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skeet
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CH and Sinus Polyp?
« on: Sep 5th, 2003, 2:28pm » |
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I've had cluster headaches for about 10 years and am going through a really bad phase. I'm at the point where I'll try just about anything. In the past, they've found that I have a polyp in my sinus on the same side where the headaches occur, but every doctor has said it's not related. I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar issue and if the surgery to remove the polyp might be worth a try.
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r_headache
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #1 on: Sep 5th, 2003, 2:41pm » |
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Very interesting, I have had CHs now for about 7 years and I too have a sinus polyp but it is on the other side of my head. My nero also says it is unrelated. things to make you go hummmm.
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Prense
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #2 on: Sep 6th, 2003, 11:10am » |
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What is a sinus polyp? 
I normally only get a runny nostril on the same side as the attack.
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ksmiggy
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #3 on: Sep 6th, 2003, 7:39pm » |
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I've been chronic for about 8+ yrs, about 5 yrs ago, had op on sinus, it helped for a while, but soon came back, it is not a sure thing, also not nice, but for almost a year, was able to drink with only a few rare attacks, can't go near it now, might be worth it for 6 months drinking again.( If acohol is a trigger for you)
could be you are just removing a trigger for a while, shear speculation though, there seem to be a lot of CH'ers with sinus related symptoms/problems, but many drs seem to dismiss it, have heard a few utter words of maybe
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| « Last Edit: Sep 6th, 2003, 7:42pm by ksmiggy » |
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judyw
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #4 on: Sep 6th, 2003, 10:01pm » |
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I have a polyp right under the right eye in the sinus passage...Have had several doctors assure me that it has nothing to do with the CH...only problem to be concerned with is if they grow and block the sinus passage...my asthma specialist says many people have them...PPP 
judyw
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beach954
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #5 on: Sep 6th, 2003, 11:57pm » |
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Hi,
I suffered from the cronic form of cluster headaches for 5 years. uring the 2nd year I found I had polyps in my right sinus. I had endoscopic sinus surgery to remove the polyps. It seemed to lessen the severity of my headaches for a couple months but then they returned to their previous intensity. Oxygen therapy seemed to help some and was worth the cost but the headaches were still intererable although a little less severe and they did go aaway faster. 3 months ago I asked my dr to let me try Verapamil which was one medication the previous drs hadnt tried for some reason. It has been a total life saver. Intenisity is down to about 10% of their previous intensity and frequency is down to about 2 per month instead of 2-3 per day. Good luck!!!!!
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Artie
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #6 on: Sep 7th, 2003, 6:59pm » |
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When my husband first started having CH he had a cat scan done and they reported some sort of abnormality in the sinus cavity. I don't know if it was a polyp or not.
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Christ2fur
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I also have a polyp in the base of my maxillary sinus on the left which is my CH side. My ENT said that they are not related and it can be watched but I still feel like they could possibly be related. This is my first time to this board and I am so amazed that someone else has this polyp and CH problem.
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LSUnut
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #8 on: Sep 12th, 2003, 3:21pm » |
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I didn't start getting CHs until I got a really horrible sinus infection. In fact, it took several months for a neuro to diagnose the CHs. I also have chronic sinusitis so you can understand their difficulty in making a diagnosis. I have often wondered if my horrible sinuses had any link to the CHs. I recenly underwent two reconstructive nose and sinus surgeries to correct drainage and breathing difficulties, as well as the removal of a couple of polyps. This is my CH season (autumn, fall) and I have had a few minor bouts, but since the surgery they haven't been as severe or frequent. I hope the change is permanent but based on other replies to your question I am now fearfull. ???
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Whoever said the fear of death is worse than death itself, obviously never suffered from cluster headaches!!!
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Prense
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #9 on: Sep 13th, 2003, 10:14am » |
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LOL, no one answered my previous question! WTF is a polyp? ;D
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LSUnut
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #10 on: Sep 13th, 2003, 11:48am » |
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Sorry, a sinus polyp begins as an inflammation of tissue in the sinuses as a result of chronic infection, usually. The polyp, if untreated, continues to grow until it forms what looks like a sack connected by a stalk. These sacks are what the doctors cut out during surgery. If the polyp isn't too big, it can often be treated by nasal steroids. They can wreak havoc, however, if they get so large that they block a sinus opening or ear canal. This severely hinders drainage and allows bacteria to pool and grow. This, in turn, leads to more polyps and chronic sinusitis. Hope this answers your question. 
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Whoever said the fear of death is worse than death itself, obviously never suffered from cluster headaches!!!
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floridian
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This question has been addressed by the medical literature, but not yet answered. Here is an article (no abstract available  )
Mathew NT.
