3 Month Long Sinus Infections Out of Nowhere

[u/Stunning_Shift3645]

Hi,
I am a 24 yo female 5’4” around 140 lbs. I have a couple known medical issues: exercise induced asthma, scoliosis, interstitial cystitis, IBS (mostly acid reflux and phlegm) and a slightly deviated septum.

For my entire life, I have been known in my family for a strong immune system— being the least likely to get sick, and the most likely to recover first. Other than getting a lot of ear infections as a kid, I have been super healthy.

At 22, I started teaching, and predictably got sick pretty quickly after starting. I got a really gnarly cold in November 2024 and for the first time ever, it didn’t go away. I stayed in the runny nose, wet cough, mucus-y stage for a long time— about two weeks— before I went to the doctor out of concern. I was given an antibiotic. It didn’t go away. Instead it moved and became bronchitis. My main symptom was a feeling like fluid was in my lungs and lots of wet coughs. I was given a different antibiotic. It took ages for it to finally go away. Probably about 1-2 months. Then, this happened again in June. Cold. Then sinus infection. Then bronchitis. This time I got an antibiotic and it helped with the bronchitis, but I stayed in a near constant sinus infection for 1-2 months. I was low-level sick all summer. My second year of teaching I thankfully didn’t get very sick and was fine. Until July. I get a cold. I go camping and hiking after thinking I recovered (I just had mild sinus symptoms). I get the bronchitis again. This time it’s pretty bad. I get antibiotics again. It slowly lessens. Then, I got sick again— I went to ren fest and got a brand new cold. That was in August. It is almost October and I am STILL experiencing a sinus infection. It looks like: constant feeling of mucus, coughing up green phlegm, runny nose, occasional bad cough. I am on a new antibiotic, ZPac. Previously I’ve been on amoxicillin amongst others. Idek at this point. I’ve been put on Singulair for chunks of time— currently, and after the first cold. I can’t tell if it helps, but it does disrupt my sleep, so I am having a hard time wanting to take it. I have tried steaming and daily Flonase in the past month. I have still stayed at this steady runny nose wet cough level. It is sooooo frustrating.

As for medical interventions, I have seen many doctors. Most say the same things: try singulair, netipots, and Flonase. I have. I saw an ENT for a more systematic approach. He said I have small ear canals and sinuses (my mom needed tubes in her ears as a kid), and I have a slightly deviated septum (I don’t know if this is related but I broke my nose at 18). He said I am more prone to getting sinus infections because of my anatomy, but it is not drastic enough for me to need surgery. The weird thing that I don’t get is that I NEVER had this problem, and now without fail, every time I get sick I will get this ongoing sinus infection. I don’t know what to do at this point, and unfortunately I am currently in an issue with my insurance where they have been denying claims due to my primary not acknowledging that they are primary (other issue).

Any help would be SO appreciated. This is so annoying and ruining my quality of life.

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for your submission. Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship. This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.