The DDA Trouble Free Zone Part 2

[Cinderumbrella]

Hey glynis - I just did this and it is a rough idea - but what about this

All Hail the Queen- she's done it again!!!!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Hey all, I am also a American Idol Fan. The tryouts are the best! Makes me laugh. I have been working on my tshirts. Got 5 more done tonight. Made my wife this one:

She said it was perfect for the way her days seem to always go.

Love it!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tinkaroo]

Good morning everyone! Sorry -- this will be long.
I need some advice from my friends, please. I have had sinus/allergy problems since I was very young. Have taken shots two different times with two different doctors, to no avail. I've been to 3 different ENT's, who all say I should have surgery. But, they don't really give me a good case for the surgery -- say they will fix my deviated septum, take out a bone spur in one sinus, and clean them out. They don't know if this will stop me from having all of these sinus infection/upper respiratory infections. My internist and allergist tell me they don't think the surgery will help. Meanwhile, I have year-round terrible allergies, that always flare up the most when I'm run-down. Slowing down much isn't an option (I've been at the same job for 19 years -- since my senior year in college and now run the business), although I am trying to take better care of myself.

Normally I start getting more stuffy than usual and start sneezing. At this point, I start taking Afrin for 3 days, make sure I am taking my decongestant and Allegra. The headaches start, then I have this gross drainage in my throat that makes it sore, ache from the shoulders up, ears feel funny, run slight fever, have a hard time climbing stairs (but no cough) and am exhausted. Yesterday I woke up with the same symptoms for the third time since the second weekend in December.

I make myself go to work, because I can't afford to get behind, plus have to get the kids from school (we live 35 miles from downtown Dallas but the kids have to go to a special school an additional 15 minutes further away). I hate to take antibiotics for every "episode" because I get yeast infections, plus I don't want to get resistant to them from overuse.

The one flaw (did I saw flaw???) in my near perfect husband is that he doesn't have the sympathetic/compassionate gene for all these sinus/allergy problems. I'm sure he gets sick of hearing about my problems, but I'm even more sick of living them. I got in the shower last night trying to steam all this crap out of my head and throat and just broke down crying.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for things that have helped them with these symptoms/problems? I'd be so grateful for any advice at this point.... and thanks for listening.

I don't have any advice, but wanted to send hugs and PD your way. Yes, unfortunately the Dallas area is icky for allergy sufferers!

 

[UP Disney]

Here are some

http://www.geocities.com/billellen836/holidays.html

These are great. Hmmmm....more ideas formulating in my head. I'm never going to get any work done!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Good morning everyone! Sorry -- this will be long.
I need some advice from my friends, please. I have had sinus/allergy problems since I was very young. Have taken shots two different times with two different doctors, to no avail. I've been to 3 different ENT's, who all say I should have surgery. But, they don't really give me a good case for the surgery -- say they will fix my deviated septum, take out a bone spur in one sinus, and clean them out. They don't know if this will stop me from having all of these sinus infection/upper respiratory infections. My internist and allergist tell me they don't think the surgery will help. Meanwhile, I have year-round terrible allergies, that always flare up the most when I'm run-down. Slowing down much isn't an option (I've been at the same job for 19 years -- since my senior year in college and now run the business), although I am trying to take better care of myself.

Normally I start getting more stuffy than usual and start sneezing. At this point, I start taking Afrin for 3 days, make sure I am taking my decongestant and Allegra. The headaches start, then I have this gross drainage in my throat that makes it sore, ache from the shoulders up, ears feel funny, run slight fever, have a hard time climbing stairs (but no cough) and am exhausted. Yesterday I woke up with the same symptoms for the third time since the second weekend in December.

I make myself go to work, because I can't afford to get behind, plus have to get the kids from school (we live 35 miles from downtown Dallas but the kids have to go to a special school an additional 15 minutes further away). I hate to take antibiotics for every "episode" because I get yeast infections, plus I don't want to get resistant to them from overuse.

The one flaw (did I saw flaw???) in my near perfect husband is that he doesn't have the sympathetic/compassionate gene for all these sinus/allergy problems. I'm sure he gets sick of hearing about my problems, but I'm even more sick of living them. I got in the shower last night trying to steam all this crap out of my head and throat and just broke down crying.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for things that have helped them with these symptoms/problems? I'd be so grateful for any advice at this point.... and thanks for listening.

