Chronic Sinusitis - PLEASE HELP!

[littlebitshe]

So, I've had Chronic Sinusitis since Sept. 08...

I've seen my family Dr. and she put me on several rounds of antibiotics along with Prednisone (steroid to bring down the swelling in the sinuses to allow drainage). Once I stopped the antibiotics the sinus infection would come back.

She eventually referred me to an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) Dr. I saw him, he put me on stronger antibiotics and 4 weeks of Prednisone. After I finished that, the sinus infection came back. The ENT Dr. ordered CT Scans to see if the sinuses were full of trapped mucus and if there were any anatomy issues causing this. He found that there was indeed trapped mucus and I have a slight deviated septum blocking the drainage. He recommended surgery.

Surgery is not always the best option so I decided to try a Naturopathic Dr. first. She put me on several suppliments to get my Immune system back to normal (it was SHOT from all the antibiotics & I was EXTREMELY weak and tired) and put me on a supplement that would make my sinuses drain. All of this worked very well and my sinuses FINALLY drained and wow they drained like crazy!! Anyhow, I finished the supplements and I felt the sinus infection coming back So I started another round of supplements. Once finished it came right back.

Now, I'm at a loss of what to do. Nothing is seeming to knock this completely out and the pain is unbearable! I have pain in my lower and upper sinuses that is causing jaw pain which in turn causes teeth pain.

Is there anyone that has had the surgery? How did it work for you? Did it stop the Sinus Infections? Are there other options that I'm not aware of that someone else has done? Any suggestions?

I'm going to see my Naturopathic Dr. on Monday FOR SURE and I'm going to discuss my options with her but I wanted to see if there is anyone who has any advise or has dealt with the same issue. Please Help!

** PS - I never had Sinus Infections before this & I believe this was all brought on by my seasonal allergies. I've been taking Zyrtec D for my allergies & have cut out milk in my diet as I also have a slight allergy to milk.

 

[SweetErika]

Did any of your doctors do cultures for fungal infections? If not, that's probably something you'll want to look into since the infections keep coming back (or never really go away).

Also, have you tried flushing regularly with saline, either with a bulb syringe or neti pot?

I had surgery about 7 years ago, and while it helped some, I still have some sinus headaches and a few infections a year. I'm not sure if I'd do it again given what I know now about the efficacy of surgery, but I might because at least I'm not having incapacitating pain daily for weeks on end all the time. If you have a really great ENT who takes a holistic approach (i.e. surgery likely won't cure all problems, but it could be a good part of an overall treatment plan), it might be worth seriously considering if there's clearly an anatomical defect.

 

[littlebitshe]

I have been using a Neti Pot twice a day. This has been helpful, but I don't seem to get a lot of green mucus or what I would expect out of my nose. I've also used the saline rinse that you spray directly up into your sinuses (it has a bit of pressure behind it so it goes up into the sinuses.

 

[cebalrai]

I had regular sinus infections before going on Flonase. Flonase is a wonder drug for me.

Additionally I take pseudoephedrine to further decongest during periods of extra congestion. Instead of 5-6 sinus infections per year I only get about one...

Also, I had a gf one time that got sinus surgery because of septum issues that caused congestion. The first few days after the surgery were pretty bad, but after that she was a lot better!

 

[subwannabe]

All good advice. I used to have chronic sinus infections just like you. Do you get allergy shots? I have been doing that for years and years now and have found it a lot more helpful than anything else. The Neti Pot is also a great idea. I have never done it myself but I do let hot water go up my nose every time I take a shower and it does really work. Also, I don't know what your eating habits are like but this stuff feeds on sugar. Try eliminating sugar from your diet as much as you possibly can for as long as you possibly can.

 

[littlebitshe]

Did any of your doctors do cultures for fungal infections? If not, that's probably something you'll want to look into since the infections keep coming back (or never really go away).

Sorry Erika, forgot to answer this part. No I haven't had a culture for fungal infection. I will discuss this with my dr on Monday. Thanks for the additional option!

 

[littlebitshe]

All good advice. I used to have chronic sinus infections just like you. Do you get allergy shots? I have been doing that for years and years now and have found it a lot more helpful than anything else. The Neti Pot is also a great idea. I have never done it myself but I do let hot water go up my nose every time I take a shower and it does really work. Also, I don't know what your eating habits are like but this stuff feeds on sugar. Try eliminating sugar from your diet as much as you possibly can for as long as you possibly can.

I've heard that the shots can help but are very expensive as you need something like 1-3 a month and it doesn't start working till after a year or two. Is this what you've experienced as well with the shots? Seems a long time to get some relief.

