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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Sinusitis / August 2005Worst infection in memory....
I have been sick the last week with the worst sinus infection I can remember. It spread into one of my ears & I can't remember when I had an ear infection. I've been out of work all week! I'm getting so depressed from all of this. I'm on Augmentin 875 twice a day and the infection has been very, very slow to react to it. In addition to taking my usual sinus medications (Allegra D, Signulair, Atrovent Nasal Spray, Nasonex) I'm now taking a course of prednisone. I run Hepa filters in all the rooms of my house except the bathroom, kitchen, & basement. I have been using my Neti-pot too. I have allergies to ragweed (in season here now), molds, and dust mites. I've done allergy shots in the past but they got too expensive when my insurance started requiring a copay for each allergy shot visit, $15.00 a pop each week. I assume I'll have to start them again unless the cost has gone up even more. I've had surgery twice since 2000. I'm seeing a new ENT in a couple of weeks and will be getting ANOTHER CAT scan on Monday. Any suggestions of what I should talk to him about, other than the obvious? New treatment options? I've heard some people talk about "aggressive allergy shots therapy" oppose to normal allergy shot therapy...what is that? I have parrots but have never tested allergic for feathers or to feather dander. I had serious sinus problems for years, well before getting birds, but I know they could be making things worse. I hope it doesn't come down to having to get rid of any of them...and there is one I couldn't part with unless it was a matter of life and death. The birds get misted down regularly to keep their dander down. HEPA filters are running in both rooms they are in. I am so tired of dealing with this. ----- Kim/Dreamspinner3 Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ I feel empathy for you. I would ask the ENT about doing endoscopic sinus cultures for both bacteria and molds if you have had sinus surgery, including sensitivity. I'm not sure they can do this if you haven't; probably so, but a lot more painful. Also, have you tried nebulized antibiotics? Kathy >I feel empathy for you. I would ask the ENT about doing endoscopic >sinus cultures for both bacteria and molds if you have had sinus [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Kathy In all the years I've had sinus problems, no doctor has ever done a sinus culture on me! But the new ENT I'm going to see DOES do this & I'm going to ask him to do so. I have had allergy testing in the past and know that I'm allergic to ragweed, dust mites, and molds. I've had two sinus surgeries since 2000, the last being only a little over a year ago. I've never been given nebuized or IV antibiotics. I'll ask the new ENT about both. ----- Kim/Dreamspinner3 Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ > >I feel empathy for you. I would ask the ENT about doing endoscopic > >sinus cultures for both bacteria and molds if you have had sinus [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Kim/Dreamspinner3 > Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ Kim: I have taken allergy shots twice in years past. The last time I had the lab to mail the serums to me every 6 weeks and was able to inject them myself. My insurance paid for the syringes. No more complicated than what diabetics do every day. Just a thought! > I have taken allergy shots twice in years past. The last time I had >the lab to mail the serums to me every 6 weeks and was able to inject >them myself. My insurance paid for the syringes. No more complicated >than what diabetics do every day. Just a thought! I was told that one had to be under doctors' observation when being given allergy shots becasue of the (small) chance of an anaphylactic reaction. Is that a valid concern? I have never had one..... The first series of shots was 3 years...the second lasted 5 years. After that many injections and no reactions, they figure you're safe. After all, the formulations are very weak and increase only by minisimile amounts. I was treated by one of the largest allergy clinics in the country. I did sometimes feel they made me feel "tired" afterwards and that is one of the reasons for doing them at home--you can plan them around your schedule, not the Drs. >>I have taken allergy shots twice in years past. The last time I had >>the lab to mail the serums to me every 6 weeks and was able to inject [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Is that a valid concern? Yes. My asthma specialist always makes the patient wait a half hour in his office after an allergy shot, just in case. After a half hour, it's safe for the patient to leave the office.  SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. >Kim: > I have taken allergy shots twice in years past. The last time I had >the lab to mail the serums to me every 6 weeks and was able to inject >them myself. My insurance paid for the syringes. No more complicated >than what diabetics do every day. Just a thought! I've ask about giving shots to myself & my doctors wouldn't do it due to the possibility of having a serious allergic reaction at home. ----- Kim/Dreamspinner3 Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ > I've ask about giving shots to myself & my doctors wouldn't do it due > to the possibility of having a serious allergic reaction at home. The thing to do here is find another immunologist. My old (and wonderfully effective) allergist made me come to his office weekly for 12 weeks, then mailed me my serum with instructions (and adrenalin just in case) for titration. I went to an allergist so cautious after I moved away that all my allergies came back as she slowly took over a year and didn't have me back up to desensitization doses yet. I went back (driving over an hour) to the old allergist for keeps. He retested me, mailed me my serum, and in 12 weeks, voila! Allergic symptoms barely noticable again. For some inexplicable reason, the fact that a few people have died in 40 years during allergic desensitization has caused academic allergists to behave as if shots are more dangerous than severe allergies; they're not. Susan I see a new ENT on September 8th. I plan on asking this ENT lots & lots of questions. >The thing to do here is find another immunologist. My old (and >wonderfully effective) allergist made me come to his office weekly for >12 weeks, then mailed me my serum with instructions (and adrenalin just >in case) for titration. ----- Kim/Dreamspinner3 Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ On 8/29/05 8:53 PM, in article e0m7h1p4h495b9rbaqdc8m6mivqghb36lh@4ax.com, > I see a new ENT on September 8th. I plan on asking this ENT lots & > lots of questions. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Kim/Dreamspinner3 > Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/ A great deal depends on what you are getting and at what dose . If its a mixture and you are trying to establish a treatment regeime you need to watch for a reaction and give the shots in the office. If its a simple mix and your on maintenance and no problems with the shots, taking them yourself might be OK. Lot depends on these and other factors. We prefer patients give their own maintenance but its not always possible. > I have been sick the last week with the worst sinus infection I can > remember. It spread into one of my ears & I can't remember when I had > an ear infection. I've been out of work all week! I'm getting so > depressed from all of this. I'm going to ask you what I asked Kathy a few days ago: Have you checked the air quality in your county? Just enter the Zip Code in the box on this webpage: http://www.scorecard.org/ Also, my ENT believes that most sinus infections are viral, not bacterial. If the onset of your sinus infection was sudden, that suggests a virus rather than a bacterium. If so, then all you can do is tough it out and let the irrigation do its thing. SignatureSteven D. Litvintchouk Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me. >I'm going to ask you what I asked Kathy a few days ago: Have you >checked the air quality in your county? > >Just enter the Zip Code in the box on this webpage: >http://www.scorecard.org/ I checked this site & found out my employer is the 10th top polluters in my county in 2002! I don't work in the manufacturing plant--but it is only a few blocks away! >Also, my ENT believes that most sinus infections are viral, not >bacterial. If the onset of your sinus infection was sudden, that >suggests a virus rather than a bacterium. If so, then all you can do is >tough it out and let the irrigation do its thing. This infection came on differently & suddenly. It started with tooth pain in the upper jaw on the left side of my face...pain to cold things. I thought it was the tooth itself the way it just started hurting so suddenly but then sinus infection signs kicked in--green mucous, horrid post-nasal drip, congestion, terrible sinus headache pain, stomach nausea due to PND. It turns out I had an ear infection in the left side along with a sinus infection. ----- Kim/Dreamspinner3 Visit My Homepage: http://members.tripod.com/dreamspinner3/
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