Left side nasal problems, with constant sticky mucus dranaige is killing me!!! Help!

Ears, nose and throat
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For years I´ve struggled with nasal congestion problems, and I managed living with it for years! About two years ago everything changed! The dimensions and sufferings since than have been in such a degree that I totally lost the functionality in my daily life! My complaints are such as constant sticky mucus either clogging or/both building up in my throat at the same time. I suspect this mucus is running back my throat, dripping from my nose. No ENT have detected where the mucus comes from or what the root of the problem is! The mucus is thick and gloomy and makes me to inhale air whith pressure and cough it up in regular basis. I also have such a pain or stinging kind of pain on left side cheek, over my left nostril! The air passes with deep difficulty through left nostril, and the degree of congestion and the pain usually follow each other! There is also a bad taste and odor from this liquid which might be the be mucus or something else! The smell and taste tends to be strongest if it´s been collected for a while before coughing it up!

I Struggle so terribly with sleeping! in average i have 3-4 hour of sleeping from 12-14 hours spending in bed! Total sleepness nights are night uncommen during a week! The few hours I have of sleeping is nothing like what I call normal sleep, because of the diffuclty and limited air passing through! What I notice is that I don´t tolerate physical activity at all, that includes even having a longer walk! It causes my mucosa to be totally on fire, with even more build up of mucus, pain which radiates even to my right side of nose and face. If I choose to try some strenght training at home, I usually have to sleepness night on the road!

The only times I´ve found relief from my symptoms and good breath and being able to sleep like other people, is in very few occations while I´ve been lying in spesific posture! After changing the postures or just getting up from bed, and the mucus, the irritation, the struggling left side nose is back! This part is a big riddle!

I´m in such a despair situation!  No doctors can conlcude what the problem is even after having two ct scans from the nose, laryngoscopy, 24 hours Ph- monitoring, different blood tests, diet, gastroscopy, lung check up with x-ray and so on...

I´ve had 4 surgical procedures in my nose earlier which have been done in Norway by qualifed surgons! My worry is if any destruction my have been done under those surgeries, but no ENT have confirmed that! Some ENT´s have confirmed that the right side of my nose is more open than the left side. But not enough to cause the complaints I have! I don´t really know what to belive! Can my symptoms be due to empty nose syndrome and been overseen??

I´ve had some abdominal problems the recent months without knowing if it´s related! It´s mainly on the right side where the liver and gallblader locate. Other times another kind of pain radiates further down left and right abdomen where my colon is! Can these symptoms be related to my respiratory system? (I´ve also checked my lungs with x-ray, but nothing detected). Can my problems be related to hormonal imbalance? I´ve checked my thyroid. Once it was  a bit to high, I think TSH 4.6, another time was a bit under 4.

Please if there is anyone familiar whith similar symptoms. please let me know! If anyone has any kind of test to recommend, please let me know too! The same goes with any hospital or clinic recommendations abroad which might have a more proactive aproach of examination!

Thanks a lot! 

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Hi there. I'm sorry for your suffering. I am no doctor but here's a few thoughts.

Nasal surgeries carry a risk of long term dryness. Depending on which tissues were removed you might have some ENS symptoms. ENSIA might be a good resource . Some Asian cultures believe the gut and the sinuses are connected. Perhaps a non-western doctor consultation would be valuable.

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Thank you so much! I will take a close look to ENSIA right away. I´ve never heared of it!

Thanks again for your insight!

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sorry to hear you have such an awful problem, but I had blocked nose for 2 years,and I know how horrible it can be.

You mentioned 4 procedures. What were they? 

ENS happens only AFTER a turbinectomy, usually when they cut too much out of it.. Have they cut part of your turbinates? 

You didn't mention allergy tests. Have you had a skin prock test ever done?

Because if there is nothing showing up on your CT, no polyps, no deviated septum, no enlarged turbinates, it sound more like allergy.