Also, I'll cut out sugar all together to help fight this off. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Cathleen]

I used to have one long sinus infection from the fall to the spring (closing windows to opening them again). My doc did the antibiotic route and finally I went in and said clearly this isn't working, other than take some of the pain away for a few days. He was glad I'd reached that point actually, so I stopped doing pills. I also got rid of my vaporizer/humidifier. (I was glad to get rid of yeast infections too.)

I did a lot of steam with tea, showers etc and one thing that truly helped was putting warm/hot almost compresses on my face. It helped with pain, flow and just felt good.

Sinus infections are one of the most difficult to treat as they're tough to truly get to. I've had friends and family do the surgery with varying success.

Is it a problem to stay on the supplements for an extended time? Perhaps with more timer it'll return things to a more normal state.

I'm sorry you're having such difficulty, I hope things get better soon.

 

[Derya]

re allergies and immunology

One of the followup posts on your thread asked if you had pursued visiting an allergist/immunologist. This may be a valid consideration. Also as some of the answers are validating, there may not be one all improving solution (natural, surgery, meds etc). Having a ton of allergic problems this direction I've learned and had to work to accept it takes the whole mix of approach to help combat a chronic condition that just doesn't get "fixed" so to speak.

It sounds and is very possible that part of your continued sinus condition is connected to allergies. Pursuing treatment with a qualified allergist/immunologist should be considered. I know that I was very skeptical about the success from this kind of treatment but I have had marked improvement swiftly. I would also suggest if you get opinions on various providers or allergy services that you do so from and through people who have actually pursued allergy/immunology treatment over the long term. I ended up in the direction of allergy treatments finally (much like you) due to a chronic hives that perhaps could be correlated to allergies and had to find some solace or improvement in symptoms. My sinus, head, and upper respiratory symptoms have improved so remarkably since pursuing this route of treament I am disappointed beyond belief that none of my health practioners sent me in that direction previously. Now for my personal resultes the condition of hives I originally sought the allergy treatments to help improve does not seem to be affected (maybe not coming from an allergy at all) but we have found a tolerable, safe and affordable medication that helps (between my allergist, dermatologist and family dr.) so that is where I refer again to the whole mix of solutions that may be necessary.

I found there's a lot of myths and confusion out there about allergy treatments and every person is different in how they respond to treatment. And as I said I was way way skeptical about allergy/immunology success etc. Like with all practitioners finding a practice that communicates on all levels regarding care is important (what can be expected, costs, likelihood of success, why or why not pursue, cooperation, what are your allergens can you remove them from your world and avoid treating or are they unable to avoid etc). I have a lot of more specific information I can share in my pursuit of this direction of care and what I've learned of how much allergies affect your whole body health, costs, adjusting to accepting approaching allergy treatments etc. .....if this can be helpful to you in future or just for fyi..I'd be happy to share, pm me.

 

[Weird Harold]

All of this worked very well and my sinuses FINALLY drained and wow they drained like crazy!! Anyhow, I finished the supplements and I felt the sinus infection coming back So I started another round of supplements. Once finished it came right back.

That certainly sounds to me like an environmental problem rather than a "health" problem -- your sinuses are doing exactly what they're supposed to do, filtering out allergens and pathogens but they're peing overwhelmed without the supplements.

You need to take a very close look at your environment to see where the infection is hiding to reinfect you when you manage to overcome it in your sinuses. A thorough 'spring cleaning' of your house (or at least an evaluation of whether your HVAC system is harboring something) would seem to be indicated.

 

[nccash]

sweet erika

she is the bomb ,she always knows what to say .i love her

 

[PinkLace5]

I have had sinus surgery for having a deviated septum (in two places) and also removing swollen nasal tissue. I work with children and suffer chronic sinus infections so much so that I find I am on antibiotics more often than I am not. The surgery initially did WONDERS for my breathing and definitely decreased the amount of times I suffered from sinus infections. Unfortunately, 4 years later I was told by my ENT that my deviated septum shifted back which he said was highly unusual (just my luck!). Nonetheless, I decided to try allergy shots again to try and improve my situation. My ENT and allergist agreed that using Netti pot is one of the best things I can do. My allergist told me to go to my local pharmacy and request ALKALOL from the pharmacist...it does not require a prescription but it won't be on the shelves. He instructed me to fill the Netti pot 1/4 with the ALKALOL as well as using the solution with warm water. The ALKALOL has been a miracle worker and definitely worth looking into. Here is a link: http://www.alkalolcompany.com/


P.S. Any questions you have about the surgery feel free to message me...good luck to you!

 

[Down_UnderKid]

ive had surgery for narrowing of the sinus's which caused me to get sinusitis.

make sure ur not a smoker, or around someone who is. i smoked and got sinus problems a fair bit and i was told by my surgeon that he would rather me drink than smoke.

the surgery will block up ur nose for a few days, is fairly painless and will definatley help in the long run

 

[littlebitshe]

Wow, I've gotten LOTS of Great info from all of you! Thank you so much! I think I am going to try several things at once and see if I can knock this out for good.

