Hi Cathy, I've got them too. The doc wanted to do surgery but the success rate seems too low, at least from web reading. I've found, for me, that tho I don't know the cause, they are reactive to what I eat. In other words, things like alcohol and vinegar make them swell up, almost immediately. A half-inch of alcohol in a glass will have a 2-day effect before going away. The vinegar effect lasts about 6 hrs, but of course, I used much less.
I also have eliminated most grains and dairy because they increase mucus. I've actually got 2 problems - the polyp gets irritated and swells up, and mucus invades and clogs up what space is left by the polyp. I also believe excess mucus irritates the polyp, making it swell. So I try to avoid irritating it, and also avoid mucus makers. That's the only way I know of to manage it unless a person knows of something else that is causing it and they have control over it.
So I just don't eat a lot of foods anymore, and that's not great, but it's not bad either. I can still eat the most nutritious things and in fact, that's what the lists have come down to. The foods with least nutrition seem to have many possible negative effects whereas the best foods negatively affect the least people. So I'm not sad that I'm being made to eat better, it's time. I'm 61 and have been living in a fantasy world about what I can eat.
But these foods also taste good and are easy to cook. I concentrate on vegetables, good fats (coconut, olive XV, butter/ghee, and sesame oil for flavorings). 4-6oz protein/day and beans, fruit, dark chocolate, nuts, spices. It doesn't sound like much but when you start with real flavor rather than just heavy loads of salt and sugar bound together with flour, it's easy to create a great meal that's very filling and satisfying, even desserts.
Anyway, I've done a lot of research and I really wish someone would come up with a fix for this but so far, haven't found anyone who has for sure. I'm still trying some home remedies, mostly from the Earth Clinic site, which does have some declarations of cure but they don't follow up too well so you don't really know. And what works for one may not work for anyone else.
I use a saline spray 5-10X/day, otherwise it seems to dry out and get irritated. This doesn't happen when I'm outdoors. For mucus, I tried the steam, didn't work for me, nor did I really have the patience to do it. Walking or any form of exercise, especially just hanging upside down from the waist every once in awhile, loosens the mucus.
It's a constant thing. But I want to breathe and sleep. I now can sleep thru the night, maybe wake up once if I've slipped up on the foods. There was a time when I couldn't sleep longer than 2 hrs. Altho now I've found that I can get up if congested, use the nasal mist, and be able to go back to sleep, often for the rest of the night. I guess the act of lying down causes the mucus to pool in the sinuses but since I'm sleeping I'm not getting any more mucus causers to make it build up again. I still have to sleep sitting up but then, I'm still not totally on a pure diet. It seems to be additive. If I'm "clean" then one serving of grain or even dairy may not build noticeable mucus, but two servings probably will. If I'm already congested, then a very small amount can really close up the breathing tubes.
So for me, first I try to consider what's irritating the polyp and not do those things. And always, I'm trying to not eat any food that will make my body make more mucus. It's a longterm thing. We all have something, I guess, to tend. This is mine.
Good luck. If you try anything, let us know the results, it helps so much.
Karen
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Hi Cathy, I've got them too. The doc wanted to do surgery but the success rate seems too low, at least from web reading. I've found, for me, that tho I don't know the cause, they are reactive to what I eat. In other words, things like alcohol and vinegar make them swell up, almost immediately. A half-inch of alcohol in a glass will have a 2-day effect before going away. The vinegar effect lasts about 6 hrs, but of course, I used much less.
I also have eliminated most grains and dairy because they increase mucus. I've actually got 2 problems - the polyp gets irritated and swells up, and mucus invades and clogs up what space is left by the polyp. I also believe excess mucus irritates the polyp, making it swell. So I try to avoid irritating it, and also avoid mucus makers. That's the only way I know of to manage it unless a person knows of something else that is causing it and they have control over it.
So I just don't eat a lot of foods anymore, and that's not great, but it's not bad either. I can still eat the most nutritious things and in fact, that's what the lists have come down to. The foods with least nutrition seem to have many possible negative effects whereas the best foods negatively affect the least people. So I'm not sad that I'm being made to eat better, it's time. I'm 61 and have been living in a fantasy world about what I can eat.
But these foods also taste good and are easy to cook. I concentrate on vegetables, good fats (coconut, olive XV, butter/ghee, and sesame oil for flavorings). 4-6oz protein/day and beans, fruit, dark chocolate, nuts, spices. It doesn't sound like much but when you start with real flavor rather than just heavy loads of salt and sugar bound together with flour, it's easy to create a great meal that's very filling and satisfying, even desserts.
Anyway, I've done a lot of research and I really wish someone would come up with a fix for this but so far, haven't found anyone who has for sure. I'm still trying some home remedies, mostly from the Earth Clinic site, which does have some declarations of cure but they don't follow up too well so you don't really know. And what works for one may not work for anyone else.
I use a saline spray 5-10X/day, otherwise it seems to dry out and get irritated. This doesn't happen when I'm outdoors. For mucus, I tried the steam, didn't work for me, nor did I really have the patience to do it. Walking or any form of exercise, especially just hanging upside down from the waist every once in awhile, loosens the mucus.
It's a constant thing. But I want to breathe and sleep. I now can sleep thru the night, maybe wake up once if I've slipped up on the foods. There was a time when I couldn't sleep longer than 2 hrs. Altho now I've found that I can get up if congested, use the nasal mist, and be able to go back to sleep, often for the rest of the night. I guess the act of lying down causes the mucus to pool in the sinuses but since I'm sleeping I'm not getting any more mucus causers to make it build up again. I still have to sleep sitting up but then, I'm still not totally on a pure diet. It seems to be additive. If I'm "clean" then one serving of grain or even dairy may not build noticeable mucus, but two servings probably will. If I'm already congested, then a very small amount can really close up the breathing tubes.
So for me, first I try to consider what's irritating the polyp and not do those things. And always, I'm trying to not eat any food that will make my body make more mucus. It's a longterm thing. We all have something, I guess, to tend. This is mine.
Good luck. If you try anything, let us know the results, it helps so much.
January 10, 2013 - 2:41amKaren
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