Sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis?

[punkin]

DD has had stuffed up sinuses and sinus infections on and off since September. She's tried irrigation, but the steroid nasal spray irritates her nose (even the sensimist). So now surgery seems like an option. Has anyone had this done? Opinions? What should I expect?

 

[dish rag]

I have 2 people close to me that have had it done, both it helped some but not completely. Sinusitis is no fun, especially for a student.

 

[asta]

I have had two different surgeries to clean out and open up things. Both surgeries helped tremendously but the effect does not last. Eventually the sinuses get clogged up again. My insurance company had a hard time paying for this type of surgery because the results were not long lasting.

The feeling after surgery was wonderful. It was almost a high to be able to breath in deep clean air.

 

[jeff_h]

I had sinus surgery in 2005, had been having problems for years and while the surgery didn't clear things up completely I would say it made things maybe 60% better and was a definite improvement. PM me if you want more details - good luck.

 

[punkin]

I have 2 people close to me that have had it done, both it helped some but not completely. Sinusitis is no fun, especially for a student.

You cannot imagine how difficult this school year was.

I have had two different surgeries to clean out and open up things. Both surgeries helped tremendously but the effect does not last. Eventually the sinuses get clogged up again. My insurance company had a hard time paying for this type of surgery because the results were not long lasting.

The feeling after surgery was wonderful. It was almost a high to be able to breath in deep clean air.

For how long did you get relief?

 

[Golf4food]

I had chronic sinusitis as a pre-teen and had surgery at age 13 for it. Cleared everything out, did a little deviated septum work, etc. Recovery was a few days in a recliner with some pain but more annoying than anything with the drugs. Results were good and helped a lot but not perfect. Now 25 years later still have far fewer infections (maybe 1 every year or two) but use Flonase to help breath at night and otc allergy meds during peak allergy seasons. Better than it was, however.

 

[dish rag]

You cannot imagine how difficult this school year was.

I feel for her. I have some sinus issues since a child but have learned how to control them with exedrine, ice and coke of all things. But my brother suffers badly, and I know others who were students that struggled, being in a usually dirty dorm environment doesn't help matters.

For how long did you get relief?

 

[asta]

You cannot imagine how difficult this school year was.



For how long did you get relief?

It is hard to put an exact time on it because the congestion slowly creeps up. I think I breathed noticeably better for at least five years. I think the doctor described it as cleaning out a lot of spongy material that lines the sinuses after many infections. When that yucky lining is cleaned up, the air you breathe can circulate the sinuses and naturally clear out irritants. That helps by reduce infections. I did have a longer term improvement in the sharp piercing (like being stabbed with a knife) sinus headaches I used to have.

One other thing my ear, nose and throat doctor did recently was to stick a vacuum tube into my sinuses and suction a lot of mucous out. This felt great but only felt better for a few weeks. I would love to have that done regularly.

 

[punkin]

Thank you. I think I am leaning toward the surgery right now. She's not too bad now that she's home and I am constantly reminding her to irrigate her nose and spray it, but I am worried what will happen in the fall when she goes back to college and stops taking care of herself.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Whne I was 16 I had surgery to open up my sinus passages and correct a deviated septum. It made a world of difference. Before surgery, I basically always had a headache, and frequent sinus infections. It was miserable. It's been 17 years since the surgery and I haven't had trouble with sinus infections since. I do still get the occassional sinus headache, but it is so much better than it was before.

 

[punkin]

Whne I was 16 I had surgery to open up my sinus passages and correct a deviated septum. It made a world of difference. Before surgery, I basically always had a headache, and frequent sinus infections. It was miserable. It's been 17 years since the surgery and I haven't had trouble with sinus infections since. I do still get the occassional sinus headache, but it is so much better than it was before.

That is so good to hear. DD does not have a deviated septum. I think all her problems are allergy based, but at this point, I think she just needs to be thoroughly cleaned out and deal with the allergies separately.

 

[prprincess]

I have chronic sinusitis, and had the surgery done back in 2014. I'd tried everything, but I continued to get sinus infections about once a month. Finally I caved, and I'm glad that I did it, but like others say, almost three years later, and I don't think it's long lasting. Right off the bat I felt great. The surgery was quick, and I thought recovery time would be quick, but about a week later I got a sinus infection. I was told that it was normal because I was still healing, but it was a disappointment and it took me about a month to feel 100% normal again. Years one and two, I probably only got one sinus infection per year, when the kids got colds. This year I'm currently on sinus infection number two, so I'm a bit frustrated.