My sinus problem isn't anywhere near as bad as yours, but I spend my whole life with post nasal drip (and chronic bad breath as a result ) But I can relate to the unsympathetic DH. Since he does not have allergies he just doesn't get it! My nieghbor had a sinus surgery a few years back and swears it was the best thing he ever did!
Good luck!

 

[bear74]

Here are some

http://www.geocities.com/billellen836/holidays.html

Thanks Tammi they have a few cute ones

 

[UP Disney]

My sinus problem isn't anywhere near as bad as yours, but I spend my whole life with post nasal drip (and chronic bad breath as a result ) But I can relate to the unsympathetic DH. Since he does not have allergies he just doesn't get it! My nieghbor had a sinus surgery a few years back and swears it was the best thing he ever did!
Good luck!

Ditto! I had "morning sickness" all the time in high school. Now mind you I was as naive as they come then. My mom took me to the doctor's to find out what was wrong. He asked if I was pregnant. Seriously, I was VERY naive - knew the parts but not how they worked - and there was no way I could be pregnant but I don't think he believed that. So, I suffered two more years with "morning sickness" until my brother got "morning sickness". Then the doctor diagnosed sinus drainage into the stomach at night. Yuck!

Living with this most of the year is bad enough. I feel for those of you that have it worse.

 

[ellenbenny]

Have you been to Bryce or Zion before? If not, let me know and I can tell you about some of the sights and hikes. They are pretty darn spectacular. I'm not sure right now on the dates of our Spring Break, but I'll let you know when I find out!

Not only have I never been to Bryce or Zion, I have never been to Utah, Arizona or Nevada, so the whole trip will be new to me. I know a few people who have done similar trips, and I have seen pictures from my sister's trip. It looks awesome in pictures, and I assume that the pictures can't really do it justice, so I am really looking forward to the trip. Any suggestions and information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Ellen

 

[UP Disney]

Hey, I'm a mouseketeer now. When did that happen? Cool!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Thanks for Clip SIte Tammi, found one that works!

 

[bengalbelle]

Good morning everyone! Sorry -- this will be long.
I need some advice from my friends, please. I have had sinus/allergy problems since I was very young. Have taken shots two different times with two different doctors, to no avail. I've been to 3 different ENT's, who all say I should have surgery. But, they don't really give me a good case for the surgery -- say they will fix my deviated septum, take out a bone spur in one sinus, and clean them out. They don't know if this will stop me from having all of these sinus infection/upper respiratory infections. My internist and allergist tell me they don't think the surgery will help. Meanwhile, I have year-round terrible allergies, that always flare up the most when I'm run-down. Slowing down much isn't an option (I've been at the same job for 19 years -- since my senior year in college and now run the business), although I am trying to take better care of myself.

Normally I start getting more stuffy than usual and start sneezing. At this point, I start taking Afrin for 3 days, make sure I am taking my decongestant and Allegra. The headaches start, then I have this gross drainage in my throat that makes it sore, ache from the shoulders up, ears feel funny, run slight fever, have a hard time climbing stairs (but no cough) and am exhausted. Yesterday I woke up with the same symptoms for the third time since the second weekend in December.

I make myself go to work, because I can't afford to get behind, plus have to get the kids from school (we live 35 miles from downtown Dallas but the kids have to go to a special school an additional 15 minutes further away). I hate to take antibiotics for every "episode" because I get yeast infections, plus I don't want to get resistant to them from overuse.

The one flaw (did I saw flaw???) in my near perfect husband is that he doesn't have the sympathetic/compassionate gene for all these sinus/allergy problems. I'm sure he gets sick of hearing about my problems, but I'm even more sick of living them. I got in the shower last night trying to steam all this crap out of my head and throat and just broke down crying.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for things that have helped them with these symptoms/problems? I'd be so grateful for any advice at this point.... and thanks for listening.

Marci, I can certainly sympathize
I have sinus infections year round and I have severe allergies. I had nasal surgery in 1992 and full sinus surgery in 2002. I can't tell you that you will or won't have more sinus infections with surgery, I can only relate my experiences.

