As of the first week of December 2006 I am no longer taking prednisone. Since this time I've realized that the post nasal chronic sinus drainage has increased. Through the years I've mentioned this to doctors and always receive a cursory exam and told it's nothing to worry about and it's due to my chronic allergies. However, winter brings me almost total relief from my allergies and thus I'm experiencing no sinus pressure, sneezing, etc. etc. etc.........
Many times I've asked for x-rays though I've never insisted on x-rays or more tests of some kind to determine why I was dealing with this problem. My lab work always comes back showing my white count, red count, etc. are normal.
Have any of you ever heard of a connection between chronic sinuitis and RA? Do you think it would be in my best interest to insist on x-rays? Haven't a clue as to what kind of lab tests to ask for/insist on in trying to determine the reason for this constant drainage I deal with. Because I was taking prednisone last summer I had virtually no problems with my allergies and didn't use my inhaler for asthma more than a handful of times.
Also, through the years doctors have always wanted me to take a low-dose of prednisone to treat my chronic sinuitis rather than determine what the cause was. I am so frustrated!!
I also have RA and asthma. I have constant drainage as well. I also cough alot because of it. It's so irritating! My dr. keeps trying different things to clear it up, so far with no luck. I've tried flonase, zyrtec, Claritin, and I can't remember the others. I did have a round of antibiotics which cleared it for awhile but it came back. I just started on atrovent nasal spray today. She said if that doesn't work,nothing will. Hope it works. I am tired of the drainage!
Laura
You need to see an Ear/Nose/Throat specialist. Your sinuses can be inflamed just like your eyes, heart and lungs. There is a quite serious autoimmune disease called Wegener's Grantutosis (sp?) which can cause terrible sinus and inflammation problems. If they suspect this, then insist on a biopsy to rule this out as it must be treated.
I had this problem several years ago, pretty severe symptoms, but they did not do the biopsy. I'm currently suffering from an ongoing sinus infection that popped up after they took me off MTX.
There was a post regarding sinus infections not too long ago where people gave a lot of good tips. See if you can find it. If not, I'll look.
The other option that was suggested to me was to see an allergist. But I hadn't had the problem in about 4 years. It resurfaced after they stopped the MTX.
Yep, I started the thread. Go to search at top of the page and search on infection worsening Deanna. There were so many good suggestions from people who are having the same exact kind of problem that you are all describing. If you want to find what's been said overtime, enter sinus infections and then click search.I had read of a link between the two quite some time ago. I think that it was in a Arthritis Today magazine. Also, I have chronic sinus infections and was told that it was to be expected with Ra and my other diseases.
WATCHINGWOLF: I was on the antibiotics last summer before I was diagnosed so didn't pay any attention to it. Sorry. I was wondering the same thing again and kinda hoping she would put me thru another round sometime so I could see if they helped the joint pain! The antibiotic was levaquin. I had never had that one before. It worked well.I too have chronic sinus problems. I have really bad pain in my forehead , nose and cheek bones.my eyes are permanently red and this morning i had a bad nosebleed. I take antibiotics regularly for sinus infection. I had the problem before RA surfaced but it has gotten worse since the RA took hold
I went back and searched the topic Deanna. Marian had suggested cleansing the sinuses. I used to do that and it did help alot. I just got lazy and quit. I will drag the stuff out and start it up again. For all of you that don't know what it is, I found a site that explains it. You can also do a search on neti pot. I think I finally found the sinuscleanse at a Walgreens. It wasn't an easy item to locate!
Here's are a couple sites to learn more:
http://sinusallergysite.com/product.asp?Category_ID=38&P roduct_ID=231
http://www.healingdaily.com/exercise/neti-pot.htm
Interesting. I've had a problem with post nasal drip for about 5 years now. I never even thought about it being connected with RA. I've been on different drugs for it but nothing is helping. Right now I'm taking Allegra but it doesn't seem to be working. I never had this problem until I moved to Florida and always thought it was allergies.
I also have both, though my RA is mostly limited to my feet and toe joints, with flare ups from time to time in my neck and lower back. I also have a lot of sinus problems, but this is something I learned by accident. Several years ago I had what I thought was a sinus infection that wouldn't go away after two rounds of different antibiotics. They ordered a CT scan of my sinues and found I had polyps. My ENT told me that there could be a connection between the aspirin I was taking for the sinus headaches and the polyps and drainage. Aspirin causes nasal polyps in people who are sensitive to it. Other pain relievers like Motrin, Aleve and some of the anti-inflamatories are related to aspirin. So, if you are on any of those types of meds for pain relief from the RA, that is what could be causing your sinus problems. Stopping the aspirin and only taking Motrin when absolutely necessary (Tylenol doesn't do a thing for me for headaches or RA pain), plus being on a steroid nasal spray for awhile, totally eliminated the sinus drainage. So rather than a connection between the RA and sinus drainage, there could definately be a connection between the pain relievers and the sinus problems.have you ever heard of the term "nonallergic rhinitus". Its triggered by temperature changes. Its pretty much categorized as a nonstop runny nose. My nose has been "running" for about 5 weeks straight. Running so much that when I am working outside at my job and have my hands full, I have no choice but to gross out the other guys and let it drip all the way to the ground. Its gross, and annoying. My wife gave me the info about the runny nose from an article in Fitness magazine for Jan 2007.
-Jon