Nasal swelling problems

[need help 33]

Hello, PLEASE try to help me find an answer. For at least 3 years now, the turbinates in my nose are constantly and severly swolen. I hardly can breath through my nose. No matter where I go they're allways like this. The one and only thing that opens up my nose is intense cardio-vascular exercise. During and for an hour or so after my workout at the gym, where I get my heart rate up to 170 for 30 minutes on average, my nose opens up and my headache improves dramatically. I am positive my headaches are related. But I've had a negative brain MRI, sinus CT, and allergy testing, and nobody can tell me why. I can look up my own nose and see the lower turbinates both sides swolen and touching the inner wall of my nose, and after I exercise I can look and the inferior turbinates go down and I can see the next set of turbinates severely swolen and pressing into the nasal wall.    I've seen an ENT and neurologist allready who don't have answers, except for turbinate surgery that I would prefer to avoid.

Again my main question is given that I've had these tests done, and the swelling only goes away after intense exercise, what is causing this? PLEASE help because the headaches are unbearable and constant.

Thanks medhelp

[National Jewish]

It is hard to understand how intense exercise makes the swelling go down.  It would be more likely that the swelling would increase following such activity.  Nevertheless, it appears that the swelling has a vascular basis to it.  You might speak to your physician about trying a 1-week course of twice daily nasal inhaled steroids.  Taking a somewhat higher dose might have the same effect of decreasing the swelling.  It is worth a try.