Nasal Polyp

[malisobel76]

:scared15:A few months ago I had to see a neurologist due to some dizziness & head pressure which he thought was headaches. He ordered an MRI and I received a letter in the mail about two weeks ago stating that the radiologist did not find anything sinister that would be causing the headaches. He did state that there was an "incidental finding" though, which is a unilateral nasal polyp in my maxillary sinus. He said in the letter that this was nothing to be concerned about, and for once in my life I decided to try to trust what a doctor told me...that only lasted about a week and then, of course, I did a google search for nasal polyps.

What I found initially was actually reassuring. I read that nasal polyps are benign and not too uncommon. Good news....until I dug a little deeper and read that if they are only on one side that they are suspicious and should always be biopsied. I read this on a few ENT websites. Now I am soooooo worried about it! I wish I could keep myself off of google!

The only reason why I have not been to see my GP over this is that I am moving back to the US in one week (I have been here in the UK for a few years, but am returning home for good). I know from experience that seeing an ENT here in the UK can take ages...there is no way I have time. I am also going to have a lot on my plate with repatriating and such, and am worried that it will take a while to see a doc in the US.

I am mildly angry at my neurologist, but mostly at myself for even looking around for info...though perhaps if I had not then I would have regretted it later. But of course I am now convinced that I have a malignancy and that I will not be able to do anything about it for ages. I am driving myself into a state over it! Has anyone out there had this happen to them? I do not have allergies at all, and do not understand why I would even have this. The worst part is that I have been a smoker for over 10 years (quit about 8 months ago) and so am completely immersed in fear of cancer.

Any info or similar experience insight would be greatly appreciated! I know that I should really try no to worry, but i think most of us on here know that it's easier said than done!:scared15::unsure:

[margaret jones]

Hi Google bad for you I like you had similar symptons and had M.R.I.findings where a nasal polyp and my nuerologist said that 50 percent of people have them if they gave everyone a MRI SCAN try not to speculate about the Google info take care

margaret

[malisobel76]

I suppose I would not worry so much of I had one on the other side. I do need to stay off of Google though. I have had such terrible health anxiety since I quit smoking! I probably will not feel better about it until I get home and see an ENT. I just need to focus on other things when I start to worry...which easily turns into a panic attack.

Thanks for the feedback! It does help to hear from someone who has had the same thing happen!

[countrygirl]

MRI scans are almost as bad for us a google! On the nasal polyp front a friend of mine has had polyps on either side for past 20 yrs that I have known her due to severe allergies and has had a few operations to remove them so they are very common even on one side. Back to the nightmare of mri scans- they literally show every single bit of you which of course is good if you do have something serious but for various reasons I have had 4 brain and head mri over past 10 years and so far they have found white spots on brain that at time was told could or could not mean I might get ms at a later date- when medical science had caught up with the scan it turned out that I did not have any demylianation at all these white spots are common and harmless - then at my recent scan I was told that I had small cysts in my brain stem - panic panic - neurosurgeon said that again this is very common and they come and go but because they have been found they have to tell you.

[margaret jones]

This is the prob with some tests we have the dr is obliged to report everything that is seen , to you the patient . Trouble is 99 per cent are normal things that are just there that day and are prob not there the following week. The scan my hubby had to check his pancreas in relation to his diabitis highlighted a Gallstone that gives him no prob . So the best thing is avoid scans unless absoultly needed

Best wishes margaret xxxxx

[malisobel76]

Thanks to both of you for your replies and reassurance!

I don't know what it is going to take to make me stay off of google and to stop worrying about my health so much! I had been seeing a counsellor here in the UK which helped a tiny bit, more to have someone to talk to about it. I know that when I get back to the US next week that I will make an appointment to see my family doctor, to discuss what my next step might be. It's not only health anxiety that plagues me, but other issues as well. I worry about EVERYTHING!! My husband and I have only been married 2 years, and I often worry he will leave me over all of this...he has already expressed his dislike of the idea of my trying medication of any sort, which i think comes from the stigma of sorts, from having a 'medicated' wife, you know? I have had so many things come at me from what seems like nowhere. I know I need to do something about it. I am just at a loss, and hopefully my doctor will have some suggestions.