You mentioned thyroid, I have Hypothyroidism, and taking thyroxine every day, and don't have any issue with it, it doesn't interfere with my sinus, and I don;t think thryroid would cause those symptoms, however you should get a regular blood test and if you have been dx with thyroid problem, you might need some med. to fix it (easy)

As for abdominal problems, diet could cause nasal congestion, udually dairy is the culprit. You might try cut milk and any dairy food from your diet, I know other people try all sort of different diet,( google diet and nasal congestion)

I'm not holding my breath that it would work for you, but would worth a shot to try.

Easy, cheap and simple thing you might want to try: nasal saline rince, I'm pretty sure you had it after your surgeries, but try to use it regularly.

you could buy an infrared lamp, it helps to reduce inflamation. It's not very expensive and harmless too.

Dust and dust mites are very common allergy problems, you might want to test whether you allergic to it.

You can buy dust mite proof pillows and sheets. If you are allergic to dust mites, and your matress is old, it's very likley you will suffer a great deal from all kind of nasal problems. 

Keep in mind an allergy reveals only part of what you could be allergic to.

For ex. for me it came up positive to dust mites, and pollen, however it wasn't the major cause. I can just guess that it was a combination of high humidity, hot weather and pollen coming from palm trees or sugar cane. They don't have allergy test for it.

My nalsa congestion immediately improved after I moved to a drier climate, I still have some problem at night, one side gets congested, (the lower side) but I'm ok with that. 

I am not sure if you are yousing any decongestant spray, hope you're not, it causes rebound effect meaning you end up with blocked nose no matter what due to overusing it. (they recomend max 3 day)

However if you suffering so badly, you could take pseudoeffedrine from time to time. It opens up your sinuses, but it also could speed up your heart rate, so not to take it before going to sleep. And if you have any kind of heart problem not good either.

I've been done the same road as you, though only had one surgery which didn't help, and it took me 2 years to figure it out.

So my suggestion go with an allergy test first, and if you have a chance move away for at least 2 weeks, and see if that makes any difference at all. If it does, you have an allergy problem where you currently live,

 

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I forgot to mention the obvious. Antihistamies. They dry up all the mucus, I guess you tried it, but just in case you haven't it's definitely something you should try.

And about ENS: I'm not an expert in it but from I heard it's a sensation of congested nose without any physical symptoms. Can only happen after turbinectomy. But you have lots of mucus build up, which doesn't sound to me like ENS.

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One thing that helped me reduce mucus volume was giving up cow's milk and I have replaced it with UNSWEETENED soya "Milk"  for drinks and for cooking. I am not fanatic about it so if i go out and am given a cuppa I accept. I also eat cheese but alternatives are aviailable. Ice cream and cream are big offenders fo stimulating mucus. Soya drink is not expensive and can be cheaper than milk if you look for the supermarket's own brand but I would start with the unsweetend rather than the sweetened or "original". With you gastric pain I would also ask for a food allergy test. Good luck.

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PS to my  previous reply. it was a homoeopath 28 years ago who diagnosed I had a wheat allergy -the cause of excruciating gut pain.i eventually found this appled to gluten in rye  as well. It is now possible to get gluten free food and flour so life at last is much easier and I would now call it an intolerance. I can eat a small amount  of wheat but not every day. By the way if you are a cook and use Dove gluten free flour, which is brilliant, you can substitue the Self Raising easily in cakes etc but it does need a little extra lquid to get up to the normal mix. The Plain flour needs the addition of Xanathan gum. There are loads of recipes on the Dove Farm web site. Oats are OK for me as I understand they do not intrinsically contain gluten unless they have beeen milled in a factory where the apparatus is shared with flour or where the farmer has drown wheat in the next field -which is a bit extreme and would be more relevant to actual coeliacs.

Sorry this is not supposed to be a recipe website but I hope it helps!

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I have the mucous problem you describe, I also have intolerance to gluten also mentioned on here. I use Almond milk Dairy products encourage mucous. I find Soya milk gives me a very fast bowel, in fact most Soya basted product do this to me. 

I have problem sinuses, I use Fexofenidine antihestamine, the best one for me having been through them all. I also take Montilukast for my Asthma. 

