Nasal event following colonoscopy.

[DebE13]

This is pure craziness! Has anyone experience what seems to be some sort of reaction following a colonoscopy? My nose has been running/dripping non-stop since yesterday afternoon. I've been sneezing continually and the worst is the itchy feeling at the back of my nose. That tingly feeling you get right before you sneeze. It's driving me insane. It's comparable to reverse Chinese water torture. I walked around the house yesterday with Kleenex shoved up my nostrils and changed it out as they became saturated. I can't do the same at work. Every time I look down I drip. So pleasant when you work with the public. My eyes have the fuzzy feeling and there isn't signs that it's letting up.

I'm waiting for a return call from my GI but am not hopeful as to the remedy or if I will be believed in my claim that it's related to my colonoscopy. I assumed I could tough it out and it would be gone in the morning. I took two allegra this morning and it did't even remotely help. I know it will pass but I am curious if I'm the only one who has experienced this.

I was given a dose of benadryl in my IV in addition to the sedation drugs. I never had a reaction before but am assuming this was the cause. It was odd because within seconds of the benadryl entering the IV it felt like there was a plume of vapor at the back of my throat and I began coughing. I assumed that was what the nurse was describing saying some patients report a metallic taste after receiving it. I became mildly nauseous and dizzy, also a side effect but considering I am sensitive to prolonged times of not eating I figured that was just the way it is.

So in addition to a sore behind, my nose is chaffed. I'm trying to view the situation as better to drip from up top than from down below.


As an afterthought, i had a TB skin test on Monday afternoon. Could that be some delayed reaction? The poke site is undetectable so I didn't react there. ???

[Fiona]

Deb, see my earlier response (copied and pasted below) to your original post about your colonoscopy. Only Breathe-Right strips and time helped me. --Fiona

###

Deb, I had the same reaction when I had my one and only colonoscopy last year. Did you have an oxygen tube in your nose? I did, and it irritated the hell out of my nose to the point of swollen nasal passages. As soon as I woke up from the propofol, my nose started itching and I sneezed over and over. I just chalked it up to summer allergies. By the time I got home, my nose opened up like a faucet and didn't stop for two days. I Googled "nose running after colonoscopy" and figured out what likely happened. Irritated nasal passages are very common after colonoscopies now, since more and more gastroenterologists are actually putting people under instead of just sedating them. The only thing that helped me was using Breathe-Right strips to hold my nostrils open long enough for the swelling to go down.

I bet they gave you the Benadryl so you wouldn't start reacting until you got home instead of when you were still at the location of the procedure.

Hope the running nose stops soon.

Fiona

[DebE13]

Thanks Fiona, that would make sense. I had a surgery last year and a much longer use of the O2 and had no issues at all so didn't think that would be the cause. The nurse called me back and said it absolutely had nothing to do with the colonoscopy and was coincidence or I could possibly be getting sick. This isn't the sick type runny nose it's more an allergic reaction that the swollen nasal passages would account for.

Thanks for the peace of mind.

[JFR]

The nurse called me back and said it absolutely had nothing to do with the colonoscopy and was coincidence or I could possibly be getting sick. This isn't the sick type runny nose it's more an allergic reaction that the swollen nasal passages would account for.

Pretty strange coincidence.

Jean

[Fiona]

You're very welcome, Deb. I know exactly how you feel. It was like I was constantly on the verge of sneezing for two straight days (might've been a little longer), with pure water running out of my nose vs. the kind of runny nose that comes with a cold. The first thing I did when I got home was take a Benadryl (thinking, at first, that it was my standard seasonal allergies on overdrive) which didn't help because physical irritation to my nasal passages was causing my nose to run, not an allergic reaction. I think I went through an entire box of Kleenex in the space of a few hours!

My husband told me that when I was waking up and the nurse took the tube out of my nose, she said something like "Wow, they really shoved it way up there." No WONDER my nose was so irritated. You'd think the GI folks do enough of these procedures to realize that this is a possible outcome they should warn people about--or at least let them know they're not having a serious reaction if they call with questions!

Hope yours heals quickly.

Fiona

[tex]

The nurse called me back and said it absolutely had nothing to do with the colonoscopy and was coincidence or I could possibly be getting sick.

That's what they always say. They either have that response posted on a sticky note next to the phone, or it's printed indelibly in their brain.

and the nurse took the tube out of my nose, she said something like "Wow, they really shoved it way up there." No WONDER my nose was so irritated.

I get the impression that patients who are being prepped for procedures are used as guinea pigs to train nurses who can't seem to get the hang of inserting NG tubes properly. When I was being prepped for emergency abdominal surgery, a nurse was supposed to insert a tube through my nose to be used to drain my stomach. She kept trying to jab it into my lungs, and lemme tell you it's hell to try to convince a nurse in that situation that she's doing it wrong, because she thinks that she knows better, so she blames it on the patient, for not swallowing correctly when she says "swallow". When she finally gave it up and withdrew it, the end of the tube was coated with blood and fragments of human tissue. Thankfully, the second nurse knew what she was doing, and she inserted the tube smoothly and easily.

Unfortunately, the damage was done, though. Believe it or not, the damage to my nasal/bronchial, or whatever, airways bothered me more than the incision made by the surgeon that went from above my bellybutton to as far south as they could go. Apparently the hospitals don't realize that little issues such as inserting tubes can be a serious problem, because when I look back on my surgery, I still view that as the worst part of it all, and it should have been a non-event. The surgical team saved my life, but that nurse took all the fun out of it for a while.

I don't remember my nose running afterward, but maybe I missed that in all the excitement. I do remember a lot of pain toward the back of my throat though, for several weeks. Boo on nasal tubes.

Tex

[Fiona]

Wow, Tex, you have really been through it ALL!

[tex]

Wow, Tex, you have really been through it ALL!

Well, I was just unlucky enough to have some bad genes. But overall, I consider myself to be lucky, because so far at least, I haven't had to deal with any "serious" diseases.

Tex

[DebE13]

Less drippy today and the Benadryl before bedtime helped me sleep.

Tex, you got me beat!

I can only imagine how awful that must have been. Hopefully there was the similar standard of two (or three?) tries and you're done- like with needles. I've been a victim of that catastrophe before. In the process of being dx I had a CT scan (at least I think that's what it was) and the lady starting the IV to inject the dye couldn't get it in. Of course, it was my fault....my veins were too "leathery" and then it was that they roll. It wasn't the fact that she was just plain and simple no good at it. She actually asked me if I wanted to skip it. They could still take the pictures but they just wouldn't be as clear. !!!! I was feeling a bit crabby at this point and did my best to politely explain that I was sick and paying thousands for a diagnostic test so NO it wasn't ok to just skip it. They ended up pulling a surgical nurse out of the OR to get it done (on the first try). They all got a bit of a scolding. It didn't make my arm feel much better but it was good to know there was some skill in the room. BTW, I have some very prominent veins in both arms that are pretty easy targets.

[tex]

Deb,

I don't remember how many attempts were made, but your estimate is probably pretty close. Of course when you're in a situation such as that, it always seems to go on for an eternity or 2.

You might have been that IV nurse's worst nightmare — a patient who expects her to actually do her job. I'll bet a lot of patients would have chickened out after being poked and prodded with that needle for a while. Your tenacity probably surprised her.

It's good to hear that you're doing better today.

Tex