As far as the polyp goes...I cannot help myself, I know when I go home I will have it checked out by an ENT. My husband tells me that I am only feeling it in there because I know it is there now, after having the MRI...and while that may be the truth, I suppose I just need to make sure it's nothing. I have HPV, which I hate even mentioning, but I know that it puts me at risk for an inverted papilloma. Perhaps I should leave it alone, but I know I wil lnot stop worrying about it.

I wish I could go back to the person I was before all of this anxiety started! I have always been a worrier, but I suppose I just accepted that is was who I was. Anxiety is terrible!! :unsure:

[malisobel76]

Here I am, back at it again!! I have started having 'discomfort' in the sinus on the one side where the polyp was found. I say discomfort because there is no excruciating pain, but at times it is pretty uncomfortable. I recently went to an ENT here in the US over tonsil issues (have tonsil stones and he wants me to have a tonsillectomy) and I asked him to look at my MRI films from the doc in the UK....he refused, said that MRI's are not reliable for diagnosing polyps, but for things like malignancies. That sent my head into worry overtime!!!!! He took an xray in his office and said that my sinuses were clear, but I know he only really glanced. I am freaking out!!! If there is suddenly nothing in there, why am I feeling the discomfort constantly?!?!

He referred me to another ENT for the tonsillectomy, he says he is too old and cannot do the procedures anymore. I am taking my films to the new doc and insisting he look at them. I am afraid of more xrays and a possible CT, I am afraid of cancer, and those procedures will just expose me to more radiation.

I wish I could get this worry out of my head!! I have not been doing well in general. I recently got a really good job and quit after 2 weeks because of anxiety and worry. I have never done something like that before! I am struggling with all sorts of life issues right now. I am having trouble finding a phsycologist that accepts FSA cards here, and I cannot afford to pay cash up front. My family doctor will not give me any medication until I see a phsycologist. I told him that I did see a counsellor in the UK for six weeks, but it made no difference to him.

I keep trying to tell myself that I cannot really control what happens in life, and that the things I worry about are relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, that I should just try to enjoy life and appreciate what I have. But I am jus too mired down in this and need help to find a way out. I do not only worry about my health in an extreme way, but I have huge problems with social anxiety, fear issues...self esteem is terrible. I feel like I will lose everything. I am also infertile and am struggling with that. There are mental health issues in my family, and cancer seems to run rampant.

Ok, I am rambling. I suppose it just helps that I can do that here.

[jojo2316]

Have you had a baby recently? There is a certain type of polyp, which I had, which occurs during pregnancy. Mine was up my nose and was discovered about three months post birth.....

[SleeplessFog]

My sister had nasal polyps all of her life, sometimes 3 and 4 at a time, and there were never any issues with them, and she had a chronic illness on top of that to boot.

I am glad to hear you say you need help, thats the first step, a positive step in overcoming these issues. I hope you can find a psychologist that is willing to work out flexible payments and plans with you. I am surprised that some will not take FSA cards. Ahhh....insurance companies(but that is an entirely different issue).

I think you are doing the right thing by asking the new ENT to review your xrays and MRIs....I mean they are your medical history after all.

[malisobel76]

Well, I am glad I did pursue a third opinion....my ENT is concerned about the polyp and has scheduled me for surgery in about three weeks. He looked at the MRI from several months ago and then did a CT. He will not say much about it other than he wants it out because I am having pain which he feels is unusual for polyps. My husband asked him if he could just biopsy it without doing surgery, and he said that if he was going to go in there and biopsy it that he would prefer to just take it out. I am very worried about it, and though I am not looking forward to the surgery (and the packing removal after!!) I really wish it was not three weeks away...I hate the waiting and just want to know what it is so that I can either forget about it altogether, or to begin treatment for what could potentially be something bad. I am trying really hard to keep from worry, but as the pain increases and the waiting goes on and on....well, can't stop worrying to say the least. If it is bad then there is nothing I can do, but I just want to know. I do know that it could still be benign, but the pain just really worries me. So take it from me, if something is just nagging at you and you feel as if things are being overlooked, trust your instincts and pursue it. Sorry for not being very positive at this point but I suppose I just kinda have a bad feeling.

