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What Causes Pressure Behind The Nose Just Before Sneezing?
Question: Hi, my name is XXXXX and I'm suffering from an overproduction of Epinephrine. I am taking 5htp to bring these levels down and I am weaning myself off of Clonazepam after taking .375mg everyday for 6 months (doctors tried this to lower my epinephrine levels). I have been monitored (MRI with contrast) every year for the past 3 years for a very small pituitary lesion which has not grown. As I am getting on the 5htp and getting off the Clonazepam, I have noticed a strange sensation of pressure behind my nose that most closely feels like the pressure you get right before you sneeze, or the sensation you get when you get water up your nose. It comes and goes, but I typically feel it for a half second right before I get these strange sensations of epinephrin through my body which causes my heart to beat faster. I recently had an MRI to check my pituitary and it showed that the pituitary appeared normal, but I was told that to "rule anything out" I'd have to come back to have it done with contrast. For reasons I won't go into here, the contrast is very bothersome to my system and I can't have it. My question to you is... if there was something VERY WRONG that was causing me to feel this pressure behind my nose, would a plain MRI (without contast) be enough to pick that up? They said the regular MRI is normal, unremarkablel. Would a regular MRI pickup on something that needed to be addressed right away?
Brief Answer:
Yes a plain MRI would pick it up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX and thank you for coming to HealthcareMagic.
In terms of picking up some lesion responsible for that pressure feeling I think the MRI without contrast is enough, it would pick up any lesion causing such pressure, have no fear about that.
Where contrast would be useful (as you may already know) is in the study of the pituitary lesion, where the administration of the contrast increases sensitivity for small microadenomas, lesions which while not responsible for that feeling (do not cause any pressure or compression) may produce certain hormones.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Yes a plain MRI would pick it up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX and thank you for coming to HealthcareMagic.
In terms of picking up some lesion responsible for that pressure feeling I think the MRI without contrast is enough, it would pick up any lesion causing such pressure, have no fear about that.
Where contrast would be useful (as you may already know) is in the study of the pituitary lesion, where the administration of the contrast increases sensitivity for small microadenomas, lesions which while not responsible for that feeling (do not cause any pressure or compression) may produce certain hormones.
I remain at your disposal for other questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you. What is your knowledge about Clonazepam? I am trying to slowly wean myself off the drug, but am having great difficulty. I was initially on .75mg every night for a month, then I went down to .5mg every night for 1 months, then down to .375mg for 4 months. I have been on .25mg now for 2 weeks and have recently gone down to .1875mg which is causing me a lot of dizziness and pain all over my body.
I experience PTSD from some medical events in the past at hospitals, so everytime I need to go see a doctor, I have to take the clonazepam to get through the experience. At this time, it is a paradox because the anxiety has gotten worse with using the klonopin longterm. I'd like to get off of it because I believe it is making me much worse, but it's difficult to get off of it. Do you know how long it should take to taper the drug? I have been trying to use 5htp to help with this process but I've only been taking the 5htp for 2 weeks and it hasn't helped yet.
So, do you know how to taper the drug?
And secondly, what could be causing the nasal pressure? It's definitely linked to the epinephrine, as I feel it right before I get the hot flash over my body that causes tachycardia.
I should also let you know that occasionally I get episodes where if I take something (like B vitamins) 20 minutes after I take it I get tachycardia and my body shivers for about 20 minutes. This has only happened twice in the past 6 months since I started getting the high levels of epinephrine, but I have yet to find a doctor who can explain why this is happening. Thank you.
I experience PTSD from some medical events in the past at hospitals, so everytime I need to go see a doctor, I have to take the clonazepam to get through the experience. At this time, it is a paradox because the anxiety has gotten worse with using the klonopin longterm. I'd like to get off of it because I believe it is making me much worse, but it's difficult to get off of it. Do you know how long it should take to taper the drug? I have been trying to use 5htp to help with this process but I've only been taking the 5htp for 2 weeks and it hasn't helped yet.
So, do you know how to taper the drug?
And secondly, what could be causing the nasal pressure? It's definitely linked to the epinephrine, as I feel it right before I get the hot flash over my body that causes tachycardia.
I should also let you know that occasionally I get episodes where if I take something (like B vitamins) 20 minutes after I take it I get tachycardia and my body shivers for about 20 minutes. This has only happened twice in the past 6 months since I started getting the high levels of epinephrine, but I have yet to find a doctor who can explain why this is happening. Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Read below
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the additional information.
The way you are trying to wean from Clonazepam actually is the correct one. The one rule is to do it gradually and you seem to be lowering the dose very gradually, I actually lower it even faster than that. The fact that you feel it almost makes you worst is because Clonazepam with time develops tolerance, meaning that the same dosage which used to be effective is not effective any more, the body wants more to alleviate the anxiety.
If you are someone who suffers from chronic anxiety I would say that benzodiazepines like Clonazepam are not the best choice, I use them only short term, if to be used for longer an antidepressive is more appropriate as it has the same efficacy but without tolerance and dependence (needs some weeks to achieve efficacy though).
As for the feeling of pressure behind the nose the fact it happens before the hot flashes indicates that it is simply dy to the dilatation of the blood vessels from the chatecolamine increase, the same mechanism as with the skin vessels producing hot flushes, the vessels in the mucosa, the lining of the sinuses and the nasal cavity, are dilated producing that sensation.
Regarding that episode of tachycardia and shivers .... I can not say I have a clear explanation for that. I can make a hypothesis, that when the digestive system is activated by taking something, it gets more blood in the stomach and intestines and blood flow in other areas is lower, triggering an exaggerated response from the body, from the sympathetic nervous system, producing the tachycardia. It is only a hypothesis though.
I hope to have been of help.
Read below
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for the additional information.
The way you are trying to wean from Clonazepam actually is the correct one. The one rule is to do it gradually and you seem to be lowering the dose very gradually, I actually lower it even faster than that. The fact that you feel it almost makes you worst is because Clonazepam with time develops tolerance, meaning that the same dosage which used to be effective is not effective any more, the body wants more to alleviate the anxiety.
If you are someone who suffers from chronic anxiety I would say that benzodiazepines like Clonazepam are not the best choice, I use them only short term, if to be used for longer an antidepressive is more appropriate as it has the same efficacy but without tolerance and dependence (needs some weeks to achieve efficacy though).
As for the feeling of pressure behind the nose the fact it happens before the hot flashes indicates that it is simply dy to the dilatation of the blood vessels from the chatecolamine increase, the same mechanism as with the skin vessels producing hot flushes, the vessels in the mucosa, the lining of the sinuses and the nasal cavity, are dilated producing that sensation.
Regarding that episode of tachycardia and shivers .... I can not say I have a clear explanation for that. I can make a hypothesis, that when the digestive system is activated by taking something, it gets more blood in the stomach and intestines and blood flow in other areas is lower, triggering an exaggerated response from the body, from the sympathetic nervous system, producing the tachycardia. It is only a hypothesis though.
I hope to have been of help.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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