the arsenal

October 15th, 2011

I got home from Dallas on Tuesday at midnight and went to a sinus specialist on Wednesday. Usually the day after a 2 week trip I try not to leave the house let alone take 3 subways to get to an appointment IN THE RAIN but I have had the same sinus infection since late August and after multiple rounds of antibiotics I was about 100x worse than when I started.

If you’ve ever spent more than 5 minutes with me- especially during allergy season-you know that I have problems. Daily allergy meds and a neti pot helps for 5 minutes but my sinuses always feel pressure. I’ve had 5 sinus infections this year. (That is a lot) Well for the past month it was like someone was pushing on my face constantly. I always wanted to sleep. My teeth hurt. I couldnt breathe through my nose. Not one OTC medication took any of the pain away, it was crazy. I’m sure taking 7 planes and working 16 hr days didn’t help but it was taking a really long time and I wasn’t feeling any better.

While we were in Florida visiting my parents I had to call my Dr. in NY and get a new prescription for antibiotics and he said I need to make an appt with an ENT as soon as I get back.

That day I decided I was not going to any old ENT just because they were in walking distance of our apartment, which is my usual plan. I was going to find an amazing ENT equipped to deal with my sinus problem. Why live in the best city in the world and not take advantage? (because hauling around town is a pain in the ass)

Well after consulting Dr. Google I found her and she is a serious sinus enthusiast, and serious about my sinus problems. Her office is on the Upper East Side, basically the one part of the city impossible to get to from our place but its a private practice and she sat with me for 45 minutes discussing my history and what issues I usually have and my current problem and then she looked up my nose with a camera.

She said the reason my infection hadn’t cleared up is because my sinuses were so ridiculously swollen they were practically shut. Yeah, that’s pretty much what it felt like. She is treating me aggressively and I like aggressive! It took me almost 90 minutes to get there, I don’t want to have to go back on Monday because I still feel like crap.

Here is what I have to take everyday this week:

Prednisone (steroids) Prescription Nasal Spray (steroids, anti-inflamatory) Mucinex (OTC decongestant. Interesting because it says chest congestion but it works great for sinuses, who knew!) Antibiotics (a zillion mgs) Zytrec D, and my neti pot 3x a day.

IT IS INSANE. By Thursday morning I felt better, and by Friday night it was like I never had a sinus infection.

I have to get a CT scan in 2 weeks once the swelling goes down and I have to get a full allergy work up at an allergist since I haven’t in 15-20 years then I have to go back and review my situation with her. I also have to purchase $400 air purifiers and keep them running 24 hours a day. This is all to avoid surgery, which she said is a possible outcome depending on “what it looks like in there” Fun times!

 

 

Entry Filed under: A bit random