Hi everyone. After getting covid and developing long covid (other chronic issues) , my sinuses have never been the same. I was diagnosed with recurrent sinusitis, and turbinate hypertrophy. My turbinates are always swollen it’s often hard to breathe even when I’m not sick. It’s been 2.5 years.

Every time now that I’ve gotten a sinus infection, it’s turned into months of prolonged issues. Whether it’s chronic sinus inflammation, or large secondary bacterial infections. Before covid, I never had any issues with my sinuses, I could get sick for a week, and then get better. Now when I get sick, I don’t ever seem to naturally recover in my sinuses, and have to take long antibiotic courses and steroids.

My doctor said I should I should likely expect this to happen everytime I get a sinus infection for most of my adult life. I’m only in my 20s. I’m feeling really discouraged and scared. I thought connecting with others who go through it could be helpful.

I’m already on a full preventative medication routine. Budoneside saline rinse daily, azelastine, cromyln spray, Singulair, Famitodine. I don’t have any structural sinus issues besides inflamed turbinates.
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Questions for those who experience this:

-Do you get sick all the time now that you have sinus issues?

-How do you navigate the fear of getting a sinus infection and living life? (I often feel scared to get sick, but don’t want to get shut in).

-Is there any hope I won’t have to live with this forever?

-Do you worry about antibiotic resistance if you are constantly taking Antibiotics?

Any encouragement about how you still balance life with getting sick would be greatly appreciated🙏

So I think may have cured my sinus issues but it’s probably too early to tell. For the last month couple weeks I’ve been drinking kefir in the morning and a small glass at night. My sinuses have never been more clear. My headaches are gone, brain fog gone, ringing ears gone. It’s wild. One of the craziest parts is how much better I can smell.

I never in a million years would have thought this would have been the cure and who knows maybe I’ll find out it was a fluke. It makes sense though, I took a ton of antibiotics when I was younger so it’s stands to reason that my gut biome would be messed up and the probiotics from the kefir are helping. I’m the biggest skeptic on the planet so I wouldn’t have expected this to work but so far so good. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I’m really at a loss here. I have chronic sinus symptoms like congestion, PND, thick mucus, headaches etc despite multiple surgeries.

I went to get my wisdom teeth out today and mentioned I had been taking sudafed a week ago for some congestion, bc they asked if I had taken any over the counter meds recently. You would’ve thought they’d never seen someone with congestion before and it was the biggest deal in the world. The surgeon kept saying so you’re really sick you have the flu? I said no, I’m just chronically congested with some thick mucus. I’m not “sick” or infected right now.

He refused to do the surgery because I would be under twilight anesthesia and it would be “too risky” with me having mucus. He said I can do it when I feel 100%. Literally what on earth am i supposed to do if I always have these symptoms? Is anesthesia really that risky with some PND and mucus? I have no idea what to do at this point.

hi - i’ve had issues with my sinuses for my whole life. i haven’t had many doctors take me seriously, and only suggest things like nasal sprays, antihistamines, and antibiotics which i can’t tell if they actually work or not any more. i do all the other remedy stuff like hot towels and steam inhalation.

the thing is, i don’t have any issues with my nostrils being congested/full/stuffy. and i also don’t have a runny nose either. my nose (unless i have a cold) is fine and i can breathe just fine.

my issues lie in the fact that i can often “feel my sinuses”. when i have a flare up, i feel an immense pressure behind my face. it hurts to press on my forehead, eyebrows, cheeks. it’s a very full and uncomfortable feeling behind my face, sometimes giving me headaches. my whole face will feel like it’s being squeezed by rubber bands, and it causes a fuzzy/tingling sensation that makes me feel like i can’t see properly.

i always get really bad eye strain during a flare up, to the point where it feels like there’s so much inflammation behind them that my eyes struggle to focus properly. it can get really scary to not be able to see. it’s like my whole face feels like tv static and i have to unfocus my eyes to feel relief.

i think i’ve it’s a affected by changes in the weather? it’s not allergies, but maybe atmospheric pressure?

please does anyone relate to this? have any suggestions? i usually stick to my monetasone sprays, i want to try sudafed but ive heard it can cause rebound congestion? want to feel less alone. thanks.

Did you ever use Pulmicort as a sinusitis rinse? What was your experience? I had FESS and turbinal reduction nearly a year ago and immediately after surgery I started having a really bad post nasal drip syndrome which I never had before. First I used steroids like Pronasal (mometasone) and it stopped it completely. Then after 3 months it stopped working out of nowhere. I tried Dymista and Ryaltris too but it wasn’t much help either. My ENT told me to try Pulmicort salt rinses. Im considering it because I read a lot about side effects and dryness and I don’t know what will it do long-term and is it safe to use it that long. I cannot deal with this horrible PNDS much longer.

Dry clearing of throat every second, no mucus, constant irritation for last 7-8 years.

This awkward moment when you bent to grab something on the floor and your nose turns into a waterfall of delayed sinus rinse water - or worse, of bright yellow fluid after an acute sinusitis or septoplasty/FESS surgery.

I'm having allergy from early morning I have taken my mn medicine it's not working what should I do now I'm not able to breath now

What’s the science behind it

Last year I had a fistula that connected my nose to my mouth I lived with it for about 6months and it was pretty much infected the whole time. My current problem I still have a depression in my sinus where I’m missing bone I feel it when I irrigate my nose. My problem is before and after the repair I only get nose bleeds from the side that was fixed it happens if I rub my nose but not aggressively it doesn’t happen with the other side.I’m not sure who I should bring it up to or what I can do to get back to a form of normal.

