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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / July 2004Nasal Polyp advice
Hi everyone this is my first post as I just registered and need some help and advice on nasal polyps. I have had a really heavy head cold for around about a week. After 3 to 4 days I, when wiping the inside of my left nostril, felt something inside. Thinking this was a build up of muck I had a look to clean it out. What I found was, what the doctor has now confirmed, a polyp. I have been given antibiotics, and a nasal spray. Being from the UK and having the pleasure of the NHS, I wasn't told why I had been given these, could anyone help? Also, my doctors is going to write to a ENT specialist for me, but I still have this head cold. The polyp is totally blocking my left notril and I have a real phobia/fear of suffication. Hence why I have been up since 3am researching. I get three hours sleep, wake up and can't get back off to sleep. Does anyone else suffer from this, if so can you offer me some advice before I go round the bend! Thank you for your time, Richard Shuttlewood > Hi everyone > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Richard Shuttlewood First, don't worry about suffocation from a polyp; it won't happen (I would have been gone long ago). The spray is most likely a steroidal spray to shrink the polyp (it takes several days or more for steroid sprays to start having any effect). Many times it is helpful to precede the steroid spray with such an over-the-counter spray as Afrin to open the passages so that the steroid can get adequate penetration into the sinuses. The doctor has prescribed an antibiotic probably because the blocked nostril has sequestered some secretions, and caused an infection. If the polyp is low enough to be touched externally, then it is relatively simple to have it excised in the doctor's office (should the sprays not work). It is trival, and causes minimal discomfort. However, polyps are like mushrooms--if there's one, there could be others. Has the doctor performed a sinus CT scan or endoscopic exam yet? If so, what did they reveal? Again, don't worry about suffocation--even when sleeping, we are amazingly adaptive, and will just breathe through our mouths if our noses are blocked. Thanks for the advice. Basically, I have never noticed it there before but it if I hold my head back in front of a mirror, you can certainly see it. Tough to discribe as I'm no doctor or surgeon but here goes. from the front of the nose where it is at its widest, the nostril then shrinks up thin (and I assume it opens up again). Well the polyp is just inside the thinner part. When I woke up this morning it had disappear up my nose and I struggled to see it without a very bright light. Within 10 minutes it had moved back down though. Its as though its moving in and out, very bizarre. My Doctor is writing to a ENT specialist so it will be at least a fortnight before I hear anything. I have had no scans yet, nor have they been mentioned. I think the suffocation thing comes from a fear I have. I also still have this very strong head cold which blocks my other nostril and fills my throat with mucous (how lovely does that sound! Maybe I should look into being a romance novelist!). If I wake in the night and bost nostrils are blocked, I lie there worrying about it. There is no chance of me sleeping when I'm all blocked up. I think my main fear is something no-one has any control of and thats the english NHS Health System. I know I'm not a emergency case, nor am I more important than heart treatment for instance. But I fear it will be months and months before this is resolved. > > Hi everyone > > [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] > Again, don't worry about suffocation--even when sleeping, we are amazingly > adaptive, and will just breathe through our mouths if our noses are blocked. You have a rough road ahead of you. You'll need it removed, there is probably more and they will probably come right back. I had a huge amount of them removed in Sept 03 and by Mar 04 they were back. Sense of smell was totally gone. It's early but I am testing Sinus buster now. I am totally amazed at how much better I am. Could be coincidence but within 3 days of starting it, 95-99% of the thick yellow mucus I've been blowing out for half a year is gone. My sense of smell has returned to about 5-10% of normal which is unreal for me. I bought 4 bottles for $10USD each and have used 2 so far. I really think there may some truth to sinus buster. I also tried two bottles of sin-o-fresh but it did nothing for me. I irrigate daily with kosher salt, baking soda and a neilmed bottle. > Hi everyone > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Richard Shuttlewood > You have a rough road ahead of you. You'll need it removed, > there is probably more and they will probably come right back. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > but it did nothing for me. I irrigate daily with kosher salt, > baking soda and a neilmed bottle. . I've tried two bottles of Sin-O-Fresh as well, and it did nothing beyond normal saline. The SinusBuster is interesting. How is the sensation of the capsicum when you first use it? (I love eating hot peppers, but in the nose???) How long before you noticed any positive results? Thanks. >>You have a rough road ahead of you. You'll need it removed, >>there is probably more and they will probably come right back. [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > capsicum when you first use it? (I love eating hot peppers, but in the > nose???) How long before you noticed any positive results? Thanks. Sorry it took so long to respond as I was on vacation. The sensation is pretty powerful as if you inhaled a large amount of pepper. It's uncomfortable but not unbearable. Like they say in the instructions, the sensation is reduced with frequent use. As I said in the original post... It was about 3 days and I felt much better. I lost the bottle for a day when on vacation and felt stuffy and lost my smell. I've been back on it today but no smell yet. I hope I am wrong but that makes me fear that the spray is treating the symptoms and not the illness. I'll post more when I know more. Nasal polyps return with aspirin and aspirin related prodcuts as well as nasal infection. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com Knob, Do you think the Sinus Buster shrinks your polyps so you can smell again? Did the Sinus Buster burn? Mike... > Knob, > > Do you think the Sinus Buster shrinks your polyps so you can smell again? > Did the Sinus Buster burn? > > Mike... I don't know if it shrinks the polyps or not. I do know that I can smell after years of not being able to. I need to make an appointment with my ENT so he can look. He knows the polyps were there so it'll be interesting to see what he finds. I'll post after I see him. I've used 4-5 bottles so far and I use it more often than the instructions say to do. I also bought my last supply 10 bottles at a time since it is $7 versus $10/bottle. Yeah it burns but it's not that bad and it only lasts for 5-10 seconds. You get used to it. I remember when I first tried irrigating! I thought I was going to die! Now it almost feels good. Nasal polyps are quite common. they are essentially a bag of water which retains water and for some reason the water won't leak out. any infection witll enlarge the polyps so that Rx was correct. Polyps shrink with cortisone sprays so that Rx was correct. It may be necessary to give you more antibiotic with a systemic cortisone to clear the polyp or a CT may show many more polyps Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com most persons with nasal polyps are allergic to aspirin and related products. Murray Grossan, M.D. http://www.ent-consult.com |
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