Sinus infection from hell! (cross-post from general forum)

[kayakmom]

I do truly empathize with you. I have suffered from frequent sinus infections for many years. Had two surgeries to remove cysts, but have not seen much improvement. I went 2 months this time trying to fight it off without antibiotics since I am allergic to two already. I caved on Friday, took one dose and have hives from Levaquin. THis one has worked well for me until now. I was never offered Z pack so I do not know if that is on my list. I will ask.
Surgery helped me breathe better, but has left me with face pain, numb areas on my lip, tooth pain. I still get the infections. So think long and hard before trying this. It took me 6 weeks the first time to get fully on my feet again. Only a couple the second time. I recovered much more quickly. Take care hope the infection clears for you without further trouble.

[Upanova]

I too have been suffering for this past year with an actue sinus infection also. It is/was driving me crazy! I went for months without getting treatment, with headaches every day, dizziness/vertigo from the congestion in my head, and a constant post nasal drip, with breathing difficulties. I'm seeing a new doctor who has put me on Claritin-D, with Nasonex, and an antibotic. Will these help? I've had other upper resp. infections last year, and took Zithormax to know that out too, but it seems like each year I suffer more and more. The doctor has ordered another cat scan of my sinuses, (I had one last year at the ER when I came in complaining of knife-like pains in my head, showed that the front left Ethmoid sinsus were blocked). I really cant' stand much more of this! I live in So Cal so I can sympathize with those us who have to live in this environment. Also I have to see an allergist and see if it's the dog, mold, dust, dander, or pollen that's creating all this pain and suffering. I've had hay fever like stuff in the past, but when I moved out of state to college I never had many problems. Only living her in So Cal I seem to suffer more.

Also, my mother is religous about cleaning and having a perfect house, so I grew up in an environment that was probably very sterile and antisecptic. Now I can curse the day she cleaned too much. My house is overflowing with dust, and molds, that I can't get rid of. Help!

Thanks for reading my story, email me anytime!

Upanova

[KZero11]

Thanks everyone for your informative replies...it helps to know that I'm not the only one fighting this seemingly endlessw battle.

Here's an update on my situation. A follow-up water-level x-ray confirmed that the sinus below my left eye is still clogged, and I'll be seeing a surgeon next week for consultation. I ended up taking four full courses of anitbiotics without any relief from the constant wooziness sensation (Ceftin twice, Biaxin, and Zythromax). I was also told that I still have deviated septum despite the surgeory I had to correct it few years back, so I may get that fixed again along with sinus drainage.

I also got an allergy skin test, and I found out that I was very allergic to dust & mold. From talking to the allergist, it seems like this whole sinus thing was caused by multiple components: my allergy, my nose structure, and the nasty cold/sinus infection. So I bought myself a set of hypo-allergic beddings and a nice air purifier from Sharper Image, and I now vaccum my little studio every week. I also started to take Allegra along with Rhinocort Aqua nasal spray, so I'll see how that goes.

[This message has been edited by KZero11 (edited 12-08-2002).]

[kkwilson]

I too am a chronic sinus sufferer. I am battling a sinus infection right now and feel like I am going crazy! I just finished another round of antibiotics and still am having problems. The one thing that I have noticed is that amoxicillan does NOT work for me. I was scheduled to have sinus surgery due to having a deviated septum and lots of scar tissue in my sinus cavaties. However, I am pregnant now and there is nothing that I can do and boy, it sucks! I sympathize with your situation. Good luck on your future testing.

[KZero11]

Here's an update on my sinus problem:

I had a surgury on Jan 2nd by Dr. Lionel Nelson (SF Bay Area -- great surgeon) which involved turbinate reduction, polyp removal, and septoplasty (correction of deviated septum). The surgury was a success...and although it took me a while to recover (bad reaction to oral steoroid), I now feel "normal" again! My heavy-headedness/wooziness has dissapeared and I can breath thru my nose better than I ever have before.

Now that my "structural" problem is out of the way, my focus is on (dust) allergy-control and future sinus-infection prevention. I still vacuum/wash my beddings every week, and I continue to use my trusty sharper image air purifier. I also use waterpik with sinus irrigation adaptor to rinse out my nose, which is great for me since my body don't tolerate medications too well.