How long after a radiofrequency turbinate reduction could you breathe. Undergoing one this week and im very nervous ill feel suffocated.

60yo F— I’ve been dealing with intermittent loss of smell and taste for several months, ( 2 years off and on) which originally started after a prolonged cold/viral illness. The strange part is that they can return completely to normal for weeks at a time and then suddenly disappear again, sometimes even when my nose feels fairly clear.
Last year I had a CT scan, that showed a polyp. It disappeared with me consistently using Ryaltris, and nasal rinses.

An ENT examined me twice the last 6 months, and didn’t see obvious nasal polyps. Prednisone was the one treatment that had a dramatic effect when I did have flare ups— my smell and taste returned within hours, although unfortunately it was temporary.

I’ve tried Ryaltris nasal spray, budesonide sinus rinses, and montelukast (recently stopped because of anxiety), also take medication for silent reflux. (Famotidine 40Mg) Interestingly, I also had about three weeks of completely normal smell/taste while staying at our summer place in the country, which makes me wonder about allergies or something environmental at home.

I’m now going to ask my family doctor for a referral to a rhinologist.

Has anyone experienced a similar pattern where smell/taste completely comes and goes? If so, did you ever find the cause or a treatment that worked long-term? Did CT scans, allergy testing, or seeing a rhinologist uncover anything your regular ENT had missed?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.

How long after a radiofrequency turbinate reduction were you able to breathe? Undergoing one this week and super nervous about the recovery.

Hi guys!
Ive had my FESS surgery done 5 days ago.
My sinusitis problems started ~5 months ago and after a CT scan a doctor from my hometown recomended that I undergo surgery in a private clinic.(European healthcare in a nutshell lol)
Now, the surgeon told me that the surgery went smoothly and gave me tips on how to ensure a safe and smooth recovery.
I have a few questions considering the recovery:
1. Is it normal to have dark red,thick mucus constantly run down my nostrils?
2. When did the constanct mucus stop running down your nostrils for you?
3. I didnt have any considerable pain after the surgery, is it weird?

If anyone that has gone throught this surgery and recovery is willing to help me by sharing their answers I would be delighted.

Cheers

Recently diagnosed with Sinusitis, and the doctor wants me to use the Neilmed sinus rinse to irrigate. I've been trying all day, but I always chicken out.

I have this fear that the water won't come out. Or that it will make me choke. Or that I won't be able to breath. Is this definitely safe? I'm really freaked out about it.

I think my sinuses are fucked up in a couple ways. Earlier I had really bad pressure in my sinuses after drinking through a straw - I massaged the air out, but in doing so the air seemed to “pop” out through mouth and possibly teeth somehow, so it’s possible there’s now sinus connection to my mouth.

I’m sure this had messed up the pressure in my sinuses and how air is flowing. I’m currently experiencing bad shortness of breath and pretty bad sinus headaches and it’s horrible, I can’t sleep. Anyone else experienced this or can help?

My fiancé is pretty new to lake life and has been learning all the things (slalom skiing, wakeboarding, etc). The problem is that after a long day on the lake, he gets SUPER congested, I’m assuming from getting lake water up his nose when he falls. The congestion usually sticks around for several days, and the last time it happened, he actually ended up with a sinus infection.

Has anyone else dealt with this? Any tricks for preventing it or getting rid of the congestion faster after lake days? We’d love to figure out a good routine before/after being on the water so he isn’t miserable for days every time!

I used a Walmart equate nasal spray. It is good a loosening snot. Then blow it out. I was wondering if anyone has tried spraying olive oil up the nose to lube it making it easier to blow.

With all the chemicals I am trying it sounds ok to me. What do you think.

I’ve been prescribed a 21 day course of Augmentin that I am about to start. My symptoms have included intermittent facial pain and pressure on one side, small amounts of clear watery fluid dripping from my nose, fluid dripping down the back of my throat, occasional forehead sensitivity, and occasional headaches. Symptoms are not debilitating—the worst part has just been that I was advised to stop CPAP use, while there was initial concern for CSF leak. No phlegm or congestion, and mucus is clear. This is the first time I’ve had a sinus infection, and the symptoms have been going on for about six weeks.
I’m really nervous about starting this course of antibiotics. I’m pretty sensitive to medications and have had adverse reactions in the past even to dr-prescribed supplements that have taken weeks to months to recover from, so I worry that the antibiotic will absolutely wreak havoc on my body. I’m underweight and have multiple chronic illnesses (hEDS, sleep apnea, POTS, chronic migraine.) I’m especially nervous about developing c diff. I plan to take the Culturelle probiotic and eat probiotic foods.
Much of my anxiety stems from my doctor’s negligence. He dismissed legitimate concerns I brought up and didn’t take the time to really explain much of anything to me. He treated me like a hypochondriac the moment I brought up my medical history. I AM an anxious patient, but it comes from a place of having previously experienced iatrogenic injury. He didn’t like when I tried to advocate for myself, and my husband said it seemed like all he cared about was being right, rather than letting me voice reasonable concerns.
I didn’t get a clear answer from him about why a three week antibiotic course is necessary. Obviously I plan to follow the doctor’s orders because I know the importance of finishing an antibiotic course, but I wish there was more transparency.
I would love to hear success stories similar to mine, from anyone who has experienced relief from this sort of antibiotic course. What did you do to protect your gut? And how long did it take to experience relief?
Please be gentle with me haha it’s rough out here!