Is dryness of the nose and post nasal drip related to hypothyroidism or is it hormonal?

[alfonsina]

The story is that I have been hypo since my teens, my symptoms started at that time. I was diagnosed in my early 20s, but did not get any treatment until now, many years later.
In my teens I started to feel this awful post nasal drip that did not let me to do anything. I had  sneezing and stuffy nose.

When I started to take the birth control my hypo symptoms got better, including my post nasal drip. I had a septum surgery to improve  breathing but my post nasal drip got so bad after that I can not exercise like a normal person. Winter is horrible for me. It is me and tissue everywhere. I sneeze and have a lot of crusting.

I have no allergies (I have been tested) and ENT says the dryness produce the excess of mucus. But where is all this dryness coming from? Is it my thyroid? I have dry ears, dry scalp, dry eyes, dry skin, dry mouth,  and dry nose and crusting in all these places (except the eyes and mouth  :-))

I just reached some normal lab test (increasing very slowly my Ft3 and FT4, my TSH is 0.00) and not been in the same dose for more than 4 weeks yet.

I wonder if this is not hormonal related, since progesterone and estrogen play a rol in rhinitis, (pregnant women)
I am not sure if I shoul go to see my GYN and ask for hormonal tests although I am not menopausal yet.

I have always thought is thyroid related but I have not gotten any better (my other hypo symptoms either).

I am just losing patients because it is a 24 hours problem, it never stops!

I have been searching in this forum and on the Web but I have not found much information. I have been at least with 10 or more ENT and tried medicines but nothing works.

I am not taking the birth control pill anymore.

[Caghylin]

Your story sounds familiar to me. Started with dry mouth, developed horrible thick post nasal drp. Have hyperthyroidism. ENT said problem is flucuauating thyroid hormones. Tsh started at .001. T3 or t4, one of them too high. Have no allergies, use Flonase. Have laryngeal spasm from so much drainage. Going thru menopause with hot flashes and sweats. Supposed to start Estrogen pill next week. Problem has been plaguing me since Oct. also have sore throat from Gerd, which flared up when I stopped medicine because it had dry mouth side effect. Have thyroid related sptoms as well. Am 50 years old am am miserable.

[alfonsina]

It is good news that the doctor you saw at Mayo Clinic thought the general drynes it might be related to being hypo (even more if we all were tested for allergies and came up negative).

As a woman I have read many times that nose inflamation (that can cause dryness)  is related to pregnancy, menstrual cycle and other hormonal fluctuations.

But if that were 100% true every woman would suffer the terrible dryness ( nd other symptoms) I experience.

It might be related, but it must be something else too.

I believe hypo give us swelling, crusting and dryness but I have not read one single comment about a succesful thyroid treatment in this area.

I think you should request a copy of your tests and review the results.

[gimel]

Just because it is mostly a female problem doesn't mean we can't participate also.  They shouldn't be allowed to have everything to themselves.  LOL

When you said "the thyroid test came back normal",  I immediately assumed that it was a TSH  test.  If so, I thought you might like to read my post from earlier today.
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Since you are in London, if you had a thyroid test done a couple of years ago, chances are it was only for TSH.  There are a couple of problems with that.  First TSH is a pituitary hormone that is affected by so many variables that it is totally inadequate as a diagnostic by which to determine thyroid status and medication.  Second, I'd bet my last dollar that the reference range was at least .5 - 5.0, or maybe an even higher upper limit.  Over 8 years the Amer. Assn. of Clinical Endocrinologists recognized that old range needed to be corrected.  Since then they have recommended a range of .3 - 3.0.

Beyond all that,  TSH should be nothing more than an indicator, to be considered along with more important indicators such as symptoms, as well as levels of the actual, biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4.  FT3 is the most important because it is four times as active as FT4, plus studies have shown that FT4 correlates best with hypo symptoms.  TSH did not correlate at all with hypo symptoms.

I don't know how difficult it is for you to get adequate thyroid testing done in the UK.  If possible, then I would insist and make sure they are testing for FT3 and FT4 (Not total T3 and total T4), along with TSH.  If there is a thyroid problem, it likely would be due to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which can be detected by testing for thyroid antibodies, with TPO ab and TG ab.  

