Beamotta's interview
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How did all start?
It started as a cough, non-stop, and I didn’t even realize how poorly I was breathing or how diminished my sense of smell was. I’ve had chronic cough my whole life, but never none stop like this time
Do you already have a diagnosis? How long did it take you to get it?
It took about a year of doctors trying to tell me that it was my reflux and treating me with Prilosec 2x/day. I finally had a CT scan of lungs and sinus which showed some scars in the lungs and completely blocked sinus. Saw the head and neck surgeon who was the first to ask if I still had a sense of smell, that is when I noticed how diminished it was. By the time Ihad surgery few months later, it was gone. After the surgery I was able to smell my cats food and whiffs every now and then. A month after surgery symptoms all came back, and doctors now think that severe allergies cause respiratory infections. They also keep telling me that sense of smell will not come back, but I cannot make them concerned about it.
For what medical specialties have you been treated? What has been the most useful specialty for your?
Gastric Allergy Pulmonologist Head and neck surgeon The pulmonologist was the most useful, since he first pursued the sinus CT scan & the surgery helped. It was also the pulmonologist who sent me back to the allergist when the infection came back.
What has been the most useful thing for you so far?
Nothing has really worked for either the Anosmia or the chronic cough
What have been your biggest difficulties?
Manage my frustration. I was on Montelukast for about a year, which affected my concentration, made me very anxious and angry all the time. After almost 2 years of struggle, I lost my job after losing my temper in a meeting
How has your social and family environment reacted? Have your social or family relationships changed?
The Anosmia was lost in my chronic cough. I experienced that loss pretty much alone, since family and friends could only focus in one thing. Since being out of work, I have been able to do more research on Anosmia, and to discuss it with my social group.
What things have you stopped doing?
Besides working, not much I still cook for my family, and try to have meals together.
What do you think about the future?
I haven’t. It is hard for me to find a new identity of not being healthy
So far, which years have been the best years in your life? What have you done during them?
Long bike rides and hikes with my husband, gardening, and aerial training. I still do most of these things, but the allergies get in the way, as the lack of aerobic fitness
What would you like to do if you didn’t have your condition?
I really don’t think that either the Anosmia or the respiratory issues will keep me from doing what I like, but I will need to figure out how and to adapt
If you had to describe your life in a sentence, what would it be?
Lucky
Finally, what advice would you give to a person in a similar situation?
Get informed, find people like you, and get your mojo back when you are ready