I'm going to completely cut out sugar (this one might kill me, but will be worth it). I'm not a smoker, so that isn't an issue. Going to have my home Deep Cleaned this week (ceiling fans, dust, everything) & I'm going to have my vents cleaned and tested for mold. We've had mold before (when we first moved in) so it's possible it could be back and contributing to my problem as I'm very allergic to mold. The Neti Pot has been doing wonders for me so i'll continue that, but add the Alkalol starting tomorrow. I'm going to go back on the supplements as well as they have always helped before. Just looks like i'll be on them for a while I'm also going to find out more about the allergy shots by talking to my Dr. These may be a good thing to start for me.

All of this put together should help a lot and I really appreciate everyone's input! I'll let you know how it's going later.

 

[Weird Harold]

Wow, I've gotten LOTS of Great info from all of you! Thank you so much! I think I am going to try several things at once and see if I can knock this out for good.

One additional point you may or may not already be aware of -- Anithistamine/decongestant backlash. If you regularly take antihistimines or degongestants or both, when you stop you will experience essentially the symptoms you were taking them for for about 72-96 hours until your body realizes it's not getting the extra help and starts dealing with the problem on it's own. Someone earlier mentioned a similar effect on their immune system from taking antibiotics.

The longer you use any given antihistmine regularly, the more severe the backlash when you quit. (It's actually a drug withdrawal condition, but it's easy to mistake for the condition that led you into antihistamine use in the first place.)

The way I've found to avoid, or at least minimize the effect is to change the antihistamine a day or two before I expect to be able to get through the remander of pollen season without artificial assistance. The different antihistimine takes care of the backlash without generating as severe a backlash to its removal.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

I have had chronic sinusitis and bad allergy problems for years. My list of allergies now includes dairy/lactose, wheat, animal hair, hayfever, dust/mites, cigarette smoke, most perfumes, lanolin, wool, you name it. I get hayfever, sinusitis, asthma, urticaria and eczema in varying degrees throughout the year as a result of my intolerance of planet Earth.

I had surgery in 2004 to correct a deviated septum and open up my nasal passages. It's a simple op that according to my surgeon had me in the theatre for less than half an hour. Most people go home the same day but I stayed in for observation because I'm epileptic and had to have a general anaesthetic. The days after the op were unpleasant and you have to be careful of nosebleeds and live through a straw for a couple of days. I was recommended to take 3 weeks off of work because of the risk of nosebleeds and the need to sit about not doing very much. I was back to work within 2 weeks however with no problems. It seems an excessive period for such a small op but you'll understand if you have it.

I have been so much better since then. I'm still on antihistamines all year round and I still have allergy problems but they're milder. I haven't had a sinus infection since my op. I have also been told that if things worsen again I can have another little op to remove swollen tissue and mucus glands but I've not needed to enquire further yet.

It changed my life. Before I could barely function during the summertime. You need to look into allergies and so on as well though. I still have problems if I eat the wrong foods or wind up stuck somewhere that sets my allergies off. Now I've had the op and I know most of my triggers, I am a completely different person.

I admire you for using the nettipot because I never got on with the damn thing. Harold also has a point about anithistamine/decongestant backlash. I never use decongestant unless I have a cold or something because after I've been taking them for a few days, my nose is just an open tap (faucet). I take a normal dose of antihistamine during the winter but in summer I have to double that and if I manage to become desensitized to the current dose, I'll need a new liver in order to take more. The same goes for nasal sprays. Trying to keep meds to a minimum is a really good idea because when you do have real problems, you have the option to take them and know they'll be effective. I use Olbas oil a lot and Vicks Vaporub when my asthma is also affected. My allergies can set my asthma off and give me double trouble. Fun. I have found Airwaves chewing gum to be a quick fix in a tight spot too so I always have some in my bag. Oh and echinacea, take it all year round to ward off colds. With your sinusitis, you should get yourself an annual flu jab too.

 

[littlebitshe]

Velvet... Honey... I feel worse for you than I do myself. Holy Crap you have a lot going on! Thank you for all the useful information.

It's interesting to hear more information on the surgery and how long it takes to recover from it... although I know you had a special case it is probably pretty close to how it is without epilepsy. I wish you good health and hope everything continues to get better for you, Sweetie! I'll consider the surgery after I give it one more go at the supplements. Hopefully I don't have to.

Oh and I'm getting my ducts/air conditioner cleaned completely on Thursday, then getting the house cleaned, then cleaning the carpet. This should help ALOT since we live in the desert and there is dust and dirt everywhere here. Most of all in our homes!

