Hi folks,

I've gotten a lot of good information from this group.  Now I need a
little more:

Here's my situation.  I'm a male, 51, fairly healthy (I work out when
well about 3-4 times a week).  

Since I was having sinus infections, in 1995, CT scan showed a
deviated septum, and ENT Doctor #1 operated to correct it.  That
worked for some time, but a couple or more years passed and I kept
getting more sinus infections.

It's only gotten worse the last couple of years.  Last year, I may
have had 7 or more infections calling for antibiotics.  Problem is, my
old standby Biaxin XL wasn't working, so I went back at the end of
last year to Doctor #1, and CT scans showed that I have a lot of
blockage in my right ethmoid sinuses.  And it also shows I still have
a deviated septum.  Doctor #1 recommended sinus surgery, but not
another surgery to correct my septum.

I went for a 2nd opinion literally down the hall to Doctor #2.  He
said that Doctor #1 recommendation of surgery was *reasonable*.  He
did something the other doctor didn't do.  First, he got this ugly
ball of wax out of my left ear.  Second, he took a culture from inside
my nose.  

Two days later, I get a call from his assistant, who got me set up
with some Amphotericin-B.  I started with a bulb syringe, but soon
stepped up to irrigating with a Water Pik and nasal irrigation tip
twice a day for the last 2 months.  My regimen for the day is usually
to first, irrigate with the ampho-b, then spray 2x with Nasonex,
following that up with 2x of Astelin.  In the evening, it's ampho-b
irrigation again and then Astelin right after that.  I was taking
Singulair at bedtime, but the Rx ran out so I've been taking Zyrtec.

In the meantime, I'm still getting sinus infections.  From the
beginning of the year, I've taken Omnicef, then Ketek, then Biaxin XL
again.  As y'all have probably experienced, there was a yo-yo effect:
I'd be almost back to feeling ok, when after a week or so, I'd get
sick again.  This last time (now) I've had something new:  headaches.
I never experienced sinus headaches before, but these are not fun.
I've taken some Ultracet, which helps with the pain.  I emailed an
order for Cipro to the pharmacy which I hope will be filled.

Now, the Ampho-B people tell me that it takes about 3 months (at
least, that was what the Mayo Clinic studies lasted) before results
show up.  Should I wait another month to see if the Ampho-B works?
Should I still be getting infections, or is this an indication this
stuff just isn't working?

With all things being equal, which doctor should I choose, Doctor #1
or Doctor #2, to do my surgery, should I choose to go that route?  If
my septum had been straight (or nearly straight) on the last CT scan,
that would be a no-brainer for me:  I'd do with Doctor #1.  But it
isn't.  So either he didn't do a good job, or something happened in
the intervening 10 years that I'm not aware of.

At least with Doctor #2, although he's never operated on me, he's gone
to the trouble of trying something different.  Maybe Doctor #1 thinks
that my sinuses are to the point from what he sees on the CT scan that
no irrigation would be of any benefit.  

I'll also say I haven't tried saline irrigation yet, although I did
buy some pickling salt and have the recipe.  I'm just not sure which
way to go on this.

Is there anything that I'm not doing (other than maybe the saline
irrigation) or should be doing differently?

I need to make a decision soon.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Rick