Post COVID - Sinuses fill when I lie down preventing sleep!

Posted by pez @pez, Sep 29, 2023

I had Covid just before Christmas/ end of 2021. Since then I have suffered each night when I lie down with Post Nasal Drip /catarrh. I have not had close to a good night’s sleep now since and it’s really affecting my mood and quality of life.

I have considered and been treated for allergies and feel certain my condition is not a reaction to environmental or seasonal allergy – see below:

I have suffered from hay fever, and cat allergies in the past – resulting in streaming nose and eyes – but a simple antihistamine has dramatically reduced my symptoms. With the catarrh, the predominant symptom appears to be the continuous collection of thick mucus (or whatever it is) from behind my nose which I continuously feel the need to draw down into my throat and swallow as I am lying down. I have also been through ten continuous seasons now, and travelled abroad, with no discernible difference to my symptoms.

Regardless of where I am in the world; pets or no pets; carpet or no carpet; indoors or outdoors; or what medication I take the catarrh persists. So far I have taken courses of loratadine, cetirizine, promethazine, fexofenadine hydrochloride, benadryl, prednisolone, flixonase/fluticasone, montelukast, sterimar nasal solution, dymista and doxycycline.

In addition, I have introduced an air purifier into the bedroom, and a humidifier. I also perform regular nasal washes especially before bed and have tried sleeping propped up.

Any combination of the above may have reduced my symptoms by some 10-20%, but I might just have imagined it as some nights are better than others.

I remain convinced that my condition is somehow Covid related as I did not suffer at all with it before I had Covid in 2021, but I have suffered ever since.

Of course I am keen to resolve this issue as I cannot imagine living with it indefinitely - I am so exhausted by it and the resultant insomnia which is really taking its toll.

It would be great to know I'm not alone with this problem, and of course any shared remedies would be most welcome.

Thank you.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Post-COVID Recovery & COVID-19 Support Group.

@pez

Hello,

I thought I'd make another entry to share an idea that I have just learned about. I've not yet had a chance to try it but I wanted to let others know in case they might want to try it too - sooner rather than later.

It might sound crazy, but it turns out that different foods contain different levels of histamine, and this is the interesting bit... I've cut and pasted it from where I found it so you can make up your own minds:

dr-healthcare.com/en/2020/03/27/dao-deficiency-and-the-covid-19-pandemic/

"Under normal conditions, when histamine levels rise above a certain threshold, the enzymes responsible for its metabolism, specifically DAO (Diamino Oxidase) and, to a lesser extent, histamine N-methyl transferase (HNMT), rapidly degrade the excess this amine. However, when the degradation rate is insufficient to cope with the excess, the total level of histamine in the body rises. At a certain critical level, signs and symptoms occur as a result of histamine coupling to its receptors in specific cells.

Histamine is a mediator that intervenes in the inflammation of the immune system by activating intracellular pathways that induce the production of cytokines in the lungs. Cytokines are signaling proteins that regulate interactions of cells of the immune system, thus producing an amplification of inflammatory reactions."

So it seems to me that one can do 2 things. 1) Try and reduce the histamine 2) Try and increase the levels of DAO. Here's another link to a post I read about trying to get to the bottom of things, which I am going to try as of today. Although, I've decided to work backwards, so rather than eliminate almost everything from my diet, I will eliminate or drastically reduce foods which are high in histamine to see where that takes me. In addition I have started to take supplimentary vitamins, especially vitamin C which is supposed to be good for increasing DAO health. So here we go - please, let this be the one!!!

graduatefitness.com/histamine-intolerance-guide/

Jump to this post

Hi Pe,

Under women's health section on Mayo Connect,, there is a thread about histamine intolerance which has a lot of useful info also.

REPLY

Although I don’t have a problem sleeping (yet) I too have tried all different meds to try and get rid of this constant drip. Sometimes I fell like the drip is stuck behind my nose and sometimes I feel like it’s in my throat. Hard to isolate the problem. It’s a constant distraction from totally enjoying the day. I think mine is Covid vaccine related, although that is just conjecture. I just want this to go away, as you do. I just keep trying different meds. I try not to take more than one type at a time so I can at least figure out which one is working.

