vasomotor symptoms and rhinitis??

Hi All,
I was intrigued by the term "vasomotor symptoms", having not recalled that
term before... so I searched and, of course, I found out they're talking
about hot flashes. I noticed, though, that non-allergic rhinitis is also a
vasomotor symptom.

I find this very curious, because as I'm nearing 50, my rhinitis is
increasing in "severity". I've been to the allergist (though I'm not
convinced of his competency or thoroughness in my case...) and I'm only
allergic to rag weed (isn't the whole population??)

Anyway... I have allergic-type symptoms quite often (most notably when I eat
dairy, eggs, cashews...), but can't always identify the trigger. Some days
it seems like any old thing will trigger the stuffiness, runniness, post
nasal drip (more like faucet turned on high -- not a drip!) and overall
itchiness...

So now I'm wondering if the allergy-type symptoms might be connected to
perimenopause transition/vasomotor symptoms. Any thoughts or experience on
this??

Thanks! and have a wonderful day!

Julie C

On Jun 23, 10:17 am, "Julie C" <jew...@gra.midco.net> wrote:
> Hi All,
> I was intrigued by the term "vasomotor symptoms", having not recalled that
> term before... so I searched and, of course, I found out they're talking
> about hot flashes. I noticed, though, that non-allergic rhinitis is also a
> vasomotor symptom.
>
> I find this very curious, because as I'm nearing 50, my rhinitis is
> increasing in "severity". I've been to the allergist (though I'm not
> convinced of his competency or thoroughness in my case...) and I'm only
> allergic to rag weed (isn't the whole population??)
>
> Anyway... I have allergic-type symptoms quite often (most notably when I eat
> dairy, eggs, cashews...), but can't always identify the trigger. Some days
> it seems like any old thing will trigger the stuffiness, runniness, post
> nasal drip (more like faucet turned on high -- not a drip!) and overall
> itchiness...
>
> So now I'm wondering if the allergy-type symptoms might be connected to
> perimenopause transition/vasomotor symptoms. Any thoughts or experience on
> this??
>
> Thanks! and have a wonderful day!
>
> Julie C


my allergies & vasomotor rhinitis & sinusitis have gotten worse as
i've moved more into perimenopause. i have only recently begun to
supsect that my hormonal states have contributed my entire adult life
to my rhinitis/sinusitis - started having the problems in puberty &
can seem to trace it to cycle hormonal shifts. i do have reactions to
allergens & weather, but i've driven myself crazy over the years
trying to figure out what was causing seemingly random problems.

otoh, when i mentioned this hypothesis to a doctor during my last
acute sinusitis episode, he thought that i was nuts.

i've been told that high levels of estrogen (or maybe sensitivity to)
can increase nasal congestion/inflammation, while low levels can cause
thickened mucus. but i know that there are others out there who can
do a better job of speaking to this; their knowledge & experience have
been of great help to me.

good luck,
ellen

I'm not surprised that the doc looked at you like you were nuts -- have had
that happen to me, too -- so frustrating!!

I've been on a mission to figure out what all my mounting symptoms have in
common -- it feels to me like there's an underlying common cause -- that
they're all related. I feel frustrated that the medical community tends to
look at each symptom separately. (Or perhaps it's me who doesn't present
all the problems at once??!) I'm hoping we get more holistic practitioners
in our area; maybe they would be of more help.
JC


"ellen" <epdpster@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1182649407.113393.181890@o61g2000hsh.googlegr oups.com...
> On Jun 23, 10:17 am, "Julie C" <jew...@gra.midco.net> wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> I was intrigued by the term "vasomotor symptoms", having not recalled
>> that
>> term before... so I searched and, of course, I found out they're talking
>> about hot flashes. I noticed, though, that non-allergic rhinitis is also
>> a
>> vasomotor symptom.
>>
>>>
> otoh, when i mentioned this hypothesis to a doctor during my last
> acute sinusitis episode, he thought that i was nuts.
>
> i've been told that high levels of estrogen (or maybe sensitivity to)
> can increase nasal congestion/inflammation, while low levels can cause
> thickened mucus. but i know that there are others out there who can
> do a better job of speaking to this; their knowledge & experience have
> been of great help to me.
>
> good luck,
> ellen
>

