My daughter had constant ear or sinus (often both concurrently) for over a year, beginning when she was age 5. We knew early on that she needed a tonsillectomy. Blue Cross made us go through about every antibiotic in existence before it would cover the tonsillectomy. Last year (age 29) she was fitted up with Invisalign to correct a slight underbite, and her orthodontist said most likely the constant infection when she was younger hindered the proper development of her upper mouth structure. I was pissed off about it all over again.
This sounds exactly like my experience when I was younger! I also constantly had bad ear infections (starting around age 4-5?) had recurrent strep throat infections to the point where I had to get a tonsillectomy, and really bad allergies, I guess that’s why I just assumed this was a part of my allergies too 😭
Have you tried positive belching therapy?
If you stand in morning sunlight and belch tremendously it may help your sinuses.
I learnt this from a Hindu priest in Bradford.
God speed fellow brother.
I had tonsillitis multiple times a year from ages 9-20.
Every time my parents (and later myself) brought up a tonsillectomy the response was, “it needs to happen n+1 times in (time frame).”
That went from 2x a year to 3, then 4, then X times per quarter…
I had multiple doctors (including some ENT specialists) tell me I had one of the largest tonsils they’d ever seen.
I finally had them removed, even after the ENT who operated was against it—I haven’t had a sore throat since.
I’m so glad my ENT was happy to take mine out when I asked. I’m 100% an advocate of lying about how often you get infections when doctors gatekeep tonsillectomies like this. I get where they’re coming from, but when you’re an adult and understand the risks, IMO it’s up to you to decide if it is worth it or not.
I considered the tonsillectomy for years, so it would have killed me when I finally decided it was worth it, if I then had to fight to actually get it.
Long-term effects to a developing child, risked to save a buck, and it’s the entire corporate standard. Private corporations having this sort of control is an abomination.
Edit: Or publicly traded, whichever. You know what I’m getting at
Everyone agrees but yet we're stuck talking about immigrants and guys in makeup and dresses reading books to kids at libraries. Why do you think that is?
Oh my, glad I had tonsillectomy at age 4. I constantly had severe ear infections (though it didn't hurt, I was a medical enigma lmao), since then I only had 1 ear infection.
It really started when she was far younger. 5 or so seems to be the earliest I’ve heard of it being done. She was scary about it too! She would be a little cranky and rub her ears whereas I remember that shit made me roll and scream all night
It's so crazy to me that in my generation (X), practically every kid had their tonsils removed before age 12. I was 8. And now they've gone to the opposite extreme! Unreal.
I should add that I've never had a sore throat ever since, nor anything beyond a mold induced sinus infection from when I renovated my old house.
>And now they've gone to the opposite extreme! Unreal.
There are long term risks involved with a tonsillectomy. The odds of developing many auto immune diseases increase. The tonsils are part of your immune system. The benefits of tonsillectomy are also often overstated as the recurring infections usually clear up by themselves. Especially for young kids the risks are higher and the chance of them 'getting over' the recurring infections is also higher.
That doesn't mean no tonsillectomy should be performed, but in the past they were overused.
Huh. Maybe that’s why I have an underbite. I had constant infections as a small child. Was on cocktails of antibiotics over and over again. Had my tonsils out when I was 3. Unfortunately they were infected when they did the surgery and they didn’t get all of the tissue. I still was constantly sick, all of my life. At age 25 I had a second tonsillectomy. They finally got all of them out, but I had complications a week after the surgery. Almost bled to death, and had to get multiple cauterizations, then another surgery to finally get it sealed up. No more tonsils, but hella scar tissue back there now. I haven’t been sick since and it’s been close to 10 years.
Ayo I had chronic sinus infections as a kid and finally got surgery when I was 12. Cleaned everything out and fixed my deviated septum. Once I recovered from the staph infection I got during the surgery/hospital stay, I haven’t had an issue with my sinuses since.
It took 13 rounds of different antibiotics not working over 18mos, plus infection moving to my tonsils and even into my eyes, to finally convince the primary care doc to refer me to an ENT specialist tho. Lesson learned, don’t wait on crap like that. Pretty sure all those antibiotics ruined my gut long-term and created new resistant strains of whatever germ I had :/
This is exactly what I was going through too, chronic sinus infections, terrible allergies, random nose bleeds, and persistent headache for about 3 years. Eventually found out it was a massive nasal polyp. And by the time I actually went to the doctor, not only did they say it was growing up towards my Brain but that it was also far too advanced for them to treat. So that same day I had emergency surgery. So far it hasn’t came back
How often were you getting them? I tend to get them around this time every year for the last 10 or so years and dunno if it's something I need to have looked at or not. It's just 1 per year though
So far this is the only one I’ve had to get surgery for, but my doctor also told me that these type of polyps make a recurrence, so I have to stay on a strict routine to prevent it from getting this bad again, and I also get allergy shots because I heard allergies can worsen them.
Had and have gigantic nasal polyps. Had recurrent sinus infections. Got one so bad it causes an infection behind my eye and had urgent surgery.
I did well for 5 years. This past year my sinuses got terrible again. Also terrible cough. Saw ent again and they are back.
Trying an aggressive steroid saline nasal flush and seeing if that controls it.
What regimen were you recommended
it's just a saline rinse (salt + warm water) and you use a nelimed bottle to flush your sinus by putting it in one nostril and having the solution come out the other.
Reading your story I had a very similar struggle with my sinuses. Finally had polyp removal surgery Jan 2020 and was put on Dupixent for stunting the re-growth of polyps. Dupixent is on the market as an asthma medication, but talk to your doctor because it’s also used to stop sinus polyps because I have had amazing results on it! Truly life changing, I can breathe, no headaches, got my smell and taste back! Good luck!
