Chronic nasal congestion, fainting and additional symptoms

[ariel729]

Hello,

My girlfriend, a woman in her early twenties, has been suffering from multiple (seemingly unrelated) symptoms for quite a while. Multiple doctors had been approached over time, however, to no avail; no concrete, coherent diagnosis could ever be obtained.

My girlfriend suffers from chronic, acute nasal congestion and low blood pressure. Also, should she not have her meals in a timely manner, she might eventually faint (which indeed occurred in the past – then she would faint several times throughout a single day). Currently, my girlfriend takes great care at eating regular meals (at regular intervals) – thus avoiding the recurrence of such situations as much as possible (which raises my suspicion lest low blood sugar levels are possibly to blame here). It is also apparent that her olfaction is somewhat flawed, for that she often is unable to tell different odors apart (although certain perfumes might still make her feel nauseous for some reason, despite her not being able to distinguish between them). Conversely, she states that her sense of taste is impeccable.
My girlfriend had also told me that kissing causes temporary relief in her nasal congestion. Similarly, swimming at sea might also cause similar relief.

The doctor who had previously treated my girlfriend suspected Syncope (with respect to her fainting symptom); however, this is a rather general and inconclusive diagnosis which does not necessarily indicate the underlying cause for all the aforementioned symptoms. Additionally, more assumptions had been brought up, including allergies and/or sensitivity to certain, unknown, common compound – although no progress had ever been achieved in this regard. Ultimately, out of frustration, my girlfriend had abandoned her search for diagnoses, while deciding to “adapt” to the present situation. She has never sought diagnosis since.

It is also noteworthy that in the past (several years ago), my girlfriend had underwent a surgical removal of nasal polyps and septoplasty (both of which were carried out during a single procedure), however, to no avail – neither of these procedures resulted in any significant improvement in her symptoms.

The present situation significantly degrades my girlfriend’s quality of life and it is my sincere wish to find her cure and relief. I will be indebted for any advice and/or reference.

Kindest Regards,
Ariel

[ariel729]

Hello and thank you very much for your prompt reply!

I am not aware of any glucose tests which were performed at any given point, so, perhaps, this might indeed be a good idea! – Yet, one thing is puzzling me immensely: The fact that she is able to manage these "attacks" simply by means of timely food consumption should, in itself, be indicative that this is not a case of Hyperglycemia (as the consumption of food generally raises glucose levels, not lowers them – and had hers already been elevated, such course of action would not have positive implications on her condition, as it does in our case). On the other hand, Hypoglycemia should be extremely unlikely given the pertinent circumstances since she is not in any risk group to develop such a disorder (she never had any Type 1 diabetes Insulin injections whatsoever, etc.) However, everything I mentioned above is pure speculation, as I am not a healthcare specialist. She will hopefully get herself tested in this regard.

As for the polyps – that indeed might be a possibility. However, she claims that the surgery had never resulted in any significant improvement. An otolaryngological examination might still be in order, though. Yet, to my understanding, polyps could very well develop as a direct consequence to an allergic reaction – so that, in any case, would be a very temporary treatment. There comes the other problem – figuring out the exact nature of the allergy, should that even be the case.
I am not aware of any sleep apnea diagnosis, though still, some mild snorting is audible still. With respect to sense of smell – same thing here; she cannot smell perfume, yet, some brands might still make her feel nauseous, thereby, I presume, she is “sensing” them without actually smelling them. My girlfriend had been prescribed steroidal nasal spray (“Flixonase”) in the past; however, it had only continuously aggravated her symptoms, so that she had to cease spraying it.

Comprehensive allergy tests had been performed in the past, without yielding any conclusive results – so we’re lost here: all symptoms point at Perennial Allergic Rhinitis, however, allergy tests came back all negative. I suspect that this could be due to a laboratory error and these tests should be re-done in order to affirm the previous results – however, again, that is pure speculation.

I am looking for a definitive (as much as possible) course of action, since we all are very puzzled.

Thanks again for your elaborative reply!

[Canary94]

Sorry I know it's been 5 years but did you ever figure out what was wrong? I have the same symptoms. I'm a 22F. I have chronic congestion every single day for the past 5+ years and can never breathe. My only relief is regularly using my OTC nose spray which I've gotten dependent on. I also get feverish feeling/fatigue/headaches. These all seem to be unrelated symptoms but they must be connected in some way. I have a history of fainting as well when I don't eat properly or are under the weather and hence wasn't eating properly. No doctors have been able to help me at all. I have a suspicion though that my adrenal glands are off. Originally I thought that I have low blood pressure because this is what doctors have said to me growing up, but in fact, by blood pressure drops when I stand up, (usually BP raises when your body exerts itself). This is called orthostatic hypotension. Maybe this is what your GF has, and its not just low BP. I think there's a problem with the way my body reacts to stress (physically stress on it like standing up, walking, moving around suddenly, waking up) and isn't releasing adrenaline properly.

Please let me know if you ever found a solution for your GF.

-S

[ducky406]

I'm not very familiar with low blood pressure and it's causes but has shee been tested for diabetes? You said you suspected her blood sugar was low, perhaps it's too low for her but still in "ok" ranges according to medical averages. Sometimes even when you're within "normal limits" it's not enough for your body. I know this is true with many other tests, so it might be true for blood sugar. A lengthy glucose test, which studies how her body handles and uses the sugar may help rule it out. These tests are really quite a pain, so it might take arm twisting. But if she has any other symptoms of diabetes type I or II it's worth ruling out as it can permanently damage your system if left uncontrolled. There are also several other metabolic conditions that may need to be ruled out if they haven't been already.

Is it possible her polyps grew back? She may need to get an scan done to make sure that it isn't scar tissue or more polyps causing her problems.

My mom has some nasal polyps which aggravates her sleep apnea and allergenic rhinitis, as well as causes nasty migraines if she gets a cold. She also has very little sense of smell, but is allergic to perfume and can sense it without smelling it. My mother is able to control the majority of the symptoms via a prescription nasal spray, so she has never had them removed. If any of ^ sounds familiar, perhaps she has allergies and needs an allergy test. It is possible to be allergic to fragrance and some other odd things you wouldn't normally think of. So even if she has been tested against the regular ones (tree, animal, weeds, dust, and mold) it's still possible she has allergies. Also sometimes you can develop allergies later in life, so perhaps she has become allergic to things she tested negative for. Either way she may need a comprehensive allergy test done.