At wit's end--What finally worked for you? - Allergies Message Board

rush_rulz · 01-18-2005, 02:51 PM

What I want to know is how did those of you (if any..) who used to suffer from allergy/siunitis related symptoms finally stop it all? Surgery? A miracle Rx that finally worked??

I am at my wit's end! I know I still need to be tested for allergies but haven't the $$ and am not insured, so there is little I can do as far as testing goes. I pay attention to what I eat and when I have a reaction but my sinuses it seems constanly stay infected--the last time I was on antibiotics the symptoms didn't even go away, they just lessened. For a few weeks the blowing was less, the bleeding quit but then it all came back full force.

It doesn't help that I live in Lousy-anna, where the weather goes from 45 to 85 in a matter of days, sometimes only 24 hrs too! Now we're freezing again, so my nose will normally drip when I'm cold anyway, but I've been blowing it non stop for days, and still have blood in that too, although i've since bought some Silver Colloidal stuff, or Welness Silver, that's suppossed to be some natural antibiotic....we'll see I guess. After taking it yesterday I did notice that though I've still got a LOT of mucus coming from the nose, it isn't ALL yellow like it was when I first got sicker than I had been. I had a light fever (it felt like) when I got my worst these last few days...I'd get cold and just shiver for hours, despite being under a blanket. That's when I thought hmm maybe it's just a cold, and my sinuses are aggravated because of that! Because I didn't really run a temperature I just felt like I did.....but I am still blowing my nose and my life had to go on, I had to work, even though we had the holiday Monday. I'd hoped I'd be better by now, but I'm not....I have to carry kleenex packs with me--those small kinds--everywhere I go which is very embarrassing--and I've been going through one whole small pack like that A DAY!!!! That is a lot!

I just don't know where else to turn with this, the only ENT I've seen said that really the only hope for me is surgery, but i've also been told (mostly by friends and family) that I should get a 2nd opinion. But one of myDrs, who used to be a GP, said that most likely I'd be better off just moving to a different climate...or getting out of my house (like that's possible) I live in an old moldy house, that smells kind of musty. The mold on the outside is controllable, but recently we've discovered it growing under the sheetrock and only in our bedroom. Greeat! What luck that ours is the moldy room! We would just switch rooms with the other room, but the AC Unit doesn't work in there, it's way smaller than ours now (which is even now too small for me and my husband) and in Louisiana, it's summer 10 months out of the year or so.

Any suggestions to battle the symptoms in the meantime? I am just getting into things like meditation too, to calm my mind as my symptoms do flare up more when I'm ultra stressed... But what finally made life livable for all of you?

comeonnow · 01-18-2005, 04:52 PM

Sorry to hear about all your sinus problems. I can certainly relate, as I've suffered with chronic sinus infections for probably close to ten years now. It seems like the doctors don't have an answer. I've been put on antibiotics only to have it clear up (at least appear to) and then come right back. Then it's another round of antibiotics, and so on. One year I had eight sinus infections from November to March. I was hardly ever well. I'm so fed up with being sick half my life I could scream! The doctors seem to have no answers, as all they can come up with when I ask them what I can do to prevent getting these darn things all the time is, "Blow your nose more" and "Wash your hands more." Well, if I do that any more than I already do, I'll look like Rudolph and have my hands scraped raw! So much for their advice! I tried colloidal silver; maybe it makes a difference for some other people, but I couldn't see any chance...I still got sick. I decided to save all that money and not buy it anymore, because it certainly is NOT cheap! I do have allergies, especially to dustmites, so I've removed all the curtains and carpeting that was in the house and try to keep the place vacuumed as often as I can. I wet mop our bedroom floor and dust frequently. I wash our bed linen in hot water. I use the air conditioner in the summer. I have an air cleaner running in the winter. I've done everything that the doctor/allergist suggested short of ripping out our heating system, which is forced hot air. I can't afford to replace that, and if it's like everything else that I've tried, it wouldn't matter anyway even if I did spend all that money to replace it with another type of heat. One thing I want to try yet is nasal irrigation. I just ordered a Hydro Pulse machine on the net and it should be getting here in about a week, so I will cross my fingers that daily nasal irrigation will be the answer for me. I thought that $80 or so was a lot for the machine, but considering all the money I spend at the doctor and pharmacy during the fall and winter, the money spent on the machine is a mere drop in the bucket compared to those other expenses! I long for the day when I can say goodbye to sinus infections forever! I will post on here at a later time how the machine is working out for me, and maybe that can be an answer for you too (I'm already kind of counting on it being one for me!)

rush_rulz · 01-19-2005, 09:15 AM

Hi comeonenow,

Well it certainly seems you've had your share of nasal/sinus miseries!! All my life I have had allergies, was born with them and have always had skin rashes and stuff like that too. But the sinus infections didn't start till I moved to the house I am in now, I've never been so sick in my life, but even when I'm not in that house, then my alleriges get worse--it is like the sinus pain is bad when I am at my house, when I go anywhere else I sneeze and get red eyes and itch...so if it isn't one it's the other!

