I fully understand.  Desensitization reduces the need for meds.  Also,
this group has always had many posters post op FESS, having had multiple
surgeries, even, who still need all sorts of meds.  The surgery is not a
 panacea, particularly if the cause of the inflammation/infections is
not ameliorated too.

 I was

Can you leave town for a city for an opinion?  I just traveled across
the U.S. to find a competent endocrinologist for a complex diagnosis.

Only if you go to a really crappy allergist.  I got relief from my first
 shots on.  Completely onto my maintenance schedule after three months
with miraculous and continuing improvements on maintenance.  You need to
find a better allergist.

 And after that I would need to be on them for

So what?  If you needed insulin for diabetes, would that be too much
trouble?

I am willing to do this but it just seems so long in order

The surgery may or may not help you.  If you are still severely allergic
after your surgery, I believe the odds may well be against improvement.

Your body, your decisions.

Susan

You need to follow through.  I was told to have right ethmoid sinus
surgery.  I got a second opinion from another ENT.  After tests (and
better prepping), he said I didn't.  He said go to an allergist.

I did and got tested. I'm really bad for all kinds of mold.  I had to
get not one, but two shots (one just for mold) twice a week for about
6 months.  Now I'm much better.  

Yeah, getting the shots is a pain (no pun intended.)  I had to leave
work from downtown Houston just to get to my allergist, who thankfully
was open late twice a week.  I came to refer to his tiny waiting room
as "the zoo" because of the bratty kids that ran around.  To sign in,
wait to get called, get the shots, wait 20 minutes to see if there's a
reaction wasn't pleasant.  Big deal.  It was worth every second of it.

Now I'm on once a month maintenance.  I may be on them for 2-3 years.
Big deal again.

It's your body, do what you want, but unless there's something drastic
happening in your sinus cavities, it's just plain crazy to me to have
surgery BEFORE allergies.  Go to another ENT, go to an allergist, then
report back here.

Remember, once they cut, they can't un-cut.

Rick

Just reguarding the cost of the surgery--it's very scary that the
ENT's control the entire town and the hospitals. My local ENT tells me
he gets reimbursed around $300 for an out-pt FESS. I know that when I
had a surgery in Boston, the ENT charged Blue Cross $18,000 in 2000. I
used to work in insurance, and the issue for patients is that you pay
retail--including any co-payment (like a 20%), while the provider
agrees by contract to a reduced/contracted rate. There was a large
class action law suit against United Health for the coinsurance--when
patients did the math, they realized their 20% copay was closer to 50%
of the total reimbursement, or even more.
 There are anti-trust laws against kick backs in medicine, but when
you own the hospitals, you can set the rates.
 So, the price is on the high end, and there is no competition.

 Whether or not you should have the surgery is another issue
completely. Personally, I've had 5 surgeries and I have no idea if
they've helped--I know the expensive one in 2000 caused a bone
infection and made me very ill for a year, and then I had to have two
additional surgeries to correct that one--and it was the one done by
the "national expert" in Boston. My local ENT, who I really trust,
tells me that the current thinking is that less is more--try not to
disturb the anatomy as much as possible, and realize that the
structures within the nose serve a purpose, to filter and humidify
air.

 My daughter has IgA deficiency and was very ill with constant
infections: two surgeons offered to operate on her--a physician at
Lahey clinic told her she would be cured, and our local ENT told her
that with her underlying immunodeficiency he could offer no guarantees
that a "perfect CT" would translate into less infections. She went the
route of low dose biaxin, allergy shots, a lower dose birth control
pill--and has had no infections for almost a year. That's the longest
she's gone in a long time.

 Our allergist has us get the shots twice a week to get to
maintenance in about 4 months, and both of us responded to the shots
very quickly.

 So, I'd be concerned about a town where there is essentially one ENT
group and no competition and no ability for true second opinions.

  One last story, I worked with a medical resident whose wife was
scheduled for sinus surgery: it was cancelled due to a strep
infection, and I told him about the neti pot. She bought one, and her
sinusitis episodes resolved to the point where she no longer felt the
need for surgery.

 So, there is no one answer. Surgery is irreversible, and in my
experience, if you go to several ENT's, you'll find several approaches
will be recommended. Which is the right one? It's a judgment call.

Judy