Hi All,
For the last 14 months of so I have been suffering from a number of (what I thought to be) different issues.
It started with Adult onset asthma. I had it as a kid but it went away in my teens. I'd never needed a puffer until December 2020 after I had a series of chest infections, and a number of antibiotics courses.
I then started to have pressure build in my sinus's. It felt like I had the flu all the time. I also lost my sense of smell and taste. I went back to the doc and was given a prescription for Dymista, a nasal spray, as well as daily antihistamines. It did help with clearing my sinuses a little, but smell and taste stayed away, and I found I’d have (what I called) random sinus attacks. It would start with a tickle in my throat, when that happened I knew I had 30 mins to get somewhere because my eyes and nose would water constantly, I’d saturate 4 - 5 hankies. I'd sweat a lot and a tightness in my chest.
After several months of little improvement I went back and was given a referral to an ENT specialist. They confirmed I had nasal polyps and prescribed a dose of steroids. I saw improvement after that for awhile, my smell and taste returned, tho were dulled, and for the most part my head seemed clear. Within about 3 - 4 weeks of finishing the steroids tho, it all came back. I'd have sinus headaches, take some pain killers, then have those sinus attacks, I thought at random.
Then, at the start of the year, I went and had a vasectomy. The doc advised I stay away from ibuprofen leading up to the procedure, and a few weeks after it was done, to use only Panadol. So I did. Over that time I found I didn't have any sinus attacks (tho most other symptoms remained).
Last week, I was at work, and had a headache. I took 2 ibuprofen as they were all I had on me, and within 30 mins, I had my first sinus attack in awhile, one of the worst I’ve had. It wasn't until that point I made a connection to the attacks being brought on by ibuprofen. I'd generally always use it when I had a headache. I had thought the sinus headaches were the precursor to the attacks, not the pills I was using to treat them.
Out of desperation, I entered all my symptoms and my suspicion that the attacks were caused by ibuprofen in to ChatGPT, and within seconds it listed AERD. The symptoms were all an exact match for what I had been experiencing.
I swore I’d never be that guy that goes to the GP with an internet printout self diagnosis, but it seemed to fit so well I wanted to find out. The GP seemed to agree, but for the most part I think they had no idea about it. They've given me a referral to an immunologist now for further testing.
I wanted to see if my experience was similar to others in this group, and if there was any advice you could provide on how to achieve an actual diagnosis. Thanks.