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@ilonac

Although I don’t have a problem sleeping (yet) I too have tried all different meds to try and get rid of this constant drip. Sometimes I fell like the drip is stuck behind my nose and sometimes I feel like it’s in my throat. Hard to isolate the problem. It’s a constant distraction from totally enjoying the day. I think mine is Covid vaccine related, although that is just conjecture. I just want this to go away, as you do. I just keep trying different meds. I try not to take more than one type at a time so I can at least figure out which one is working.

Jump to this post

I feel your frustration.

Regarding my last post, I have since been taking some tablets to increase DAO (not those mentioned in my post), and quit the red wine. On balance things do appear to be a fair bit better, but its still early days and may just be placebo. Thought I'd mention it in case you want to try? At this stage I think I'd pretty much try anything!

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Just a thought. Have you tried irrigating your sinuses (I use NeilMed Sinus Rinse) about an 1-2 hours before you go to bed at night? Do you lie with your head flat or elevated? Lying flat makes sinus drainage worse I think. Blessings & Prayers.....

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Has anyone had an arytenoidectomy which is widening of the vocal cords with laser ?. Has your breathing improved and how bad did it affect your voice quality?
Thank you
Mona

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Hello again,

So sadly my last post about a small reprieve turned out to be nothing more than that. The mucus is back to its full force and I've had the worst nights' sleep over the past few days. SO fed up!!!

I am going to repost my original post on the covid page to see if that might elicit some additional thoughts - admin, I hope that is allowed.

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I had Covid just before Christmas/ end of 2021. Since then I have suffered each night when I lie down with Post Nasal Drip /catarrh. I have not had close to a good night’s sleep now since and it’s really affecting my mood and quality of life.

I have considered and been treated for allergies and feel certain my condition is not a reaction to environmental or seasonal allergy – see below:

I have suffered from hay fever, and cat allergies in the past – resulting in streaming nose and eyes – but a simple antihistamine has dramatically reduced my symptoms. With the catarrh, the predominant symptom appears to be the continuous collection of thick mucus (or whatever it is) from behind my nose which I continuously feel the need to draw down into my throat and swallow as I am lying down. I have also been through ten continuous seasons now, and travelled abroad, with no discernible difference to my symptoms.

Regardless of where I am in the world; pets or no pets; carpet or no carpet; indoors or outdoors; or what medication I take the catarrh persists. So far I have taken courses of loratadine, cetirizine, promethazine, fexofenadine hydrochloride, benadryl, prednisolone, flixonase/fluticasone, montelukast, sterimar nasal solution, dymista and doxycycline.

In addition, I have introduced an air purifier into the bedroom, and a humidifier. I also perform regular nasal washes especially before bed and have tried sleeping propped up.

Any combination of the above may have reduced my symptoms by some 10-20%, but I might just have imagined it as some nights are better than others.

I remain convinced that my condition is somehow Covid related as I did not suffer at all with it before I had Covid in 2021, but I have suffered ever since.

Of course I am keen to resolve this issue as I cannot imagine living with it indefinitely – I am so exhausted by it and the resultant insomnia which is really taking its toll. I am SO fed up.

It would be great to know I'm not alone with this problem, and of course any shared remedies would be most welcome.

Thank you.

ps previously posted in ENT before I discovered this page, and have since tried DAO supplements and a low histamine diet to no avail

REPLY

I have the same issue - lots and lots of thick mucous in the back of my throat. Guaifenesin helps some by thinning the mucous. I started getting this when I married my husband who had a cat and a dog, which it turns out I’m allergic to. I think that caused my body to start overreacting to everything including food that had never caused problems before. I figured out on my own that all alcohol caused a reaction and food testing showed that I was sensitive to dairy and eggs. Because I didn’t react immediately to dairy and eggs I hadn’t figured out the connection on my own even though it seems pretty obvious to me now. Cutting all of that out has helped dramatically. I still have issues with mucous but not nearly to the degree I had before.

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