Over the past few weeks my sinus symptoms have been gradually worsening to the point that, after waking up throughout the night Thursday in pain, I woke up Friday morning informing Jon that it was time to see a doctor. Miraculously, I was able to get a same-day appointment with a local ENT, and even more miraculously, I was also able to have all of my records sent from Pennsylvania Hospital, no small feat. All of this was accomplished by 9:30 AM.
Well the ENT visit was interesting. It proves why it's helpful to get 2nd (and 3rd, and 4th as the case may be...) opinions. This new doc attributed my problems to a condition I was diagnosed with a couple of years ago, but which my previous doctors did not give much importance to (other than telling me not to take aspirin or advil, since it did cause a severe asthma attack more than once), which is called Samter's Triad. It is an inflammatory condition associated with asthma, aspirin-sensitivity, and nasal polyps.
At the visit Friday, the endoscopy of my nasal passages showed polyps, which had been removed during the surgery in May. More proof that I have the condition and that it is probably the driving force behind my needing repeat surgeries and a lack of improvement all around. After doing lots of online research this weekend, we have found that there are plenty of studies demonstrating that individuals with Samter's Triad are more likely (one study cited 10 times more likely) than those without it to have repeat Endoscopic Sinus Surgery. So, at least this is an answer to the "Why" question, even though it doesn't give much cause for hope that the future will be much different. The doc said some people find it goes away in their 50s or 60s, then he asked how old I was, and when I said "33" gave me a pitying look insinuating that I had a long way to go... great!
In the meantime (is that the right word to use when you are referring to twenty or thirty years...?) anecdotal evidence suggests some people with Samter's are having a little improvement while following a special diet, such as the Feingold diet, which limits salicyclates found naturally in plants and in food additives, which can act similar to aspirin and trigger worsening of symptoms. So, I am about to start writing a grocery list using the "approved" foods, and trying to figure out what I can eat! While there is a lot to choose from, unfortunately many of our favorite foods are on the "bad" list, such as tomatoes, apples, grapes, and anything processed (not that we eat a lot of processed food, but it does limit the variety you can enjoy).
Another treatment that is being met with some success, according to Wikipedia, is "desensitization" to aspirin, with some improvement in chronic sinusitis symptoms We will look into that also.
