My Nasal Polyp story

[Michael-B]

Hi, I'd like to tell you my experience with nasal polyp's. I stupidly suffered with them for 5 years. Should have had them removed straight away but I didn't. Anyway after the 1st year with them, they came out by themselves over a period of 2 or 3 days. I was so relieved and happy and thought....that's it no more of that rubbish. 3 months later they were back and as bad as they get. So for the next 4 years I just put up with them. Finally I book into see a surgeon and get them removed a month later. This is where it gets interesting. After my surgery I started using a saline nasal flush squeeze bottle. I quickly read the instructions about only using boiled water and went on my way. Unfortunately or in my case fortunately not reading those instructions properly did me the biggest favor ever...EVER. I'll explain, the instructions say "when you insert the nasal bottle into your nose, and squeeze the water, DO NOT let it go again until you move it down and away from your nose. That's because it will cause a vacuum and suck air and whatever else is up there, out of your nose. Well, guess what....that's exactly what I did, didn't read the instructions properly and the next thing you know that vacuum action has completely blocked my nostril on the right side. So I've gone from pretty clear nostrils to absolutely blocked. Couldn't believe it, even started to blame the surgeon cos I thought there were still other polyps up there that he missed. So come the next night and I'm thinking tonight when I use my nasal bottle I'm gonna squeeze that water so hard up there that I'll unblock it real good. So there I am, head over the sink, I give that bottle a real good squeeze. What I'm about to tell you people might sound horrific but it's the dead set truth. While I'm flushing my nose, I start to feel this slightly uncomfortable sensation of something starting to come down from the back of my sinus's down into my mouth, out of my mouth and down into the sink. I look at this this thing with pure horror, I kid you not. I never expected anything like this what so ever. In the space of a few second's, my nose had gone from completely blocked to completely clear....100% air flow. I've gone from feeling like complete crap to pure joy in seconds.....it was unbelievable. So, back to the little alien in the sink. It was about 3 quarters the size of my pinky finger. When I picked it up, gross but I had to study it, it was quite firm, black and looked a bit like tar. I came to the conclusion that this thing that had been in the back of my sinuses was the result of 50 years of breathing dust, pollution, pollen, smoke etc. Air gunk that had been filtered into this one area over years and years forming this small organic mass. I'm also convinced that this thing was also my polyp's life source. Coincidentally, it was a perfect cylinder shape like an AA battery too. How did my surgeon not see this thing inside my sinuses while he was removing the polyp's? For anyone else who has had polyps removed and they have grown back again months or years later, you could be suffering from this same thing. The stupid thing is that you'd never know it's even in there. You sure can't feel it. I disturbed it with the vacuum release from the nasal bottle, pulled it away from its natural enclosure and finally exorcised it the next night. Unless a Dr. looked right into every area of your sinus cavities, it will remain unseen. I had no idea that's for sure. What happened to me was a complete and utter fluke. Just imagine going from nasal blockage to pure fresh clearness in seconds.....it was absolute magic. I even looked at my x-rays from before the surgery and couldn't see this organic alien. I hope this can help some of you who are suffering from polyps and have returning polyps. Even after surgery if your still getting blocked nostril's on either side this could be your problem as well. It might be moving from side to side while your sleeping at night. For me it's been 15 months of relief since I flushed it out. I really do believe that if this thing was still in my sinuses, it would have enabled a polyp regrowth eventually. Other polyp sufferers would most likely be completely unaware about this condition, so if I've enlightened anyone else then I'm happy I could help. Please don't just get a nasal bottle and do the vacuum thing like I did, consult your doctor or surgeon first to discuss if they've heard of anything similar. I've searched the internet and to this day have never come across any articles or person who has experienced the same thing. Thanks for reading. Michael.

[Matman]

Interesting account.

I suffer from Asthma complicated by Nasal Polyps.

I’ve resisted Polyp Surgery due, first, to the fact that Polyps often tend to regrow within a couple / few years (sometimes within months) and second because of the proximity of some Polyps to the thin protective barrier shielding the brain.

Well known by anesthetists in general - but especially for older patients - that any operation above the shoulders can be a trigger for onset of dementia. The nearer the Surgery Site is to the brain, the greater the risk.

Because my Asthma is made worse by Nasal Polyps, I think I’ll need to either go on Mepolizumab to reduce excess eosinophils partly caused by Polyps, or have the Polyp Surgery.

However, Dupilumab is due to be approved in Europe, I imagine, in the next 6 Months, so if the MHRA / NICE get it approved and funded in UK, that may be a possible alternative, though being a new drug (like all new drugs) there can be unforeseen risks. (Mepo is a fairly new drug too, so not entirely risk free).

How was your Polyp Surgery? Awful or bearable?