Carmen (Fair Oaks, Ca) on 07/24/2011
Replied By Dln (Forty Fort, Pa) on 07/29/2011
The sinus infection is still raging though. The 2nd dentist put me on a Z Pak for the infection, not sure if it is working or not, as I am still getting the extreme pressure and pain in the right side sinus.
Tonight, my wife bought me a neti pot and I used it as soon as she got home, I was in the midst of a really bad episode of pain and pressure. Well, the neti pot reduced the pressure and pain - from 10 to a 6. So I loaded up on some sudafed and benadryl, too a vicodin too. Then the pain and pressure started coming back so I jumped online looking for a natural home remedy since the OTC crap was not working.
Just happened to find this site and I read the first 4 pages of "Cure a sinus infection" So, what the hell, since I was in enough pain to wish that Mr Death would come and knock on the front door, I decided to try the ACV remedy. I did the modified version - 2 tbsp of ACV, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of wild flower honey - mixed them up in a coffee cup and drank it down in 3 gulps - not too bad tasting at all. It was like a miracle, 4 minutes later the pressure started to go down and the pain right along with it. In 15 minutes I would say the sinus inflamation had been reduced by 50 percent and I could breath thru my right nostril. So, just so you know, I am one of those people that has any patience and if one cup of the ACV mixture did this well, a 2nd cup of the same mixture couldn't hurt - LOL So 25 minutes after the first cup went down I drank the 2nd.... 10 minutes later I was feeling a bunch of pain again, but this was different than the sinus pressure, like an opposite pain... It was the pain of my sinus's - both sides of my head, and all the sinus cavities at the same time.... They were shrinking.... Too quickly... And it hurt like hell..... Well 10 more minutes and the pain and pressure are both gone and I am breating freely. So, if you read this and are going to try the ACV mixture I listed above.... Take my advice, do not drink 2 doses within 30 minutes of each other... It works great but it hurts!!!!
Just a couple of other items about my sinus infection. I have had very similar episode 6 times before, with uncommon symptoms: no nasal discharge - none; no drainage into my throat when sleeping; hours upon hours of no pain or pressure at all - completely normal feeling, then all of a sudden the pain and pressure come on like a freight train going 100 mph. The pain brings tears and crying - I am a 41 yr old man with a very high threshold for pain, but this is an evil kind of pain - and the pressure is unbelievable - feels like the right side of my head is going to actually burst open and my right eyeball feels like it is being pushed out of its socket!!!!
Since a lot of folks on this site seem to know more about sinus infections than I do, I have a couple questions to ask.
1) Is it common for a sinus infection to stay on only one side of the head?
2) Is it common to not have any nasal discharge at all?
3) What causes the sinus pressure and pain to be absent for up to 14 hrs and then all of a sudden flare up with a vengence?
Well, that is enough for now. I would like to thank everyone for sharing their experiences as I have already benefitted greatly with the ACV remedy!!! For those that will read this posting, try the ACV remedy.... It worked extremely quickly for me!!!
Replied By Diane (Margaret River, Wa, Australia) on 07/30/2011
Replied By Carlos (Winnetka, Ca) on 08/01/2011
Replied By Mitch (Dover, Ma ) on 08/06/2011
Replied By Dln (Forty Fort, Pa) on 08/16/2011
So I gave in and went to the ENT, same Doctor I saw 10 years ago for the same thing. He remembered me right away. After talking for a few minutes, he brought the super spray - in a little glass bottle attached to a air pump - whatever that stuff is, it is absolutely amazing - 1 spray and the sinus immediately starts to open, wait for a minute or so, 2nd spray and all 4 sinuses are about 50% or 60% open, wait another minute and 3rd spray - all 4 sinuses are now 100% open, pressure is completely gone. The ENT was very surprised that there was no drainage of any kind. He had me snort and spit a number of times, but nothing out of the ordinary, just plain spit - so he gave me a 4th spray on the right side a single spray on the left side - waited about 30 seconds - more snorting and spitting - still no discharge. He was kind of stumped at this point. All symptoms point to an infection in the right side sinuses only. He check my right ear, checked my throat - no problems found. He then looked up my nose and other than the right sinus being overly red - from a month of netipot, nasal sprays, saline irrigation sprays - he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Well, he scratched his head a couple times and remembered one other case like me about 15 years ago. He said all the symptoms lead to a sinus infection but he could never get a sample of the infection in spit or nasal mucus. He kept put that patient on predisone and antibiotics - took a couple rounds, but eventually it worked.
So, he put me on Avelox, predisone and more vicadins. He also recommened the Ocean nasal spary in the can. So I started the regimine of pills - finished them off this past Friday - in the 10 days I had 4 very good days - no pain or pressure, but last Thursday I had a horrible night, pain and pressure for 15 hrs straight - and then Friday afternoon, everything opened up, pain and pressure went away and I thought, prematurely, that it was all over for good. Sat morning was pretty good, then by 4 in the afternoon it was back with a vengence, but I was able to knocked it back with a few sudafed. Yesterday, Sunday, sucked bad - spent most of the day in bed and then it cleared up for a couple hours and then came back last night around 11 pm. Took a couple hrs to get it to subside - hot shower for 15 minutes, nasal spray, sudafed and allegra. This morning I could feel it, like a nagging throb, but it was fine until around 3 pm - then it hit again, hard, and it stayed painful until 6:30 pm and just went away. Came back a little about 9 pm, so I took 1 - 100mg GSE tablet, and a couple sudafed - seemed ok until about 30 minutes ago - so back to the neosynephryn - 3 sprays and everything is wide open for now. So hopefully the GSE will start to do something.
