Sinus and Allergy Issues

Well, I saw my Ear, Nose, Throat specialist yesterday. They did a sinus x-ray and were concerned with what they saw. There's still some infection in there, and a possible cyst, all after 2 previous rounds of antibiotics in the last month. So, it's on to another dose of antibiotics, a different one, of course, then another sinus x-ray in 2 weeks. Dr. Howard is hoping the infection will be cleared up enough to see more detail. If it's still inconclusive, or hard to tell for sure, he'll order a cat-scan. The goal is to see if they can get rid of the sinus pressure and continual headaches. If it can be managed by more frequent allergy shots and 3 different allergy/asthma medications, he hopes to avoid surgery even if there is a cyst.

I had sinus surgery back in 1998 and it wasn't fun, but did keep me from having many sinus infections for many years. But this last 4-6 weeks has been bad for me. I'll be happy if I can just be pain free. These last several weeks have been miserable. I've had bad sinus pressure headaches with dizziness and nausea off and on, and last Thursday was actually throwing up. It was horrible.

It all started with a severe sinus infection that my family doctor was able to clear up with a round of Doxycycline. But one week later I was even sicker than before. I not only had the sinus infection again, but I had a horrible seeping eye infection and got laryngitis! I don't remember feeling that bad in a long time. This time, he put me on Levaquin, which is what they usually use for Pneumonia, to really knock it out. The crazy part is that there's still some residual infection in there. Amazing!

Now I'm on Augmentin, along with a medrol dose pack (prednisone) to try to reduce the several nasal swelling the doctor could see. After only one day on this treatment I feel a ton better already! I just pray that it continues. I just want to function and take care of my family. Thank God I didn't have to teach last week since we were on spring break!

Please keep my health in your prayers. The doctor is convinced it's mostly allergy related. Instead of every 2 weeks, he wants me to get shots every 5-7 days now. He also took a swab of one of my sinus cavities (not a pleasant experience) to determine what type of infection it may be. Hopefully, something will lead to consistent good health.