started feeling really crummy  a week or so ago.  convergence of
triggers & then my sinuses & ears are totally blocked.  after a couple
of days of very little drainage (again -thick white) & no relief from
the pressure/congestion (no pain yet), i went to the pcp & saw the
covering physician.  she reviewed my chart & put me on azithromycin
@250mg/day for 5days, then 2-3 times a week for several weeks.  by
most counts, in absence of pain & discolored mucus & temp, i was not
in an acute phase yet.  yet i was extremely fatigued & weak, which can
happen even without those other indicators.  after the spring's
fiasco, i wanted to try to stop things before it got worse (then it
took a few days of head fullness to turn into a nasty sinus-bronchial
extravaganza).

things haven't gotten worse, but improvement has been minimal. having
some clearance & therefore getting some drainage, which helps.   but
still generally balloon headed.  i pushed the daily azithromycin to 7
days & didn't take any today.  plus i'm noting an increase in tinnitus
the last few nights.

so my questions:  those of you familiar with the macrolide treatment -
should i have seen a better response after a week?  that seems to be
my recollection, but the 1st time i used it i had been debugged to the
max & had just come off avelox.  the second time, i had a good
response to a 6 day course with improvement each day.

re: ototoxicity.  i know that there is some chance of this with
certain antibiotics. the link with azrthromycin seems less established
but there in high doses, if i read correctly.  my tinnitus began while
on a drug, though the doctor told me that the drug didn't cause it
because it didn't go away when i stopped the meds (yeah, that same guy
from the spring).  it may have come from other things going on with me
as well.  but, regardless of cause,  does it now make me more likely
to have that type of side effect from medication?

in desperation, i went to a homeopathic consultant last week.  the
remedy was just as i expected - the inky juice of the cuttlefish.
luckily i had some nick cave music with me for the ride home (though
tom waits would have been better).  i hate to be so snarky about it,
but i guess i don't have to worry about a placebo effect.  & it's not
like conventional treatments have helped me much over many years.
sorry to be so lengthy, but i know that all you can sympathize.  just
tired of living such a poor quality of life, but still searching
for....?

ellen