[malisobel76]

My surgery went well, but unfortunatley it's back again! It hurts worse than the first time. My doc had the tissue tested and it came back cancer negative....but I cannot help but to start with my worrying all over again. Now I am pregnant, so it makes me worry even more. Part of me wants to try to avoid going back to my ENT altogether just to try to fight the anxiety...not sure what to do. I know I need to stay in the best health possible for the sake of my baby, but I also know that I cannot treat it at all during the pregnancy. I just wish I could stop the anxiety, I have been doing well for so long!!!

[guitarpants]

I hate to say this to you, but you probably had an unnecessary surgery. Most people that go in for an MRI, show nasal or sinus polyps. Most people have them at one point or another in their life and it's normal. So are mucus retention cysts. My MRI happened to show both. Nothing to worry about.

[malisobel76]

I asked my doc if he would just biopsy it instead of doing surgery. He said that if he was going to do that, he might as well take it out. He was concerned because it was causing me pain when they really are not supposed to. And the one main point for any concern was the fact that it was UNILATERAL..... The whole point of my worry in the first place. I do not think he would have done surgery if he did not really think it necessary. Polyps on one side are always somewhat suspicious. There are a few red flags that need to be ruled out. Sure, he could have biopsied it as I asked him to do, and I did think that there was a possibility that surgery right away might be taking it too far. He said that if it ended up being something 'not so good' that it was just best to go ahead and remove it sooner than later. I am going to go back soon to have him take another look, but no surgery this time. I will insist on a biopsy. I miscarried my baby today, so I just want to make sure it's ok again this time before I try to concieve again.

[Clarabell31]

Can anyone give me some advice on this subject please, as i am getting nowhere online, and am currently waiting on an appointment for ENT (2 months been waiting so far). Went to the doctor with a blockage in my left nostril, was told it was a polyp, given nasal steroid spray (hasn't helped a bit), doctor referred me to ENT. Looked online and am now also terrified because of what i've read, about cancer, etc. My nostril is constantly blocked and it's a nightmare trying to clear it to breath through it properly (right side is perfectly fine), also bleeds a lot when i blow it to clear it, and my nostril has changed shape. What's really worrying me now though is that 2 days ago i was in hospital having all my bottom teeth removed under general anaesthetic, and i had a tube down my throat (think it was up my nose first, then down my throat, told them before hand of blocked nostril and they used my 'normal' side). Since then anytime i've tried to clear my nose, my left nostril is bleeding really heavy, with fresh clots coming from it (not dried blood clots). I'm really worried now, and scared to even touch my nose in case it starts dripping blood everywhere again. Can anyone give me some advice if they have been in a similar situation? The wait for an appointment is torture, and my nose is quite sore and tender all the time!

[belvederebabe]

Hi Had a nasal polyp about 14 years ago, it was discovered after I went to my GP with a constantly blocked nose and loss of smell. I had it removed which was a pretty simple operation. The worst thing for me was waking with the packing as I hate a blocked nose and asked the nurse if she could remove it early for me. They are very common and only a very rare few turn out to be anything nasty. I expect the tube that was put up your nose made it bleed a bit. Not surprising really when a big plastic tube has been rammed into it. I now use a steroid nasal spray to stop it coming back as they sometimes do. Try not to worry as I said most are harmless. xxxx

[Jane.Summers]

I suffered for 12 years from nasal polyps and nothing I tried worked.
Drugs, nutrition, all types of doctors...you name it--the suffering never really went away.
bestquicktips.com/nasal_polyps
Fortunately, I found out about a natural way that finally got rid of my nasal polyps for good.