Dear People’s Pharmacy: I used Nasalcrom for only a few weeks before I realized I had lost the ability to detect smells. I stopped using it immediately, and luckily, after many months, some sense of smell returned. However, it is not back to normal, and I am upset about it. Two different doctors have told me that Nasalcrom is safe enough to eat. Maybe it is, but I don’t think it is safe to spray up your nose.
Dear Reader: Although nothing in the official information on Nasalcrom suggests it affects the sense of smell, you are not the only person who recognized the problem. Another reader reports:
“I was surprised to see that at least one other person in this world had suffered the same side effect of Nasalcrom that I did. I was prescribed Nasalcrom for allergies to various pollens for five years. I am no longer able to discern certain scents such as the odor they add to natural gas to enable people to detect leaks. I also cannot smell various perfumes and colognes. This is not entirely a bad thing, but it is disconcerting.”
Now that Nasalcrom is available over the counter, many more people will be using this nasal spray for their allergies. If loss of ability to smell certain odors is a potential complication, people should be warned about it.
Dear People’s Pharmacy: I am sick and tired of dealing with high blood pressure.
Most of the drugs my doctor prescribed made me feel awful. Propranolol slowed me down and ruined my sex life. Hydrochlorothiazide messed up my potassium. Prinivil made me cough and so did Lotensin.
Cardizem CD brought my blood pressure down to about 140/85, but it sometimes makes me dizzy. Now my doctor wants me to change to Adalat CC because of insurance. What’s the story on it? Will I ever get off these drugs?
Dear Reader: Controlling blood pressure reduces the risk of stroke or heart attack. With the right treatment, you may avoid side effects such as dizziness that can lead to a fall.
Adalat CC and Cardizem CD are somewhat similar. You would have to try Adalat to see if it too makes you dizzy or produces flushing, headache or swollen ankles.
The People’s Pharmacy appears every Thursday. Write Joe and Teresa Graedon at 235 E. 45th St., New York, NY 10017 or e-mail them at (pharmacy(AT)mindspring.com).