 

[subwannabe]

I can't really say when I noticed the allergy shots working for me. I may have been doing a combination of things in the beginning until the allergy shots took hold. I don't know what kind of insurance you have or your financial situation but the costs have been minimal to me. I think each vile (which lasts a couple or three months) cost about 200-250 dollars, of which I pay 20%. The actual shots are covered 100% by my insurance (which pays 26 dollars each time for two shots). Good luck.

 

[manofsteel52]

So, I've had Chronic Sinusitis since Sept. 08...

I've seen my family Dr. and she put me on several rounds of antibiotics along with Prednisone (steroid to bring down the swelling in the sinuses to allow drainage). Once I stopped the antibiotics the sinus infection would come back.

She eventually referred me to an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) Dr. I saw him, he put me on stronger antibiotics and 4 weeks of Prednisone. After I finished that, the sinus infection came back. The ENT Dr. ordered CT Scans to see if the sinuses were full of trapped mucus and if there were any anatomy issues causing this. He found that there was indeed trapped mucus and I have a slight deviated septum blocking the drainage. He recommended surgery.

Surgery is not always the best option so I decided to try a Naturopathic Dr. first. She put me on several suppliments to get my Immune system back to normal (it was SHOT from all the antibiotics & I was EXTREMELY weak and tired) and put me on a supplement that would make my sinuses drain. All of this worked very well and my sinuses FINALLY drained and wow they drained like crazy!! Anyhow, I finished the supplements and I felt the sinus infection coming back So I started another round of supplements. Once finished it came right back.

Now, I'm at a loss of what to do. Nothing is seeming to knock this completely out and the pain is unbearable! I have pain in my lower and upper sinuses that is causing jaw pain which in turn causes teeth pain.

Is there anyone that has had the surgery? How did it work for you? Did it stop the Sinus Infections? Are there other options that I'm not aware of that someone else has done? Any suggestions?

I'm going to see my Naturopathic Dr. on Monday FOR SURE and I'm going to discuss my options with her but I wanted to see if there is anyone who has any advise or has dealt with the same issue. Please Help!

** PS - I never had Sinus Infections before this & I believe this was all brought on by my seasonal allergies. I've been taking Zyrtec D for my allergies & have cut out milk in my diet as I also have a slight allergy to milk.

I came in to this a little late, but as someone who has suffered with sinus allergy and infections for over 50 years, I felt compelled to offer a bit of advice.
First, most quacks are just that. The majority of doctors out there do not understand what causes most peoples' sinus issues, in fact most can't even agree on the signs of a sinus infection in the first place.
The most effective treatment I've found is to make sure you get good nutrition, if necessary, take vitamin supplements.
A good one in EMergen-C. As the name implies, it's heavy on vitamin C.

I don't trust ENT's, they've caused me more trouble over the years than any of them.

Saline rinses are essential. Screw the netti pot, use an infant nasal syringe, and a mixture of non iodized salt, about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon in a glass of lukewarm water. It'll thow you for a loop the first couple of times, but you'll get used to it.

Watch out for them giving you prednisone. If you already have an infection, the prednisone will actually make it worse! The only steroidal injection that helps sinus allergy is acortisone injection, NOT oral prednisone.

Good luck.

 

[littlebitshe]

Update

*************
*** UPDATE ***
*************
So, for the past 7-8 months I've had several sinus infections. They haven't stopped yet. I get a SI, take meds, it goes away, meds stop, it comes back in 3-4 days. Repeat Repeat!

Today, I went to the dentist. He did a cleaning and I told him about the sinus infections as well as the jaw/teeth pain i've had with them. He did x-rays and found that I have a DEAD ROOT in the area that is hurting and getting the sinus infections. Interesting... He did another test and put a really cold cotton ball on that tooth and I felt NOTHING! Confirmed... I have a dead root in my tooth. This was caused by an old filling that didn't completely fix the problem of an old cavity (when i was like 12 yrs old). So, now I have a deep infection in this tooth. I have to have a root canal and crown done on it to fix the problem.

The dentist tells me, this is the source of my problem. The antibiotics & meds were getting rid of the infection, but the bacteria and dead root were still there so it would get infected again and cause a sinus infection on top of the tooth infection. FUN HUH! It will just be a never ending cycle till I get the tooth fixed.

I get the first part of the root canal on May 1st (and I can't wait!). They will be drilling in the tooth and cleaning it all out, putting medicine in it and do a temporary filling. I'll go back in another 2 weeks, they will drill it out again and make sure all of the bad stuff is out then do a permanent filling and crown. And Hopefully all Infections will be GONE!

I'll let everyone know..... Thanks again for all your help and support! You guys are great!

 

[VelvetDarkness]

Good grief, you poor thing. Hope you get it all sorted without any further mishap.