"Julie C" <jewlyc@gra.midco.net> wrote in message
news:Ltadnd41Ir3jtuDbnZ2dnUVZ_gSdnZ2d@midco.net...
> Hi All,
> I was intrigued by the term "vasomotor symptoms", having not recalled that
> term before... so I searched and, of course, I found out they're talking
> about hot flashes. I noticed, though, that non-allergic rhinitis is also
> a vasomotor symptom.
>
> I find this very curious, because as I'm nearing 50, my rhinitis is
> increasing in "severity". I've been to the allergist (though I'm not
> convinced of his competency or thoroughness in my case...) and I'm only
> allergic to rag weed (isn't the whole population??)
>
> Anyway... I have allergic-type symptoms quite often (most notably when I
> eat dairy, eggs, cashews...), but can't always identify the trigger. Some
> days it seems like any old thing will trigger the stuffiness, runniness,
> post nasal drip (more like faucet turned on high -- not a drip!) and
> overall itchiness...
>
> So now I'm wondering if the allergy-type symptoms might be connected to
> perimenopause transition/vasomotor symptoms. Any thoughts or experience
> on this??
>
> Thanks! and have a wonderful day!

I don't know about non-allergic allergy type symptoms. But I became very
sensitive/allergic to things in peri that I hadn't been allergic/sensitive
to in the past. Notably chemicals in some papers (esp. glossy mags) & maybe
some inks. Made my skin turn red & burn wherever I'd touched the paper, &
gave me indigestion.

Also had tinnitus (like an a/c noise) & was hypersensitive to clang-y,
high-pitched sounds for a while in peri. Silverware or dishes clattering
were absolutely awful, for ex. Dawned on me later that the tinnitus might
be vasomotor related: think of when there's a "pounding" or "blood rushing"
noise in one's ears. My mere 2 cents.

Cathy

>
> Julie C

x-no-archive: yes

ellen wrote:

> i've been told that high levels of estrogen (or maybe sensitivity to)
> can increase nasal congestion/inflammation, while low levels can cause
> thickened mucus. but i know that there are others out there who can
> do a better job of speaking to this; their knowledge & experience have
> been of great help to me.

I don't know about mucus, but high levels of estrogen raise cortisol
binding globulin, which delivers anti inflammtory and immune modulating
cortisol to the cells. When estrogen is lower, we deliver less cortisol
where our bodies are used to having a bigger supply.

I have chronic sinus infection, and for thinning mucus so it drains,
nothing beats drinking lots of water. I also have to irrigate once or
twice daily with saline.

Susan

On Jun 23, 11:26 pm, Susan <neverm...@nomail.com> wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes
>
> ellen wrote:
> > i've been told that high levels of estrogen (or maybe sensitivity to)
> > can increase nasal congestion/inflammation, while low levels can cause
> > thickened mucus. but i know that there are others out there who can
> > do a better job of speaking to this; their knowledge & experience have
> > been of great help to me.
>
> I don't know about mucus, but high levels of estrogen raise cortisol
> binding globulin, which delivers anti inflammtory and immune modulating
> cortisol to the cells. When estrogen is lower, we deliver less cortisol
> where our bodies are used to having a bigger supply.
>
> I have chronic sinus infection, and for thinning mucus so it drains,
> nothing beats drinking lots of water. I also have to irrigate once or
> twice daily with saline.
>
> Susan



to respond to the 3 prior posts -

Julie - wish i could find a gp who viewed health holistically rather
than in an isolated fashion. very frustrating to have something
complex going on with different body systems affected & have the
doctor treat symptoms in isolation.

cathy - interesting observation on the vasomotor component &
sensitivies. i notice increasingly that i'm less tolerant of sound &
light levels. have developed tinnitus as well.

susan - thanks for the estrogen/cortisol explanation.

here's a link about hormones & rhinitis: www.emedicine.com/ent/topic402.htm

ellen