Like you, all the drs ever do for me is say here are some more antibiotics but even the ENT said that those won't really help me, they'll just make me feel better for a limited time. He was right, after being on antibiotics for almost 3 months straight (talk about a yeast infection from hell, after that, if your a female like me!) I still got sick yet again, it only lasted like 3 months, and I was back to a Dr again.

But perhaps I've been this way all my life and really do need the surgery, regardless of where I live. I just can't aford it now!

I hear you about the cost of the meds, and the silver! It's bad. I liked being on the Zyrtec when I was, have you tried that? I wouldn't sneeze hardly at all on it.

I hope that the machine does work for you. I am thinking of investing in a humidifier, like I used to have as a small child. I got sick every single winter as a kid, and had sinus infections and bad allergies then, and I couldn't sleep without it, so I'm thinking if I can't get one of those Hepa filters, then a humidifier like they sell at walmart might offer some relief! I hope you feel some relief soon!

comeonnow · 01-19-2005, 12:13 PM

Geez, your life does sound a lot like mine. It's not fun, is it?

Getting these infections sure does detract from one's quality of life, I think. I really get disgusted big time, and I think my husband gets tired of me being sick all the time. Yes, I'm a female, so trust me, I know exactly what you mean with the yeast infections...ugh! I had one for three months one time and thought I'd go nuts or something. Talk about misery! Now I've been taking acidophilus pills that I buy at Walmart and take them while I'm on an antibiotic. Although I just can't seem to avoid a yeast infection, at least the acidophilus seems to keep the yeast in check so it doesn't really run wild and make it completely unbearable.

My doctor did write out a prescription for Zyrtec with the first sinus infection that I had of the season, but when I got to the pharmacy the pharmacist said that my husband's insurance doesn't cover it so then I didn't get it filled. The insurance we have used to cover allergy medications such as Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, etc., but those days have come and gone. Our insurance isn't one of the best, and even on my maintenance prescriptions now I have to get the generic brand, whereas a few years ago I could get the name brand. It seems like every year it gets worse. Anyway, I've never tried Zyrtec because I don't recall that the doctor ever wrote out a prescription for it while the insurance covered it. Actually, I guess Zyrtec hasn't been out for a real long time, so maybe our insurance even stopped covering allergy meds before Zyrtec was on the market, I'm not sure.

I got sick a lot as a kid too. I guess mine was mostly all colds though. I wore Vicks on my chest and nose more than I care to remember! My mom and dad tell me that I was sick almost every single Christmas. I remember throwing up a lot as a kid. I guess I was mostly always a mess. About 15 years ago I was in the hospital for a week with pneumonia and felt like I was going to croak. I coughed so much that I had to hold my sides. It hurt so bad it felt like I had broken ribs. That hospital stay was when I was diagnosed with asthma, although I had suspected before that that I had it because I would wheeze sometimes. It seems like my getting colds/bronchitis/pneumonia has stopped and the sinus infections took over where those other things left off. Either way, I'm miserable. I didn't like getting that heavy feeling on my chest that I would always get with those things, but I also don't like the sore throats and headaches and the gunk that I get with these sinus infections. I'm so counting on the Hydro Pulse machine. If it doesn't work, then I'll be at a loss of what to try next. I hope that humidifier works for you when you get it.

sneezydiva · 01-19-2005, 11:13 PM

If you have an old musty. moldy house then a humidifier is the last thing you need! It will just help the mold grow. I can relate to your story, I had always had allergies but they didn't get out of control until I moved to South Carolina. And my house was old and musty, and I felt worse at home until we got some HEPA filters.

Honestly, It wasn't just one thing that helped me. It's been a combination of drugs, allergy shots, sinus surgery, HEPA air cleaners, daily sinus irrigations and moving from humid SC to the desert of Arizona. And even now, I'm not completely well yet, but it is under control, and I can function like a human being again.