Have another visit with the ENT this Thursday - will get a CT scan this week as well, hopefully something will show up that will help the Doctor figure out what is going on.
The pain and pressure, reoccuring when it wants to, with no trigger that I can narrow down - not any specific food or food group, or smoking or lack of smoking, outside, inside, in the car, in a resturant, movie theater, grocery store - so I am basically at a loss, just like before.
This has become very depressing and is weighing very heavily on my emotional state. One minute I am perfectly fine - and the next I am feeling my skull is going to explode - the pressure is so bad that when I used the cayene nasal spray, the tears coming from my right eye actually tasted like cayene pepper - and my eye burned like hell until I washed it out.
Will update in a week or two, hopefully the next time will have a more positive update.
Replied By Dln (Forty Fort, Pa) on 08/27/2011
I did start the ACV again, and once again it worked on a limited basis. It worked right away the first time I took it - same mixture I used before - 2 tbsp of ACV, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of wild flower honey. But the longer I used it the effectiveness wore off. I got about 4 days of usefullness out of it, then it did nothing to relieve the pressure any longer.
So I did some more research and had another visit to the ENT and think I have found a combination of vitamins, OTC and prescription drugs, and home remedies that seems to have finally led me to a viable solution to a dry sinus infection.
Here is the list of stuff I have used since my last update to get to the point of 90% cured.
1. Avelox antibiotic - not as harsh on the system as some antibiotics.
2. 500 mg of Vitamin C chewable tablet, 4 to 8 a day.
3. 400 mg of Acai berry extract a day
4. Predisone - to reduce inflamation and promote sinus drainage
5. 400 mg guaifenesin tablets - up to 2,400 mg a day - this was the missing part of all my previous attempts - the ENT agreed this can be very helpful in certain cases. It thins mucus, not only in the lungs, but all mucus and I was finally able to get drainage out of my sinus. I did not get any of the colored mucus as drainage, but I can feel the sinus drain into the back of my throat and the pressure just disappears within 15 to 20 minutes of taking the tablets. I chase the pills down with a softdrink containing caffein to speed the process along.
6. 1/8 tsp Sea salt - dissolved with saliva in your mouth, then swallowed and chased down with a 8 to 12 oz glass of water - do this a couple times a day, say morning, mid-day and evening. This sounds crazy, but it works wonders. Details and testimonials can be found at "Watercure2. Org". Some of the claims and testimonials do seem to stretch reality a little, but, I can honestly say this works, at least for me. No increase in bloodpressure, no serious side effects, unless you consider clear urine a bad thing - LOL I think this helps with the sinuses because it increases the volume of water/salt in the body, which increases the mucus, but thins it, along with the guaifenesin. It is like doing the neti pot on an internal level.
Like I said above, I am not 100%, still get a small flareup every other day or so, like tonight, but it is easily shut down by 400 mg tablet of guaifenesin and taking the 1/8 tsp of sea salt and the glass of water. Takes about 20 minutes and the pressure goes away, the sinuses and nasal passage feels soothed, probably from the increase in thin mucus, and air flow thru the nose is increased. If you lay down at the 30 minute mark, you will feel the drainage in your throat. It is not an excessive amount to cause gagging, but more of a dripping/leakage feeling as the mucus just kind of slides down your throat, but there is no irritation associated, and no sore throat the next day.
I really think it is the combination of sea salt and guaifensin that is making the difference. Any sinus infection needs to drain, and the thinner you can make the mucus the better off you will be. My ENT thought I might have a partially plugged sinus and was thinking surgery if it does not get better. Well, the hell with surgery. I don't care if the sinus drain hole is 1mm in size, I will thin the mucus until it gets out of the hole. I am not going to have surgery, period!!!
I am hoping that in another week I will be back at 100% and this will all just be a bad memory. I wish my fellow sinus sufferers the best of luck. What seems to be working for me may not work for you, but don't give up hope. Keep trying different and varied things, different combinations of remedies, you will eventually find something that works.
Replied By Gail (Charlottetown, Pei, Canada) on 12/27/2011
It is now 2 days post-Christmas... Over the period of the last month, eating some of my forbidden foods has once again presented me with a sinus infection. Am using ACV and oil of oregano... Seems to be working for all except the chills-- broke down and took a Tylenol a few minutes ago. Planning to have a detox bath later this evening (contains epsom salts, baking soda and ACV) just before bedtime and hope that it will give me a good night's sleep. The health food store where I purchased the oil of oregano also suggested probiotics two hours after taking and ACV or oil of oregano. Apparently the oil of oregano will kill the good bacteria as well as the bad.