When Symptoms Overlap: Monika’s Story of Living with CRSwNP

“If you’re treating the wrong thing, you’re not treating the problem.”

For years, Monika lived with and managed her asthma, allergies and eczema. She knew the conditions well and understood how her body reacted, what flares felt like, and how to respond.

So when new symptoms appeared, Monika relied on what made sense. She naturally assumed the symptoms were part of those same conditions and treated them accordingly.

What Monika didn’t know was that something else was causing the symptoms. Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) had been there all along. It was hidden behind conditions she had lived with her entire life.

“I didn’t have the correct direction to go in,” she says. “And it got super bad until I got that correct diagnosis.”

Monika’s story reveals how asthma, allergies, eczema and CRSwNP are often interconnected. It shows how easy it is to miss the root cause of a condition when symptoms overlap. And it is a reminder that when treatment isn’t working, the problem may not be that you’re doing something wrong. It may be that you’re treating the wrong condition.

Monika shares her journey to diagnosis, treatment, and understanding what was really behind her symptoms.

When did you first realize this was more than asthma or allergies?

I’ve had allergies and asthma my entire life. About a year ago, I started getting a persistent cough, a steady cough all day for about two to three months. I didn’t have a regular doctor, so I just kept going to urgent care.

I thought it was my asthma, so I was using my inhaler a lot. I had gone from not using it in a couple of years to using it multiple times every day. At urgent care, the doctor just kept prescribing the inhaler and saying it was a cough. And then my symptoms got bad.

Can you tell us about the moment you knew something was seriously wrong?

One night, I was coughing so much that I actually passed out on my couch. My mom woke me up and she was like, ‘Breathe.’ And I was like, ‘I’m breathing. I’m fine.’ The next day, I was driving to work and coughing again. I passed out for a couple of seconds and woke up about three lanes over on a bridge. I had missed my exit. I was very lucky that nothing bad happened.

What finally pushed you to see a specialist?

It wasn’t passing out that pushed me to see a specialist. I thought it was just asthma combined with allergies. I’ve had them for my entire life. If something happens to you enough, you know what it feels like.

My allergies have never caused a cough. But my asthma had. So that’s why I just assumed it was asthma rather than anything else.

It was my mom, a nurse, who said, ‘No, we’re going to get you to a specialist.’ She said my allergies were already pretty much handled, and this wasn’t normal for me.

When you went to a specialist, what did that process look like?

I went to an ear-nose-throat (ENT) specialist. He did the CT scan and saw everything. He explained that nasal polyps were causing my sinus issues. My sinuses and my air passageways were completely blocked. The specialist showed me the picture and said, ‘Normally you see these little black spaces where air can go through. You don’t have any of that.’

Now that you have the diagnosis, were there other CRSwNP symptoms you didn’t recognize at the time?

Honestly, not really. I had lost my sense of smell, but I didn’t notice that until it started to come back. Same with taste. I didn’t notice I lost my sense of taste until it returned.

The only thing I noticed was that, because my nasal passages were so blocked, I didn’t have postnasal drip anymore. I thought that was a good thing. It made me think my symptoms were more due to asthma, not allergies, because I’ve always had postnasal drip.

What did your journey to choosing a treatment look like?

It was very quick. My ENT doctor gave me a couple of options – surgery or medication (a biologic, Dupixent®). The doctor was seriously talking about surgery for at least two or three appointments because my sinuses were completely blocked. It was bad, and things had gotten to a really critical point.

How did you decide between surgery or medication?

I had just gotten out of two major surgeries, so I really didn’t want to go back into the hospital again. It would have been my third surgery in two years, and I just didn’t want to do it. I said that I would rather try medication first. The doctor also said the polyps could grow back even after surgery. So I thought, if the polyps are going to grow back anyway, I’d rather treat the inflammation.

The doctor recommended surgery, but still listened when I said no. 

