lespauldude

I'm not sure if my sinusitis is due to allergies or non-allergic reasons. I'm trying to figure that out while reducing my symptoms.

I've already got a radiofrequency turbinate ablation (or coblation) procedure done but that didn't do much for me and 3 months in they are slightly worse than before. my turbinates look like they are little inflammed balloons blocking most of the airflow. I've been told that those who have allergy causes to their sinusitis normally don't see long lasting improvement after this procedure because their allergies will just inflame the turbinates again.

However, I'm not certain I have allergies because I've tried steroid nasal sprays, Azelastine HCL (Astepro) and Flucatisone (Veramyst) and they have done nothing for me. The only thing that works is Afrin. When I take Afrin, I can see my turbinates shrink to a size 1/3rd what they usually are. It's crazy.

I've also tried the following to not much improvement:

Saline nasal spray
XClear Xylitol based spray
Installing an air purifier
Getting rid of the mold in my room and bathroom

I haven't tried everything. I know I can still do a number of treatments but I'm not sure what to do exactly from this point. I can go see an allergist and try to identify an allergy, but was wondering if there are other options? Has anyone else been able to eliminate some foods in their diet and see dramatic improvements? I've heard that allergy sources are cumulative and often symptoms of nasal congestion do not appear unless several allergy sources are present. I'm going to freak out if I find out that I'm allergic to everything and have to take multiple allergy shots for the rest of my life.