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Pain in back of nose when I talk. Eye redness, eyelid swelling, yawning, fatigue when talking long

Posted , 3 users are following.

derekhhh
derekhhh

Hello, 

I have had an undiagnosed problem for about 6 years now.  I've seen about 20 doctors, even in the best hospitals in my city (in Asia), and the problem remains, which brought me here. 

Symptoms: 

- When I talk for a period of time (depends on how loud I speak, and also depends on dryness of the air I think), I feel a pain or dryness (or swelling?) in my nasopharynx area.  The whites of my eyes, and my eyelids become red as if I'm very tired, and my eyelids swell.  If I continue talking, I begin yawning and the pain in the nose increases, and it feels like my nostrils are small.  If I continue and continue I get headaches and feel like I need to sleep (but this happens rarely). 

- When I wake up in the morning, I feel better.  But in the past year, I always wake up with some redness in my eyelids.  My eyelids never look fully healthy or normal.. always there is some redness. 

History (forgive me if this seems long): 

- I grew up in Colorado - extremely high elevation.   

- I had surgery at 8 because of sinus infections (probably because I was sleeping with the fan blowing directly into my face) and I had nasal polyps at that time.  After the surgery there was no problem. 

- at 24, I moved to Asia (first Thailand, then Japan, China, Taiwan, back to Japan).  The problem started where I felt like my nostrils were too small.  Doctor couldnt help. 

- the problem started where I'd feel the symptoms above at 25 or 26.  Here's what the 20 doctors said. 

                    - "it's because of some allergy" 

( I took allergy medicine which relieved symptoms maybe by 30%.  But it might have been coincidental.  I took an allergy blood test twice which showed no allergy in body, overall. 

                    - "the air is too dry"   

Doesn't make sense as I had the problem in Thailand too and also when I returned to America, in California.  However, when I wear a mask when I speak, the problem greatly decreases. 

                   -  "Your nostrils are naturally small" 

But that doctor seemed like he didn't know what he was talking about and no other doctor said that. 

                   -  "I don't know" 

Many said this 

                  -   "You have rhinitis" 

                  -  "It's because of your allergy to house dust" 

This is the most recent diagnosis.  But I was told many many people have this, but show no such symptoms. 

Here's what I already did: 

- catscan and MRI  - showed nothing wrong 

- the video stick thing they put up in your nose and see your sinuses and throat 

                 It showed nothing but the throat seemed swollen and I was told I had larangitus.. but that also went 

                      away. 

- allergy blood test- showed only house dust allergy, but I've heard the tests don't show all allergies 

To put it short, I've looked everywhere and can't find any sickness like this that happens when someone talks for a period of time.  Has anyone heard of this?  It is a serious matter to me as it great effects the quality of my life.  I'd appreciate the help!

Note: I posted in Allergic disorders but I dont even know if it's an allergy!

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Jimjamjem
    Jimjamjem derekhhh

    Posted

    I always feel short of breath. I had asthma tests, I don't smoke, my lung capacity is really good, my sats (level of oxygen in my blood) is 98%. I can't eat food and hold a conversation as I feel I can't get enough air into my lungs and I also find myself holding my breath to talk. I have itchy and sore eyes - this is due to a hayfever allergy - my mouth itches, my throat feels dry and scratchy as do my inner ears. I've recently found a cure for myself and an explanation. The reason I'm short of breath is because I have really strong muscles around my rib cage which doesn't allow my chest to expand as much as I need it to when I breathe. The rest is down to hayfever and I take fexofenadine for it but it doesn't fully relieve all the symptoms. Thankfully i no longer suffer with a blocked nose with the hayfever, my eyelid lumps (on the inside of the lids) reduce with the medication and I now wear contact lenses which feels like it shields my eyes from being red and sore. I also use beconaise nasal spray which helps relieve the itching in my mouth and ear tubes - maybe try the fexofenadine (prescription only) and beconaise nasal spray. Hope this helps you.
    • derekhhh
      derekhhh Jimjamjem

      Posted

      Thank you very much for telling me about your symptoms.  If you experience hay fever, that means the problem only happens for certain parts of the year, is that right?  Unfortunately my problem seems to last all year (but in winter it seems worse).  And I wonder if my allergy test should show that I have hayfever?

      Also, my problem started when I moved to Asia at around 24, so I don't think it's about my muscles in my chest.  Thanks anyway though!

      If anyone else has any thoughts I'd be grateful

  • Bellla
    Bellla derekhhh

    Posted

    It does sound like allergies. Unfortunately blood test are notoriously unreliable for any form of allergies. Have you had prick tests? They're your best bet.

    Also, keep a meticulous journal. Note absolutely everything. What you eat, every product you use, where you are, who you're around (for example you are exposed to their products just by standing near them), which room you're in, note everything. Hopefully you'll find some correlation.

    For the morning eyes, try changing your pillow/duvet, also change to a chemical free non toxic laundry detergent. Also you can try sleeping in a different room.

    Hope you find some improvement soon.

  • derekhhh
    derekhhh

    Posted

    Thanks for the reply.  I still havent found a solution so I just thought to bump up this discussion.

    Actually when I stayed in a friends house one time, I woke up and my eyes looked very healthy.  That was a year ago or so though.

    Still I'd just like to find just some kind of description or evidence online that has a correlation with experiencing pain/swelling/dryness from talking.   Thats the thing I haven't found and is puzzling to me (and has been to the doctors I've seen)

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