Based on my own experience and what I have learned here, I firmly believe that the very best way for a doctor to treat a thyroid patient is to test and adjust levels of FT3 and FT4 with whatever type of meds required to relieve symptoms, without being constrained by resultant TSH levels.  Symptom relief should be all important, not TSH level.  Here is a link that I think might be beneficial to you.
http://www.hormonerestoration.com/Thyroid.html

Do you think you can push your doctor to do the above testing?  If so, then please do so and get a copy of the actual lab report and post here, along with reference ranges, and members will be glad to help interpret.  

Along with that I think you need to find out if your doctor is going to be willing to treat your symptoms in the manner I described above,  If not, then you will need to start looking for a good thyroid doctor that will do so.  From the experience of Forum members who live in the UK, that may be very difficult, so I would start the search right away.
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After you read all this, including the link, if you have further questions or comments, then I suggest that you post them under a new thread by clicking on the Post a Question button at the top of the page.  That way you will get lots more notice and input from our many experienced members.

[JohnWdm]

I hope you are all still posting here.  I too have the same dry nose problem.  I've been to a dozen ENT's as well.  They were not sympathetic.  I was lucky to find a dr at the Mayo Clinic (yes it's that bad...as you know) who asked me if I was hypothyroid.  He said that hypothyroid problems could very well be the problem.  Tested me for allergies and negative.  Thyroid NORMAL!  When the thyroid TSH test came back normal, then I was told that I probably needed to be put on anti depressant medicine!  I have the ear pain, poping, painful nose with burning inside, also all the other symptoms of hypo.

I am back at square one.  Oh, I am a man as well so I get the lecture that this is mostly a female problem.

[alfonsina]

Does the daily nasal wash work for you?

Tired of the whole thing I went to see an ENT (number 15 or so). He looked at my nose, looked at my most recent x-rays of the nose and said: "I think it is allergies."

I told him I am not allergic to anything (being tested) and he anyway gave me a nasal spray (I have tried them all, do not work) and some saline.

I have crusting, post nasal drip and runny nose, along with some swelling. My ears are dry and I have pain in one of them, doctor said it is wax... but it hurts! I said.

I was hoping meds for hypo will help in this department but I still feel, in general, pretty hypo.

Dou you think Synthroid is helping you with hypo? just thinking about the dry skin you mentioned.

[gimel]

It could be that the Synthroid does not relieve your symptoms because you are either not taking enough, or your body is not converting the T4 med to T3 adequately.  The most important tests to have done are for the actual, biologically active thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4 (FT3 and FT4, not total T3 and total T4).  Many of our members report that symptoms relief required that FT3 was adjusted into the upper part of its range and fT4 was adjusted to at least midpoint of its range.

If you will please post whatever thyroid test results you have and their reference ranges, then our many experienced members can advise further.

[les1213]

I am hypothyroid after a thyroidectomy 2 years ago.  My nose is very, very dry along with my ears, skin, etc.  I use a nasal wash daily as many times as possible.  I don't know if the dryness and the thyroid condition are related.  I can't seem to get an answer from anyone.  If it is connected, the Synthroid does not eliminate the symptom - at least not  for me.

[alfonsina]

Thank you for you answer.

Yeah, I do not think there are many people out there with this problem or interested in it. That is why I posted this question to see if I can relate to some succesful story.

It is really annoying and it is one of the things that I am hoping improves  with treatment.

I guess I will wait a little longer at a stable dose and  see what happens. If it does not resolve I will have my sex hormones checked.

It is really driving me nuts.

I am going to get Barnes Broda's book and see if I find more information (hope). There is nothing on Internet, except a lot of research in dogs and pigs with hypothyroidism.

[compnet]

I recall someone on the forum saying that their allergies improved or cleared up after thyroid treatment.

"Is dryness of the nose and post nasal drip related to hypothyroidism or is it hormonal?"
I think yes, and yes.  Thyroid is hormonal.