The reason I needed the first nasal surgery is because I became addicted to Afrin because it was the only thing that would shrink the tissue so I could breathe. I actually could not breathe through my nose. I was so miserable that I rushed into this surgery. He went in and removed my turbinates (which they now know is bad, but thought it was the right thing to do at the time), and he removed excess tissue. I bled for MONTHS and I'm not exaggerating. The surgery itself wasn't bad but the recovery was awful. I did however find relief once the bleeding stopped. I didn't have sinus problems for about 6 years.

When I started having sinus problems again I let my GP treat them. They became more and more severe so I finally went to an ENT/Allergist. I got on allergy shots but I was still having frequent and severe sinus infections. This ENT treated them with antibiotics, tested my immune system, irrigated my sinuses, treated the allergies...everything he could do until he finally suggested surgery. After seeing my cat scans and xrays I agreed that the surgery was the way to go. This surgery was actually a sinus surgery. He corrected my deviated septum, scraped the bone so I would have a wider passage on one side, fully irrigated my sinuses and other stuff I don't remember. I didn't bleed that much from this surgery but I had to keep myself knocked out for a few days because I was very uncomfortable. This surgery helped too, but I still have frequent sinus infections. The difference before and after the surgery is that now I can breathe through my nose most of the time, and instead of the "stuff" being caught in my sinuses it is able to drain.

I would think long and hard before doing a surgery. Even though both of mine helped in the end, they were not pleasant experiences, and didn't give me the level of relief we expected. If my Dr. suggested surgery again I don't know if I could go through with it.

Other suggestions: irrigate your sinuses. Saline spray is the easiest way, but if you have really bad problems it may not be enough. After my surgery my Dr. told me to mix salt with warm water and use a bulb syringe to irrigate my sinuses. It was a little uncomfortable but it did help. I've also tried Dr. Grossman's thing. It's basically a Water Pik with a special attachment that irrigates the sinuses. Very strange feeling.

Cortisone really helps, just be careful not to do this too much.

If you're not on Allergy meds year round, I would do that.

Other than that, I really can't help . I have a sinus infection right now so I obviously don't have many answers, lol. You may find surgery is the way to go, just do lots of homework before agreeing to it. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[tmfranlk]

My oldest dd came home early from school feeling sick. She is laying on the couch (my my little dd) watching her favorite movie..Mary Poppins.

Dick vanDyke just said "as quick as you can say Bob's your uncle..."

I had to laugh to myself!

Really? When does that happen? We watched it the other day while I was sick and I missed it. Must have been when I was dozing off and on.

 

[bengalbelle]

Marci- I have terrible allergies and usually have several sinus infections a year. I take claritin everyday as well. One thing that helps me quite a bit is to use a saline solution nose spray. I usually use this at night, but when it's really bad, I'll use it 2-3 times a day until it gets better. For some reason moisture helps. Try to avoid using Afrin, because I was told it tends to make you reliant on it ultimately making the situation worse. If you must use this to open your sinuses- don't use it for more then 3 days- and use the saline solution intermittantly with it- then continue with the saline nose spray afterwards. Another thing that has helped me in the past- when it was REALLY bad was.... ok.... this sounds gross but it did help... ok- how do I explain this??? My dad was into homeopathy and reflexology. Natural remedies... you know? Anyway he gave me a small bowl that had a long narrow pour spout on it. You filled the bowl with warm water then (Oh- I hate saying this- it's sound so gross!) kinda carefully suck the water into one side of your nose. Once it was done, blow your nose. THERE! I said it! This did a great job of cleaning out the sinuses! It does sound like "sinus washing" only are you guys using that term in reference to the surgery you were talking about? If so- this would be a literal sinus washing.... right?

Just another thought about the Afrin- have you tried any another kind of nose spray?

I hope you feel better soon. It's awful having sinus infections all the time.

Irrigating the sinuses is probably the hardest thing to do, but it helps me the most. There is another procedure but I don't know what it's called. They numb the inside of your nose then use a machine to suck everything out. I know it sounds gross, but it is instant relief.

 

[tmfranlk]

Thank you ALL for your kind words... I'm just back from the doctor and now all caught up. It appears as a UTI right now so he gave me some pills. However, he found blood in my urine and had to have it sent away. So naturally that makes me a little more nervous.

