Thick yellow post nasal drip, why?

@303wendy-

That is interesting additional info.

People w/ allergies naturally have a weakened epithelium barrier. Doesn’t mean there is anything wrong, just means more sensitive.

Your allergist sounds like they are well equipped to help you in that area of the mold issues if that has been playing a factor.

So many people have mold sensitivities. Was anyone else around you affected?

Either way I’m so sorry you are dealing with this.
I do believe that our nasal/sinus lining is so delicate, even more so in an allergic type person.

One ENT explained it to me like this. Someone with low level but stable Rhinosinusitis has sinus epithelium that has developed a “callus” of defense so to speak. With sinus surgery this callus is removed and new epithelium has to form as brand new and get used to a brand new way to defend. This is why allergic patients just don’t do as well with sinus surgery because the new epithelium sometimes just doesn’t have the capacity to fend off all the new things coming its way.

I know you are tired of explaining “symptoms” but what are the worst symptoms that you are still dealing with today?

Oral prednisone has also done nothing for me either.

Are your nasal passages clear now?

Something else to add in-once you are a post op patient and you mention the word “pain” to a surgeon they assume it’s all neurological. Verbiage becomes very important.

I have learned that they will listen the word “pressure” more seriously than they will the word pain. If you can point to specific areas etc they “sometimes” are more receptive.

Post surgery things become very subjective vs. objective which can be very frustrating.

@kilh- if you don’t mind me asking what surgeries did you have?

Honestly, I feel like you've understood what I'm going through better than any doctor I've seen. You're right, the word "pain" leads you straight to a neurology consult. One doc tried to tell me I had trigeminal neuralgia, even though my pain was nowhere near my trigeminal nerve.

I feel my nasal passages are clear now. I can always feel if air is getting up higher than my maxillary sinuses (not sure if I can get as specific as ethmoid or frontal).

Thanks for the description of the allergic person's epithelium. That actually makes a lot of sense to me.

The worst symptoms are the "sick" feeling (wondering if that stems from fevers?), pressure, anosmia, phantom smells, throbbing, laryngitis, and occasional excruciating shooting pains on the top of my head. The other symptoms are less annoying.

Did your symptoms resolve ever?

@303wendy-

That last comment you made about you feel like air is getting much higher than your maxillaries.

So this is spot on how I have felt since surgery.

For me I have felt that the pain comes from too much air entering places that it shouldn’t with little resistance and too much space, not giving the tissues the proper pressure to signal the correct moisture and pressure sensation.

And or overall pressure differentials going on, which is such a foreign feeling.

I have every single sensation/symptom you describe.

I can only smell strong noxious smells, to the point that they burn my nose. Dryer sheets, a tire store etc…then times I struggle to smell something mild that should come easy.

The pain on the top of my head is pretty bad.

I feel like a lot of this can come from septoplasty alone.

But ENTs would disagree.

Question-if you pinch use nose in the center and inhale, do you feel slightly better?

Would you say your nasal voice is from your sound ricocheting in a too open space for you? But because it’s such a foreign sensation you feel it is still “nasal” like blocked?

Do you feel that the “pressure” is actually a sensation of lack of pressure on the nerves? Like you know if you hit your thumb with a hammer your natural instinct is to apply pressure and it is that pressure support that feels better?

Perhaps what you have been feeling is a lack of active pressure but it actually feels opposite and it is a very hard hard thing to describe.

Do you feel worse in rapidly quick changing temperatures?

I am wondering if having your sinuses and nasal cavity wider is causing a drying affect which is not ultimately moving things in and out as it did before, which could be the reason for the yellow mucous you have now and the sick feeling. Lack of pressure, proper moisture driven from the pressure can cause this also.

Maybe now understanding why the ENT has recommended PRP for you.

I have read that some people whom gone through surgery and have this as a result, get put on a low dose macrolide. Perhaps that’s why you are feeling better with the anti fungals?

Also-do you have occipital/neck pain? What is your chest breathing like?

How is your nasopulmonary reflex and your diaphragm?

I was a marathon runner before this-I have every pain symptom you describe.
Lost 10 lbs, bed ridden from being too dizzy, lost half my hair. Went to every type of specialist- all checked out fine.

I believe it’s a total autonomic disruption to the entire system, and it is such an indescribable feeling, you want to find something inside of you to get rid of that is the cause.