Hello,
Thank you for getting back to me with your response, I greatly appreciate it.
When going through all of this 'stomach stuff' with my doctor, GI doctor, surgeon, etc. they all said no Crohn's, no IBS, no glucouse / wheat intolerance, no H-pylori (sp). So I gather this is good news.
At the allergist last week he did tell me that it is quite common for people to get an upset stomach from PND (oh joy). He found out that I have an allergy to mold and this entire weekend was a very bad weekend for me. I was nauseated, headache, stuffy, and my stomach feels worse when I lay down as it all drains into the back of my throat into my stomach.
When I was at the ENT last about 6 weeks ago as a result of all of this he did another CT scan as he was concerned that perhaps the blockage that he opened up became blocked and everything looks 100% fine - no swelling, no blockage, etc.
I was at first suffering from sinusitus (sp) and I was having sinus infections that were often caused by allergies. Now the ENT believes I am suffering from rhinitis (sp) from allergies since I complain of post nasal drip, my nose runs both into my throat and from my nose so he felt an allergist might be best.
I am still using the nasal rinse, and I also use a vaporizer, and I'm on a nasal spray to help the post nasal drip but this weekend truly has been miserable and today isn't great either based on the rain.
Thanks for your help hopefully I'll get this sorted out someday!
I was able to find only one reference to a possible relationship between chronic sinusitis and inflammatory bowel disease (see the following). These are not uncommon diseases and so their occurrence together in this report does not demonstrate a cause and effect. If there is, however, that might account for the abdominal symptoms occurring at a time contiguous with the flare-up of your sinus disease. One form of inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s Disease, is limited to the small intestine about 1/3 of the time and so might not be evident on colonoscopy. You might want to ask the GI specialist who did your colonoscopy if Crohn’s Disease or some variant of it might explain your abdominal symptoms. The good new is that, “all stomach stuff is fine.” If that truly is the case, you may not wish to pursue the issue of your abdominal symptoms any further, at this time.
I suspect that the original cause of your sinus disease, “blocked sinus” has recurred or is “acting up” and resulting in increased post-nasal drip. You may need careful exam of your nose and sinuses and probably a CT Scan of your sinuses
Good luck
Reference:
TITLE: Chronic sinonasal disease in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
AUTHORS:Book, David T. Smith, Timothy L. McNamar, Justin P. Saeian, Kia. Binion, David G. Toohill, Robert J.
INSTITUTION: Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA.
SOURCE: American Journal of Rhinology. 17(2):87-90, 2003 Mar-Apr.
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the possible relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and chronic sinonasal disease.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken of 241 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis from a tertiary medical center IBD clinic. Patient demographic data and information regarding IBD diagnosis and management, sinonasal disease diagnosis and management, and complications related to these diagnoses were gathered by retrospective chart review and a standardized patient survey.
RESULTS: One hundred sixty surveys (67%) were returned and analyzed. Overall 48% of patients with IBD reported chronic sinonasal disease symptoms. Patients with CD had a higher prevalence of sinonasal disease than patients with ulcerative colitis (53% versus 32%; p < 0.02). The subgroup of CD patients with obstructive bowel complications had the highest prevalence of sinonasal disease (68% versus 27%; p = < 0.001), with 23% reporting chronic rhinosinusitis, 13% reporting chronic rhinitis, and an additional 32% reporting chronic nasal or sinus symptoms.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of chronic sinonasal disease is elevated in patients with IBD, occurring in approximately one-half of patients followed at a tertiary IBD center. Patients with CD experiencing obstructive complications had significantly increased rates of sinonasal disease. The relationship between chronic sinonasal disease and obstructive CD is not defined, but several hypotheses are generated.