In the meantime, I got some Xanax for my flight on Sunday. I've never taken it, but it is supposed to be great for anxiety and flying makes me anxious. I'd take a train if I could - but I want to get there somewhat quickly.

Here's hoping all is gone before Sunday!!!!

I'm glad to hear you went to the doctor, Marti. I hope the meds work and the further tests don't fine anything. In case I don't get back on (seems to be the case often this week) have a great trip!!! I hope that Matt doesn't take it to badly.

 

[UP Disney]

Marti, how are you feeling this morning? I don't remember seeing you yet. I saw that you were on early in the morning and still was in pain. Sure hope that the daylight has brought you relief.

 

[tmfranlk]

Some of them auction for $100's of dollars. DH will die if I spend $200+ on Davis' bench! The pictures are of the one I painted for the class I teach (they are toddlers age 15mo-2 years). It's all their tiny fingerprints and initials. They are a sweet group of kids. The other 2 teachers and me are Santa.

Good luck! I hope you don't have to go too high. My sisters school does the same thing and the quilt they made in Kindergarten ended up auctioning for several hundred. Mom decided to stick with something a little cheaper and simpler to help.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Ewwwwwww!

The snow is back I mean, I saw it last night, but it's worse today... and I have to go out in it! I LOVE snow for a while, but it's been so warm for weeks....... I'm unprepared!




Off to class.... have a good day everyone!

I'm jealous, it's got to be prettier than all this rain. I swear by the time it stops for a couple days, we'll have a pool out back.

 

[Eeyorecln]

Good morning everyone! Sorry -- this will be long.
I need some advice from my friends, please. I have had sinus/allergy problems since I was very young. Have taken shots two different times with two different doctors, to no avail. I've been to 3 different ENT's, who all say I should have surgery. But, they don't really give me a good case for the surgery -- say they will fix my deviated septum, take out a bone spur in one sinus, and clean them out. They don't know if this will stop me from having all of these sinus infection/upper respiratory infections. My internist and allergist tell me they don't think the surgery will help. Meanwhile, I have year-round terrible allergies, that always flare up the most when I'm run-down. Slowing down much isn't an option (I've been at the same job for 19 years -- since my senior year in college and now run the business), although I am trying to take better care of myself.

Normally I start getting more stuffy than usual and start sneezing. At this point, I start taking Afrin for 3 days, make sure I am taking my decongestant and Allegra. The headaches start, then I have this gross drainage in my throat that makes it sore, ache from the shoulders up, ears feel funny, run slight fever, have a hard time climbing stairs (but no cough) and am exhausted. Yesterday I woke up with the same symptoms for the third time since the second weekend in December.

I make myself go to work, because I can't afford to get behind, plus have to get the kids from school (we live 35 miles from downtown Dallas but the kids have to go to a special school an additional 15 minutes further away). I hate to take antibiotics for every "episode" because I get yeast infections, plus I don't want to get resistant to them from overuse.

The one flaw (did I saw flaw???) in my near perfect husband is that he doesn't have the sympathetic/compassionate gene for all these sinus/allergy problems. I'm sure he gets sick of hearing about my problems, but I'm even more sick of living them. I got in the shower last night trying to steam all this crap out of my head and throat and just broke down crying.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for things that have helped them with these symptoms/problems? I'd be so grateful for any advice at this point.... and thanks for listening.

I'm sorry to hear that your DH doesn't understand. I'm sure that makes it harder to deal with. I knew someone who had nasal surgery and actually felt it made things worse. So I'm not sure about that. I know it sounds gross but my dad cleans out his nose daily by flushing it with warm salt water and it seems to help him. You can use a bulb syringe for this. Could you take extra vitamin C to help prevent some of these infections? Hope you feel better soon and can find some solutions that work for you.

 

[KMH1]

Sheesh Dawn, write a book!



I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist, especially since I'm being "nice" to Kate this week.

Did you see Eko at the Golden Globes? He looked gooooood! Only five more hours til a new episode!

Amy

P.S. Did you practice making mitten cookies yet??!!!

Marci, I can certainly sympathize
I have sinus infections year round and I have severe allergies. I had nasal surgery in 1992 and full sinus surgery in 2002. I can't tell you that you will or won't have more sinus infections with surgery, I can only relate my experiences.