The only hesitation I had with medication was that I’d never given myself an injection before, and I didn’t know if it would have the same long-term side effects as steroids. I’ve had really bad experiences with steroids. I had avascular necrosis [bone damage from long-term steroid use] as a kid from steroid use, and had both hips replaced. I don’t want to give up any more ball-and-socket joints.

Were there any challenges getting started with treatment?

I honestly didn’t realize how expensive Dupixent® was until about a year later. At first, I got it basically for free because I had just had those surgeries and met my insurance max.

When I realized the cost after a year, I went off it for a few months because I couldn’t afford that. When my doctor realized it was an issue, they helped get me on a plan. They said, ‘You’re bad enough that we’ll cover you.’ When I went back in, they said the polyps were growing back pretty quickly, so they gave me enough medication until the plan kicked in.

How did treatment change your daily life?

I didn’t realize how much my life was being affected until things began to correct themselves. I didn’t realize I had lost my sense of smell until it came back.

Things taste different from what they did three years ago. So much better. Like, salt. Salt has a taste. Salt has a tang. Salt has a feeling. I love salt!

I had started eating spicier food because I couldn’t taste much. Then suddenly everything came back, and I was like, ‘This is really spicy.’ You don’t need to eat the whole chili pepper. The chili pepper is hot. Jalapenos, they’re sweet, too. They are spicy, and they’re sweet.

My diet was actually overly spiced, and I didn’t know it. It turns out I’ve been over-salting. It went away so slowly that I didn’t even notice it was missing.

What other health improvements did you notice beyond your sinuses?

I didn’t know Dupixent® covers a myriad of things. I didn’t know how much I was being affected until it started to correct itself, like the change in my eczema. I have horrible dermatitis on my fingers, and I work on a computer all day. When you’re typing, you notice that.

The biggest thing is breathing. I’ve always had breathing issues, especially during certain seasons. Winter was always when I breathed best, but this was the first spring and fall in a really long time where my breathing felt like it does in winter. For the first time, all four seasons felt about the same. 

I’m off steroids now, except for topical ones. That alone has been huge.

That shows how it ripples into other diagnoses that I have, which is the real surprise about how all of my conditions are connected.

How do you explain living with CRSwNP to others?

I’ve always compared everything to what you can and can’t do. I ask people, ‘How do you like breathing?’ And they’re like, ‘Well, breathing, I just do it.’ I say, ‘Okay, stop.’ And they’re like, ‘What? You can’t stop breathing.’ I say, ‘But you can.’ And that’s when it clicks.”

That kind of explanation is usually what gets people. Breathing is something you do every day without thinking about it. Until you can’t.

What would you tell someone who thinks they might have nasal polyps?

Get checked out. Don’t just go to your general practitioner. Don’t go to urgent care. Get a referral. Go to a specialist such as an allergist, because you don’t know what they don’t know. And general practitioners are great at pointing out where you need to go to get that actual diagnosis. 

The biggest thing with my nasal polyps is that they became so bad so fast, and I didn’t have a general practitioner. I was just going to the ER and urgent care. The doctors there were just reinforcing what my past experiences have been, without checking out other options.

You might not know you have something, or you might think it’s something else. And if you’re treating something else, you’re not treating the issue. And that’s basically what happened to me. I didn’t have the correct direction to go in, and it got super bad until I got that correct diagnosis.

After that, you can deal with having the treatment and what direction you need to go. Hopefully, you’re surrounding yourself with the right people to lead you down a good path and listen to you.

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Thank you, Monika, for sharing your story.

Conditions like asthma, allergies, eczema, and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps often overlap and affect each other. When symptoms are treated separately, it can be easy to miss the real cause.

For Monika, getting the right diagnosis changed everything – not just her breathing, but her quality of life, how she enjoys food, and how she understands her own health. Her experience is a reminder that when symptoms don’t improve as expected, it may be time to ask if something else is causing them.