Oral steroids/Allergy immunotherapy Question

[Corriel]

Happy weekend folks!

For the first time in my life I seem to be having a sinus issue that does not seem to be responding to nasal corticosteroids, OTC allergy meds and sinus rinsing. The post nasal drip is still going steady after 5 months of treatment. I had 2 colds during that time and the last one resulted in a sinus infection.

After antibiotics, things cleared up a lot but the drip and headaches are persisting. My GP says if I have nasal polyps that I may need oral prednisone to get things under control but if it is allergies and OTC meds aren't helping I may need to do immunotherapy shots.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these treatment options?

Thanks!
Corrie

I will be getting a sinus x-ray to see what is going on but in the meantime I am concerned about oral steroids when I am not having a relapse.

With respect to the allergy immunotherapy I am unclear on how much (if at all) the treatment would impact my immune system

[Corriel]

Hi dv!  I wanted to start NAET testing for environmental allergies because no one in my area seems to do the scratch tests anymore.  

I was noticing upper eyelid puffiness that came and went about a year ago and my optometrist thought that maybe NAET was something I should look into.

Interestingly, for NAET they start on food sensitivities first and dairy was a strong one.  I cut it out almost 3 months ago and ironically that's when my latest cold hit before it turned into a sinus infection.  :)

I was OK with wheat and since this has been an issue since May, everyone (GP, NAET specialist, optometrist) seems to think seasonal allergies can be ruled out so the dust and dust mites are looking like my likely culprits.

Thanks for sharing, I am looking forward to eliminating the rest of my food issues so we can start the environmental factors.  Fingers crossed!!

Corrie

[Corriel]

Thanks ess!  I don't know why they are doing an x-ray instead of a CT except maybe to see if there is something to refer me to an ENT who will then do a CT...

I did allergy testing years ago and had dust and dust mites but they had never bothered me before.  My apartment has carpet but I have been considering moving lately to find a place with a/c since I have no luck with portable units (they're always breaking down).

Good to know that the shots won't hurt things if that is a route I have to take.  I also smoke and while I am sure that contributes to the issue, I am not convinced it is the cause, though I do need to refocus my next attempt at smoking cessation.  :)

Corrie

[doublevision1]

Hi Corrie, I started having the same problem in the past year or so. Prior to that, never had any issues with allergies or sensitivities. Earlier this year I made some dietary changes to improve my energy and lose a little weight, and I noticed my sinus issues completely went away. Did some travelling, went back to previous eating habits, got all stuffed up again. Went back on the diet, sinuses again cleared up. Last night, had pizza and sweets, woke up completely stuffed  up and sneezing all day. It seems to be wheat, dairy and sugar that are triggers for me. You might consider trying an elimination diet to see if diet is the cause or a contributing factor in your allergy issues. Another perk to eliminating -  well, more like reducing - these foods is that my digestion is so much better. Good luck. Hope you find the cause and a cure for it.

[essdipity]

Hi Corrie. Sounds like the story of my life:-)

I find I can't use nasal allergy sprays, prescription or not. What always seem to happen is that they cause awful post nasal drip, which I wind up coughing out in big wads. Yuck. Sorry to be so gross.

After enough of that I just can't get rid of the cough. My allergist was pretty sure I don't have infections from it, but all I know is that 3 times now on Z-Pack (antibiotic), within a few days the problem clears up 95% and becomes quite manageable. Even without sprays this can happen to me, having crappy heredity in terms of allergies.

My main allergy is to house dust, not the mites but the dust itself. I do a reasonable job of keeping dust at bay (will never win any housekeeping awards though), and have removed all carpeting, had the furnace and duct work professionally cleaned, etc. Big bucks. My allergist says an air cleaner thingy won't work, as after 20 minutes it will keep on cleaning the clean air but can't deal with the actual dust in the air.

And as to shots, I can have them for my other allergies (certain pollen, feathers, mold) but not for the dust, because there are no standards as to what it should contain. Arrgh. I guess there are lots of different kinds of dust.

Anyway, I decided against that, so don't have experience to report. I do know a lot of people who've gotten the shots, some with good results, some not. But allergy shots will not affect your immune system in the way that you fear. Allergies are the body's way disproportionate reaction to harmless outside agents, and the shots introduce minute but increasing amounts of the allergen. The hope is that the body won't really notice, but gradually gets accustomed to whatever it is, deciding ultimately that it's not a threat.

With autoimmune disorders, there's no outside agent--it's our own bodies. So this starts up a totally different set of responses, as we know only too well. But it's another kettle of fish entirely. You should discuss this with your allergist, though, if you're not sure.

A sinus x-ray may not show much about what's going on there. The standard for this is the CT scan, which can tell you with certainty what's happening in this most annoying region of our noggins.I'd be a bit wary about starting prednisone without first having a scan. My experience has been that the oral meds didn't do much, and once off them the problem just got worse again.

Also, steroids on an ongoing basis are not a good idea at all. Usually the dose isn't strong enough to be effective, and meanwhile they can lead to loss of bone density. Plus of course as an anti-inflammatory they can negatively impact our normal immune systems, leaving us more open to infection. And long-term steroids suppress the natural systems we need, so coming off them abruptly can cause a major health crisis. Quix wrote about all of this in her health page, Steroids, Friend Or Foe. If you can find the health pages, please read that one. If not, I'll find it for you. MedHelp has hidden these thoroughly but they're still out there.

ess