The reason I needed the first nasal surgery is because I became addicted to Afrin because it was the only thing that would shrink the tissue so I could breathe. I actually could not breathe through my nose. I was so miserable that I rushed into this surgery. He went in and removed my turbinates (which they now know is bad, but thought it was the right thing to do at the time), and he removed excess tissue. I bled for MONTHS and I'm not exaggerating. The surgery itself wasn't bad but the recovery was awful. I did however find relief once the bleeding stopped. I didn't have sinus problems for about 6 years.

When I started having sinus problems again I let my GP treat them. They became more and more severe so I finally went to an ENT/Allergist. I got on allergy shots but I was still having frequent and severe sinus infections. This ENT treated them with antibiotics, tested my immune system, irrigated my sinuses, treated the allergies...everything he could do until he finally suggested surgery. After seeing my cat scans and xrays I agreed that the surgery was the way to go. This surgery was actually a sinus surgery. He corrected my deviated septum, scraped the bone so I would have a wider passage on one side, fully irrigated my sinuses and other stuff I don't remember. I didn't bleed that much from this surgery but I had to keep myself knocked out for a few days because I was very uncomfortable. This surgery helped too, but I still have frequent sinus infections. The difference before and after the surgery is that now I can breathe through my nose most of the time, and instead of the "stuff" being caught in my sinuses it is able to drain.

I would think long and hard before doing a surgery. Even though both of mine helped in the end, they were not pleasant experiences, and didn't give me the level of relief we expected. If my Dr. suggested surgery again I don't know if I could go through with it.

Other suggestions: irrigate your sinuses. Saline spray is the easiest way, but if you have really bad problems it may not be enough. After my surgery my Dr. told me to mix salt with warm water and use a bulb syringe to irrigate my sinuses. It was a little uncomfortable but it did help. I've also tried Dr. Grossman's thing. It's basically a Water Pik with a special attachment that irrigates the sinuses. Very strange feeling.

Cortisone really helps, just be careful not to do this too much.

If you're not on Allergy meds year round, I would do that.

Other than that, I really can't help . I have a sinus infection right now so I obviously don't have many answers, lol. You may find surgery is the way to go, just do lots of homework before agreeing to it. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[tmfranlk]

Good morning everyone! Sorry -- this will be long.
I need some advice from my friends, please. I have had sinus/allergy problems since I was very young. Have taken shots two different times with two different doctors, to no avail. I've been to 3 different ENT's, who all say I should have surgery. But, they don't really give me a good case for the surgery -- say they will fix my deviated septum, take out a bone spur in one sinus, and clean them out. They don't know if this will stop me from having all of these sinus infection/upper respiratory infections. My internist and allergist tell me they don't think the surgery will help. Meanwhile, I have year-round terrible allergies, that always flare up the most when I'm run-down. Slowing down much isn't an option (I've been at the same job for 19 years -- since my senior year in college and now run the business), although I am trying to take better care of myself.

Normally I start getting more stuffy than usual and start sneezing. At this point, I start taking Afrin for 3 days, make sure I am taking my decongestant and Allegra. The headaches start, then I have this gross drainage in my throat that makes it sore, ache from the shoulders up, ears feel funny, run slight fever, have a hard time climbing stairs (but no cough) and am exhausted. Yesterday I woke up with the same symptoms for the third time since the second weekend in December.

I make myself go to work, because I can't afford to get behind, plus have to get the kids from school (we live 35 miles from downtown Dallas but the kids have to go to a special school an additional 15 minutes further away). I hate to take antibiotics for every "episode" because I get yeast infections, plus I don't want to get resistant to them from overuse.

The one flaw (did I saw flaw???) in my near perfect husband is that he doesn't have the sympathetic/compassionate gene for all these sinus/allergy problems. I'm sure he gets sick of hearing about my problems, but I'm even more sick of living them. I got in the shower last night trying to steam all this crap out of my head and throat and just broke down crying.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for things that have helped them with these symptoms/problems? I'd be so grateful for any advice at this point.... and thanks for listening.

Sorry that I don't have any advice for you, Marci. I just wanted to say that I hope that you find the right remedy soon that will finally help you.