Hi all,
I thought it was time I posted like the rest of you fellow sinus sufferers.
I am 47, female and have had chronic sinusitis for about 12 years now. Its
basically the bane of my existence. I have had 2 sinus surgeries which at
least opened things up so I could drain. I have been on an I.V. for 9 weeks
for a sinus infection to the tune of $30,000 about 9 years ago. I get sinus
infections which really interfere with my life. I finally resigned to the
fact that I will never be able to teach fulltime and so I substitute teach.
That way I get to pick and choose when i can work. It also means I catch a
ton of stuff from the elementary school kids every year. I am on Allegra and
Allegra-D, and the Guifenesin everyday of my life for alot of years. I also
give myself allergy shots 2x per week. No ENTs believed me either. I am not
real fond of ENTs at this stage of my life. I have an awesome allergist who
totally understands my situation and helps me alot. I have to drive 35 miles
each way to see him but its worth it. I have been seeing him for 10 years
now. I used to fight every infection and get really upset and frustrated.
Now I have finally come to the acceptance phase. I am lucky that I have a
new husband who totally empathizes. My ex never could and it basically
killed the marriage after 20 yrs. (among other reasons). When I ended up on
that IV years ago, I had seen like 5 ENTs who never figured out how infected
I was. I finally saw an infectious disease Dr. who did the proper tests and
got me on the IV. (thank God). Last year I had a bad year and had 7 sinus
infections. SO far this year I have had 2 (since Sept.). So this will
probably be a much better year. I have to irrigate everyday or else the
pressure gets to be too much in my head. I am convinced that irrigation is
the key to alot of it. I am really glad to be able to communicate with
others. We can really help one another with ideas and other things. Feel
free to email me anytime, if anyone wants to. I am pretty much an expert on
this whole issue.
Thanks!
Sue






>From: Mary Judkins <judkins1@...>
>Reply-To: helpsinuses@yahoogroups.com
>To: helpsinuses@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [helpsinuses] What's helping me
>Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 08:46:32 -0700
>
>The next time I go to my allergist, I intend to take this printed
>e-mail with me. Sounds like these are good things to do. I recently
>found a powdered sinus rinse that wouldn't sting & burn. Heretofore,
>all manners of boiled, purified, distilled, etc. inflammed my nose
>like alcohol on an open wound. What is this RhinoFlow & what is
>hypertonic saline & also where do you obtain both of these things?
>And, what is Neurontin? Sounds like a pain med. that dulls nerves?
>This is new info to me. Glad you found us. I too have had 4
>surgeries. I too have not been believed, by ENT's, can you believe
>it? My allergist believes me, his shots don't help me but I'm
>"armed" with ammunition for the ENT's because they would say, go see
>an allergist 'cause we don't see a problem. That's what they're
>currently telling me. When I wake up in pain (every night) I wrap my
>head in a heating pad w/ a wet sponge, turn it up on high, & try not
>to think how "unsexy" I look! (ha-ha?)
>
> >I have had severe chronic sinusitis for seven years. I needed to have
> >four FESS surgeries. I had so much pain and suffering that I
> >developed a depression. I am so happy to be able to communicate with
> >fellow sufferers as I know you really understand. You need to have
> >this terrible disease to really understand what it is like. Others
> >have either not believed me (because we don't always look "sick") or
> >not understood how much distress it causes. Some people are sick of
> >hearing me complain so I try not to and that makes me feel all alone
> >and it is harder to cope.
> >I still have infections after finishing antibiotics and still have a
> >lot of pain while infected and am always tired. Here are some things
> >that have made the sinusitis more bearable.
> > 1. I take the anti-inflammatory "Mobicox" 15 mg everyday.
> > 2. I use the RhinoFlow machine with hypertonic saline twice a day.
> > 3. I take "Neurontin" 300mg three times a day for chronic pain.
> > 4. I take "Guaifenex LA" 1200 mg twice a day to thin secretions
> > 5. I take the corticosteroid "Pulmicort" 1 mg in nebuamps in my
> >RhinoFlow machine directly to my sinuses twice a day
> > 6. I try to drink lots of water and spray my nose with saline
> >spray often.
> > 7. I am now starting exercise (riding a stationary bike) to lift
> >my spirits and help my immune system.
> > 8. When I need antibiotics I take Levaquin 500 mg once a day for
> >12 weeks.
> > I used to feel that I just couldn't go on living with this horrible
> >disease. I still feel it is very hard. Good luck to all of you. I
> >hope to e-mail the group regularly.
> >
> >
> >
> >Chronic Sinusitis Support Group
> >
> >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>--
>Mary Jane Judkins
>Plutonium Facility Archivist
>Nuclear Materials Technology Program
>Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
>L-360,
>P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94551-0808
>925-424-4639, pager 07339


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