon) and am also using the capsaicin spray from time to time.

There has been only one significant negative outcome so far. Over the Christmas and holiday break – with the inevitable increase in alcohol consumption – I found that my sense of smell was temporarily disappearing, and did not reappear until the effects of the alcohol had worn off, the next day. (Perhaps caused by the alcohol causing inflammation in the area around the cribriform plate, in the upper nasal passages.)

Planning for the future, I could simply put up with this temporary anosmia – or perhaps judiciously make use of inhaled or systemic corticosteroids in advance of any planned drinking 'sessions'. 

However, I'm not sure whether that is a medically advisable approach, so will consult my doctor.

Day 73 – 24 December 2013:

Since ceasing the curcumin, there has been no discernible effect. My sense of smell is completely normal, as far as I can tell, with no sign of any anosmia or rhinitis symptoms.

I have also stopped using the capsaicin spray on a regular basis, to see how it goes.

Day 66 – 17 December 2013:

I have had some concerns about the curcumin, particularly the possibility of side effects with long term use. It is also quite expensive. 

I am not convinced it is still doing anything at this stage, and have decided to discontinue it altogether forthwith. I will keep a supply on standby, and if symptoms return will take large doses. 

From this point, I will also cut back slightly on the capsaicin spray – to around once every 7 days.

Systemic or inhaled corticosteroid medication will only be used as a last resort. Still no sign of any symptoms returning though.

Day 63 – 14 December 2013:

It is over a month since I last used inhaled corticosteroids, and almost two months since I completed the original Prednisone course. My sense of smell remains excellent, without using conventional medication. 

Of course, the question remains: has my sense of smell returned 100% – and how can I tell? To answer that question, I would estimate that, most of the time, it is roughly equivalent to the way it performs when taking Prednisone – which is about as good as it gets. (My recent experience with Prednisone enabled me to approximately 'calibrate' this level.)

I think my sense of smell is also approximately equivalent to the way it was, long ago, before I started having issues with inflammatory anosmia. If I cast my mind back to my 'pre-anosmia' days, I can recall that it was always at its best in the daytime, and tended to fade slightly in the evening. 

Now that I have had a chance to evaluate it a little more, it has reverted to this behaviour, i.e. late in the evening, it can still fade a little, and can also be knocked around by external factors such as alcohol consumption or a smoky environment. 

However, there no longer seems to be an 'internal' factor causing inflammation, so there is no way I could now describe myself as 'anosmic'. 

If anything, my nasal passages are better now, because symptoms of rhinitis have also disappeared, and my nose rarely runs or is heavily blocked.

I continue to take curcumin tablets daily, and to use the capsaicin-based nasal spray every four or five days. My supply of Rinar is nearly finished, and I will soon be switching to a product from Europe called Capsinol.

I have recently refined my technique slightly when administering the capsaicin spray. After adopting the 'Mecca' position for between 30 and 60 seconds, I then stare at the ceiling for another 30 seconds or so. This enables the remaining liquid to run down the back of my throat – thus helping to distribute the liquid into rear-most parts of the nasal cavity.