Is cluster headache due to indolent inflammation in the cavernous sinus?
Cephalalgia. 1998 May;18(4):172. No abstract available.
PMID: 9642490 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The first time I had clusters, the doctor diagnosed sinusitis - I wasn't surprised, as I had sinus problems for the first half of my life. The headaches stopped a day or two after I started on antibiotics - maybe a coincidence, maybe because the sinus aggravation cleared up, or maybe the antibiotic had other effects unrelated to killing bacteria.
I think that sinus problems might predispose one to CH, might act as triggers, but I don't think that they are "The Cause." So treat your sinus conditions for a better life, and maybe for fewer CH (no guarantees).
Also - people with sinus problems are more likely to have sleep apnea. They are also more likely to take ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, which can really screw up neurotransmitters and the circadian rythms.
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Prense
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #12 on: Sep 13th, 2003, 8:03pm » |
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on Sep 13th, 2003, 11:48am, LSUnut wrote:| Sorry, a sinus polyp begins as an inflammation of tissue in the sinuses as a result of chronic infection, usually. The polyp, if untreated, continues to grow until it forms what looks like a sack connected by a stalk. These sacks are what the doctors cut out during surgery. If the polyp isn't too big, it can often be treated by nasal steroids. They can wreak havoc, however, if they get so large that they block a sinus opening or ear canal. This severely hinders drainage and allows bacteria to pool and grow. This, in turn, leads to more polyps and chronic sinusitis. Hope this answers your question. |
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YUCK! Nope, never had that.
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Elaine
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I went to a ear nose and throat doctor when I was trying to find out what I had. I was told that from a car wreck I had , that the cartledge in my nose was broke. It is ! This is gross but I have to push that cartledge over sometimes because if I don't It closes My clusters are on my left side my, the broken cartledge falls to the right. My nero says it had nothing to do with my clusters. He must be right cause when I have a clluster the cartlegdge is in place and if it isn't moving it doesn't help. That in itsself hurts like the devil!
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ccbiggsoo7
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #14 on: Sep 17th, 2003, 5:46pm » |
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Knew a guy that had real bad headaches,had polyps,had surgery,no more headaches! Not sure if they were ch's or sinus headaches though. Claimed they were horrible but everybody has had a horrible headache until they experience a full blown CH!! Chris
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chris
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daver
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #15 on: Sep 19th, 2003, 7:04am » |
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Wow...seems interesting that although the doctors all say it's unrelated (though they don't fully understand the cause of CHs) there appears to be a lot of ppl with both CHs and sinus polyps. I too have had sinus issues for as long as I can remember, but nothing that I felt was serious.
Maybe there is a relation.
Dave
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Melissa
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #16 on: Sep 23rd, 2003, 11:57am » |
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no polyps, but when I was diagnosed with ch's by my ear, nose and throat specialist I had a huge cyst in my right sinus cavity (same side as ch's). They said they had never seen one that big before. Doc said it had nothing to do with my ch's.
interesting thread
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Zonie
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #17 on: Sep 23rd, 2003, 9:43pm » |
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I have suffered with CHs for approx. 13 years and sinus problems all of my 58 years. I was so certain that the CHs and sinus problems were related that I finally convinced my prim. care physician to refer me to ENT. I did have a deviated septum (no comments on my spelling) and scheduled my sinus surgery asap. I had the surgery and it was a total nightmare. I slept in a recliner for 10 days suffering from the surgery (with both nostrils packed clear down my throat) and having cluster headaches all the while. About 2 weeks after the surgery, I hemmoraged and went to ER for 2 balloons to be poked up my nose and inflated with saline to stop the bleeding. Honestly, this pain was "worse" than a cluster....just didn't last nearly as long. I thought that my sinus would absolutely explode. Needless to say, I would not recommend any form of sinus surgery to anyone, unless it's absolutely necessary. It did not help my clusters at all, nor has it helped my sinus problems....still have them both.
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ave
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #18 on: Sep 24th, 2003, 1:37pm » |
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Yes it would be an interesting thread, if we had some statistics.
How many people have sinus polyps?
How many people have more or less chronic sinus problems?
How many people have cluster headaches?
If sinus problems, including polyps, bother 55 % of the population (just an example), and only 1 % gets clusters, why don't the other 54 %?
Just wondering.
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sundancer
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Re: CH and Sinus Polyp?
« Reply #19 on: Oct 28th, 2003, 5:14pm » |
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CH for 30 years, ENT Dr. diagnosed a cyst in my right sinus cavity 2 years ago and a deviated septum. Feeling really desperate right now as the good ole prednisone left me psycotic one sunday...so thinking about sinus surgery...and yes the CH are also on the right.
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