 

[punkin]

I have chronic sinusitis, and had the surgery done back in 2014. I'd tried everything, but I continued to get sinus infections about once a month. Finally I caved, and I'm glad that I did it, but like others say, almost three years later, and I don't think it's long lasting. Right off the bat I felt great. The surgery was quick, and I thought recovery time would be quick, but about a week later I got a sinus infection. I was told that it was normal because I was still healing, but it was a disappointment and it took me about a month to feel 100% normal again. Years one and two, I probably only got one sinus infection per year, when the kids got colds. This year I'm currently on sinus infection number two, so I'm a bit frustrated.

Once or twice a year would be a godsend at this point. She is so miserable.

 

[prprincess]

Once or twice a year would be a godsend at this point. She is so miserable.

Don't get me wrong, it is definitely worth it. I don't suffer as much as I used to. I just don't want her to go into it thinking she'd be 100% cured. She also may fare better than me if she follows the neti pot/irrigation regimen religiously afterwards. I did year one and two, but this year I have not, so that may be why this year's been worse for me. It's just hard to fit into my busy schedule AND you have to make sure your supplies are 100% sterile.

Good luck to her! I hope she gets some relief. I know how disrupting and painful it is! If you have any other questions, let me know. And keep us posted!!

 

[punkin]

Don't get me wrong, it is definitely worth it. I don't suffer as much as I used to. I just don't want her to go into it thinking she'd be 100% cured. She also may fare better than me if she follows the neti pot/irrigation regimen religiously afterwards. I did year one and two, but this year I have not, so that may be why this year's been worse for me. It's just hard to fit into my busy schedule AND you have to make sure your supplies are 100% sterile.

Good luck to her! I hope she gets some relief. I know how disrupting and painful it is! If you have any other questions, let me know. And keep us posted!!

Unfortunately, not following through with the irrigation/flonase is part of her problem. I really would have preferred to avoid surgery if at all possible.

 

[prprincess]

Unfortunately, not following through with the irrigation/flonase is part of her problem. I really would have preferred to avoid surgery if at all possible.

My situation was so bad, that had I not gotten the surgery, the infected tissue keeps amassing and growing. What finally convinced me was when my ENT showed me my CT scan...there was so much "crap" in there that it was pushing into my eye socket. Hopefully she is not as far gone as I was! But have her read through these responses...maybe she'll see how important it is to follow the regimen.

 

[Hisgirl]

My mother used to get sinus infections several times a year. Then....she started doing something an old ENT in Atlanta told her about years ago. She hasn't had one since. The product is called Alkalol. Go to amazon and read the reviews. I've recommended to other sinus sufferers and they have told me it has changed their life. You will want to dilute it in warm distilled water and put it down your nose with a dropper, or even that nasal thing they sell. I buy mine from the pharmacist. It used to be only a couple of dollars for a bottle but the word has spread so now it's a little less than ten. Totally worth trying. I can't tell you how many times it has stopped a sinus infection in its tracks within 24 hours.

 

[Kathyli]

