Assuming Will Never Make Your Symptoms Go Away!

“ASSUME. Making an ass out of u and me.”

A teacher once wrote that on the chalkboard. He said we are all tempted to do it, and it is never a good thing to do.

You’d think I’d know better, of all people. Although, I know I am not alone in assuming. I think it’s a default setting with us humans. When we don’t have answers, we naturally assume. And when we do so, we are usually wrong.

This is true of politics. Yes, it is! So many times, you hear things like, “He did that because he doesn’t care for the poor.” Really? How do you know? It’s called speculation. Did you know that speculation is not allowed in a court of law? A lawyer friend of mine told me that once.

Making assumptions about my health

Another thing often assumed about is our health. I have had asthma my entire life. I also have severe allergies to pretty much every outdoor thing you can be allergic to. And when I was a kid, I’d rub my nose a lot. And by the time I was 23 years old, I figured I’d have to live with tissues next to me all my life.

My mom would often quip, “I always know where John has been by the trial of tissues.”

Then one day, my doctor looked into my nose. He said, “Can you breathe through your nose?”

I said, “Of course not. I am a mouth breather.

“Well,” he said. “You have a deviated septum.”

“A what?” I said.

“Your septum is crooked and blocks your left nare. It’s probably from all the nose rubbing you did as a kid. It can be fixed.”

Getting proper treatment

So, he referred me to an ear, nose, and throat doctor (ENT), who confirmed the diagnosis. He fixed the problem. After a successful operation, mom no longer tracks me by my trail of tissues. Twenty-seven years later, I’m still tissue free.

Yet now my nose is blocked again. I am not back to using tissues all day, every day. But, I did get back to assuming.

And I clear my throat often. Yes, it isn't enjoyable. It’s to the point my coworker said to me one day, “You know that is annoying when you do that. But I know you can’t help it.”

Another friend had the same issue. One day she said, “I have to go now. When I get back, we can continue clearing our throats together.”

We would often theorize about our throat clearing. GERD causes it. It is a post-nasal drip. And we figured it was something we’d have to deal with.

Yet, we both assumed wrong.

Returning to an ENT

So, it had been 26 years since I had seen an ENT. I had an asthma attack, but my regular doctor was busy. So I scheduled an appointment with a nurse practitioner. She said, “I think your problem with your breathing is post-nasal drip. Your nose is full of inflammation.”

The next time I saw my doctor, he referred me to an ENT. He examined me and gave me some nasal sprays. The nasal steroid did not work. I assumed this was because my nasal inflammation was steroid-refractory.

He then prescribed strong antihistamines. It did not work either.

Finding new options

But, then at my third appointment, my ENT said something that impressed me. He said, “I find you a fascinating subject. So I sat down one evening and studied your chart. And all of a sudden, it occurred to me, “Do you take lisinopril for your blood pressure?”

“Yes, that’s true,” I said.”

“I think that is what is causing your throat clearing,” he said. “In fact, it’s a widespread side effect of that medicine.”

So, he suggested I have my internist recommend a different blood pressure medicine. Two weeks into my new blood pressure medicine, my throat-clearing disappeared.

It was so nice.

Finding a solution

Sadly, though, the new blood pressure medicine made me feel depressed. So, my internist switched back to lisinopril. Eventually, I tried a third blood pressure medicine. It made me feel so utterly fatigued. So, my internist once again put me back on lisinopril.

As they say, finding which medicine works best is a matter of trial and error. Deciding on the best medicine is often a matter of weighing the potential benefits with the potential side effects. And, based on a preponderance of the evidence, I decided to stick with lisinopril. I decided the throat-clearing was an acceptable side effect.

My point by sharing this is to remind you not to assume. It’s the natural default setting. We all do it, but we shouldn’t. If you are experiencing symptoms, talk to your doctor about it. There may be a simple solution. And the only way of getting to that simple solution is by getting to that proper diagnosis.