About eight weeks ago I had Cystitis and was given two weeks of antibiotic of Cepholexin. Not only did it cure the Cystitis, I could breath through my nose, it was a real thrill. I have not been able to breath through my nose in years. I don't have a sense of smell either, still haven't. I have actually seen another blog on here, where someone else had the same situation as me, with Cystitis and Cepholexin. I am now going back to Dr to ask for another lot of Cepholexin as my blockage has reappeared. I read recently in the Newspaper here in U.K. (Not sure where you are from) Daily  Mirror a regular page by Dr Miriam Stoparge, she says a bad sinus infection can take 6 weeks of antibiotics for a complete recovery. I may even quote her to my doctor too. Or buy them online, here in U.K. We need a doctors prescription to obtain any antibiotics. I see Canada and USA will send to U.K. 

Regards Maureen

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I would echo what the other contributors have said - you might just have to try things in turn... saline rinse, changing bedding, diet (e.g. dairy, gluten elimination) - these things have helped me, together with a fluticasone spray. For the rinse, I use a neti pot with pure salt and xylitol. Definitely worth getting allergy testing if you haven't already. Magnesium supplements (or just a good handful of pumpkin seeds) may help with sleep. Good luck.

 

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Thanks for you comment! I´ve had septem plastic, to cosmetic surgeries and one turbinectomy which was after my complaints started. This was done properly I think at least according to ENTs. I´m a bit too open further inside my nose on the right side! I´ve done loads of allergy tests, also skin tests, actually several times! I´ve also tried diets. The last one was high glymetic low inflammatory diet, with no sugar, maximum one apple a day, no gluten , no dairy and so on.. I continued this diet for 7 weeks with no changes. I also used loads of probiotics, clorella, vitamins and so on..

I´ve also followed all your recommendations!

The fact is that the right side of my nose works perfectly. It´s the left side i struggle to breath through, and have pain! Does this familiar to you?

For me it does not make sense to be any allergy! I´ve also been on high dosage of prednisolon for five days with no affect! 

My life is totally ruined! Believe me!

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I´ve tried some kinds of antihistamines too with no effect! Any particular type you are recommending?

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I´ve tried all these actions! 

Thanks for your insight!

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This was very interesting? How did you get diagnosed for your Cystitis?

Did you suffer from breating from both sides or mostly on one? Do you belive the mucus issue was due to the same conditon?

Thanks!

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Dear Larches, all these measures I´ve been through, belive me!

Thanks for your comment!

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Claritin is the most common antihistamine, there is also a combination: Claritin-D:  contains a combination of loratadine and pseudoephedrine. Loratadine is an antihistamine that reduces the effects of natural chemical histamine in the body. Histamine can produce symptoms of sneezing, itching, watery eyes, and runny nose. The pseudoephedrine in Claritin-D is a decongestant that shrinks blood vessels in the nasal passages. Dilated blood vessels can cause nasal congestion (stuffy nose).

Claritin-D is used to treat sneezing, runny or stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, hives, skin rash, itching, and other symptoms of allergies and the common cold.

Not sure if you can get this combination in your country.

Zyrtec is also a ery popular one. But I'm afraind I can't really which one is better or would work for you. 

Can't say I would recommend one over the other though as for me it didn't help. But it doesn't mean it won't help others

 

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Ok, so you have congestion only on one side, and that's 24/7, right? 

Mine is different , I'm only struggling with one side being congested when I go to bed and turn on my side. Due to the gravitation all the mucus go down that way and blood vessels  possibly also swell up a bit. As soon as I get up, it clears up, Never 100% though, but almost which I'm ok with.

The pain you have could be from the mucus building up. When I get congested on one side, for me it's not so much of a pain, but I can feel it's stretching my nose and feels quite uncomfortable.

I would think a constant one side congestion would more likley to be due to deviated septum or polyp than allergy. My cousing had that, and he had a surgery which didnt help him. I'm not sure how severe his symptoms were. But if you had a recent CT and didn't show anything at all, maybe what you have is a combination of a mild deviated septum and allergies, but really I'm just guessing.