I write now here because im looking for solutions and what im telling might help other people already aswell. Im not from an english speaking country so my english might not be perfect. So i have since september 2019 a chronic sinusitis. Well, first it was an acute sinusitis that turned into chronic. They made a MRI, DVT, and then a CT a year later. At first it was just in the Ethmoidalis, then it gone into the sinus maxillaris. So what my ENT did of course was prescribing me nosespray, then i had antibiotic called Amoxicillin. That antibiotic helped at first to 99% but due to too short prescription of 10 days when i had the sinusitis already 8 months, it came back a week later, when i was finish with the antibiotic. Then they tried it with Clindamycin for a week, Clarithromycin for 3.5 months, Penicillin for 5 days, and Amoxicillin again for a week. Nothing helped, olthough the Clarithromycin helped at least a bit. The Amoxicillin didnt help at all anymore. Which let me think, ok that seems to be now an antibiotic resistant bacteria. What else i have done is, i inhaled with different solutions, inhaling seemed to help a bit at least, but not to fix it. I took Sinupret helped a bit, Bromelain helped a bit, Soledum made it worse, nosespray with cortison made it worse, saltwater and camilla made it better. The nose is free the CT shows a chronical infection of the ethmoidalis and sinus maxillaris. I have also symptoms on my ears of a loud noise sometimes and almost cant hear then for 1-2 minutes, its a bit better with antibiotics. Sometimes a swollen eye. Before this, i never had sinus infections at all. It doesnt go away since this i suffer under it every day. Angocin was so far the most helpful its a natural antibiotic, which means it kills bacterias, aswell as funguses and viruses. The problem that i see in general by chronic sinusitis is, of course there are some great medicaments out there that theoretically kill those bacterias and even MRSA bacterias still, BUT the problem is, we cant reach them. A surgeon can reach them. But i myself cant reach them, i can flush my nose and use a nosespray but thats about it, Inhaling, nose flushings etc seems to only help by the issues in the beginning of the nose, that at least there is nothing plugged up and has a better ventilation, but nobody reaches into the sinus maxillaris or ethmoidalis or any other sinuses. Its like a reservoir for bacterias. Its hollow rooms in the skull and it feels like a reservoir for bacterias cause even if nose is free and i dont have sniff it hurts still in the cheeks, under the eye sometimes, and on the forehead and in the ears. Theoretically also for funguses or viruses. But usually its bacterias. The immunsystem cant reach it, and also the antibiotics almost dont reach it. Cause there are no bloodvessels going in there its just filled with a shift of membranes that transport out intruders. So its no wonder a chronic sinusitis is such a drama. And makes tired. Because the bacteria spills from those chambers they live in, in the rest of the body over the throat and the immunsystem is busy constantly fighting this. With fever too. So of course we are all time feeling weak, and tired, and its hard to manage life with this when it goes so long time. I felt on a few single weeks good and i was happy and driving around with bycicle having fun in my life again, until it came back worse. A surgery have i not had due to corona i was always sent away by the hospitals. Im from germany over here they suspended all surgeries that werent really that important to keep someone alive to have space for corona infected, or better said to receive the government payment if they keep beds free as much as possible. So then i did a research what bacterias most likely cause a chronic sinusitis. Of course its bacterias that are antibiotic resistant, like staphyloccocus aurea for example. And there are theoretically antibiotics that still kill them. Doxycyclin for example, taken for 6 weeks. My doc refused it to prescribe it and gave me amoxicillin again which didnt help me anymore, and by the third try also not. So this could be a way you people out there could try out. But since always just a tiny part of an antibiotic reaches the sinuses it must be taken for at least 6 weeks. The docs prescribe it way too short. In an acute case that might be enough but not when i had it already months. Another thing that i figured out then is that the castanea sativa leaves extract hinders those bacterias from building toxins and to reproduce so the membranes would finally manage to transport it out. If they cant reproduce all the time. Since this is not to buy in any extract, only homeopathic which basically doesnt include anything anymore cause its so thinned, i bought now for 16€ a little tree of it and then i will cook a tea out of the leaves and drink it dayli and hope that a bit of it will reach the sinuses, i will inject it in my nose and i will inhale it. If this will reach the sinuses is another question. Thats more like a trial and error out of desperation, because the docs dont even know what is causing the infection. They see it on the MRI and CT. Which bacteria, or if its even a bacteria do they not know. And i guess thats by the majority of people the problem. Chronic sinusitis is diagnosed but nobody knows why they have a chronic sinusitis, which intruder is causing it. They tried to filter it out by a bloodtest and didnt find anything. And they wont, cause its a local infection and as long as my body keeps it from spreading, it wont be found in the blood. I dont know why they cant make a smeartest in the nose/throat, similar to a corona test but at least they are not doing that even though i asked if this would be possible. They say no, isnt possible and prescribed another antibiotic. The inflammation results are high in my blood though. Like neutrophiles etc. So my immunsystem fights it. So, i will start now trial and errors on myself and if i find something i will message the results. But the Doxycyclin could help you guys. So speak to your doc, cause it needs a prescription since its an antibiotic. I try to speak to another doc that will prescribe me it cause im tired of their fiddling around. A chronic sinus infection does anyways not go away with a week of amoxicillin, idk what they did in their medicine study but it seems like they know less than me...cause they start googling what i say and see im right. Yea its always a great sign when the doc starts useing google about what i say.

 

[DisneyOma]

DD has had stuffed up sinuses and sinus infections on and off since September. She's tried irrigation, but the steroid nasal spray irritates her nose (even the sensimist). So now surgery seems like an option. Has anyone had this done? Opinions? What should I expect?

Thank you. I think I am leaning toward the surgery right now. She's not too bad now that she's home and I am constantly reminding her to irrigate her nose and spray it, but I am worried what will happen in the fall when she goes back to college and stops taking care of herself.

What steroid nasal spray is she using? Also, don't let her use any of the Afrin-type nasal decongestant sprays, as that makes the matter worse when it wears off.

 

[LuvOrlando]

There is a new medication for this, in the US it's for people with polyps, but has prevented sinus infection for everyone in the house and doesn't cause nosebleeds like flonase because you help it go up with your own breath. It's called Xhance, its pricey but they have a copay assist card, you need to talk to your Dr since it isn't OTC.

Also, try to get an appointment at one of the top hospitals where people who know what they are doing can help you.