I hear a lot that ENTs are jumping to do surgeries one after the other, when I went to see an ENT he suggested to go through three more procedures, but I opted out, and I'm glad I did, cause mine now is more or less solved by relocating to a different climate area.

Some ENTs , especially private ones tend to push patients for more surgeries, just to make more moneyout of them unfortunately. 

Try Claritin-D which has pseudoephedrine in it. 

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Hi again, I really appreciate your time spending on my issue!

My breating is far more troublesome during nights without "almost" any exeptions! Durig the days I don´t  care that much, can always breath through  my mouth And it´s only the left side! The stuffiness which may appear on the right side some very few times is a natural kind which is not bothersome at all! As I wrote on one of my earlier comments, there are times where the airways are open and my throat is somewhat clear. Tha may last from minutes to a few hours and this only happens while I´m lying in bed in a spesific postion. As soon as i change my position, the symptos are back again! That´s a big question, why?? So these characters do not correspond with a diviated septum, or do they, I´m not sure! I know my septum has a slight bend on the end, with doctors not supporting that being an issue!

And what is the bad, bitter taste and smell from the mucus? And my mucus dranaige is so thick and like a string! Sorry if I disgust you!

Regarding the surgons at the private sectors, I couldn´t agree more! They are just a money machine! So it´s hard to belive what to do and who to belive in these days!

I´ve tried different cortisone sprays, and one which is called Dymista which I belive is the same as Claritin-D. They have both fluticasone! I had no effect! I even have tried prednisolon which iI think is the strongest cortisone!

My issue is mysterious! I can´t think of living with these problems rest of my life! Some doctors belive this is a mental issue! Have your heared of something like that?  For me this is insulting and ridiculous! I don´t find any support for such an argument!

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Yes I've hear many time DRs saying for something they don't have a clue of that it's psychological. That's a complete rubbish! 

Dymista  is different from Claritin-D, it doesn't have pseudoeffedrine in it.

Careful with it, it's not a very long term med either! 

The fact that from changing position clears your sinuses might suggest that the mucus is going where the gravitation takes it, that's probably why you find that sometimes it clears up. But you got too much and very thick musuc, so it doesn't go away, just goes to a different area. Once you get up, the mucus travels down again, like you open and close a tap. 

The question you have to figure out, why do you have that musuc build up. Is it form that slight bend in your septum, - I would give another go with a specialist or someone who can analyse a sinus CT - or it's just an unknown allergy causing it. Or maybe both.

There's also Nonallergic rhinitis, which is a term used by DRs for the same symptoms as allergic rhinitis, the only differene that while allergic one has a definite cause like pollen, dust mites, etc, the cause for Nonallergic rhinitis is unknown. DRs made up a nice word for it, basically saying they don't have the slightest clue what's your problem is.

Nonallergic rhinitis is usually treated with steroid sprays. Sometime it works sometimes it doesn't, which is not surprising as without knowing the cause how could you really treat something effectively.

I flew across the country to figure out that I had a definite problem with something where I used to live before. Possibly some sort of pollen, not included in any allergy test. 

Your best shot I think is ruling that it has anything to do with any kind of allery. As you tried different diet, cut out dairy, that still leaves a possibility to other allergies like dust, or some type of pollen, animal hair, etc. You don't have a cat in your house, right?

A would strongly recommend to buy an infrared heat lamp, I got a Beurer brand, It's really not that expensive, and definitely worth a shot. It might help to clear that thick mucus. 

google: "infrared heat lamp breuer" . You can also buy cheaper brands.

 

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Hi. Yes I have a similar story. I was diagnosed with auto immune disorder 13 years ago. The start of my journey was with ent for similar sinus issues. I was also diagnosed with IBS which I didn't have. Various other symptoms. When I was diagnosed it sll came together. Symptoms I thought were untelated. The start of diagnosis for me was with a good rheumatologist. Have your esr crp and ana blood levels checked. Good luck.

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Oh and I also had years of recurring uti's.....also connected x