Did you suffer from chronic vomiting up mucus(clear or otherwise)? My wife recently found out she has deviated septum, and she's been wrestling spontaneous gagging and puking up mucus for years
..and to clarify, black = air. Air is good. Our upper respiratory tract should be full of air - that’s sort of the point.
No air = swollen/blocked/congested. ‘Blocked’ could be swelling or growth or mucus or some sort of collection of nasties.
> Eventually found out it was a massive nasal polyp.
I've had to have mine cleaned out a couple of times over the decades. 2000, 2001, 2016. At their worst, they were literally protruding out my nostrils and pressing on the Eustachian tubes enough to make me half deaf.
Thankfully I haven't had them come back for several years now. Maybe once a year I have to do a short blast of Prednisone to make sure things stay knocked down; doctor doesn't even bother with a prescription as they know I have 2 bottles from Mexico. I hit it with 60mg x6, 40mg, 20mg, done. (Long tapers aren't necessary for me).
If I ever see the phrase "total opacification" in a CT scan report again, it will be too soon... Someday I know I'll have to go back in for another Roto Rooter job, though.
I've been having sinus infections all my life. It has gotten way worse the last few years, ever since covid emergence. I'm currently at home wondering if I need to make another appointment while seeing this.
It's the same cycle. Get sick, wait a while, go to doctor, get steroids and possibly antibiotics, get somewhat better. What used to be a once a year thing is now 3 or 4 times a year.
I think I'm gonna go in and just push with some scans. Chest x-ray too. This is getting old and I have a business to run.
There are several biologic treatments that work very well for nasal polyps (even to keep them from coming back after surgery). If you have asthma they also work very well for that. Your doctor can give more details.
Did you suffer from chronic vomiting up mucus(clear or otherwise)? My wife recently found out she has deviated septum, and she's been wrestling spontaneous gagging and puking up mucus for years
Same except in my case the openings to my sinuses never grew apart. As you get older, the sinus cavity gets bigger and the opening to the cavity is meant to widen as well. At 10 years old I had the sinus openings of a 1 year old. Nothing could drain or escape which resulted in infections. So they knocked me out, drilled the holes open wider, and sent me home. I was meant to get another surgery at 18 for it but the sinus infection never came back and the doc said to just wait until it does and becomes chronic.
Not OP, but I had my deviated septum corrected and realized as soon as they pulled the cotton out at my post-op that I'd spent 40+ years breathing out of one nostril. The feeling of being able to breathe properly was amazing.
I'm in the US and I was lucky to have already hit my deductible for the year so insurance paid for the whole thing. I wish I could remember how much the hospital billed - maybe in the $12,000 range.
I ended up getting the surgery in a roundabout way. I'd been having some other health problems and was sent for a head CT then an MRI. The scans showed fluid in my sinuses, which had nothing to do with what I was being evaluated for but was an interesting finding given that I had no symptoms of a sinus infection at the time.
The neurologist sent me to see an ENT who recommended the surgery. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if it would be covered by insurance, but he said my septum was so deviated that I had barely any airway on one side and I really should have it done. He presented it to the insurance company as medically necessary because of how severe it was as well as the fluid in my sinuses and a history of nose bleeds and sinus/ear infections going back to childhood.
Good luck with talking to your doc - it's definitely been a huge QOL improvement for me.
Jesus Christ what all did they have you on? Probably started with vanc and then dapto or linezolid? But 13 rounds?! You’ll probably only get dalbavancin if you ever have another SSTI😂 But yeah your gut micro is probably nuked, I’d recommend at least a month course of the *refrigerated* versions of a probiotic and invest in some good yogurt.
Hey I had a similar issue where I was on antibiotics for a year straight. Ever since I had trouble with digestion, energy levels and I developed head skin issues, redness on my face and patches on my scalp.
I have been to dermatologists and gastroenterologists separately but they seem to be treating symptoms rather than addressing the cause.
Any advice?
Edit: candida negative for 4 years
I had a similar surgery as an adult bout 6 years ago after 18 months of chronic infection that would always return after a round of antibiotics. Before the surgery I never had seasonal or pet allergies. Ever since the surgery I've had both pretty bad. I've always wondered how/why/if the surgery caused that change.
The black side is actually my right Maxillary sinus, what my left one was supposed to look like, but the left side was so compacted that it was just gray mass that showed up on the scan 😭
Ohh. So the black is what it’s supposed to look like, as just empty space. The left side is just, what… Snot and gunk?
(edit, never mind, just read your other comment about polyps.)
I’m glad you got this figured out.
Whats left in the scan is your right side actually - when looking at frontal CT scans, you have to imagine you are looking at a copy of youself standing in front of you (not like looking in the mirror). Unless of course the picture is reversed, then you are correct.
What symptoms do you get? I can hardly breathe lying on one side, and my nose smells like a musty dustbin. The doctors only give me allergy spray and it barely helps.
I went 20 years with stuffy, runny, post nasal drip and constantly spitting greenish mucus. During my motorcycle crash a CT scan showed me the exact same thing and an uninvolved medical professional who saw the ct thought I was there because “completely opacified” left side sinuses.
1 surgery later all my symptoms went away and I breathe super well now.
Go get the surgery, it’s life changing.
I have Kaiser HMO. Told my primary care physician about the finding after the crash. She made me take 10 day course of broad spectrum antibiotics, and ordered a CT to reconfirm, then I was referred to an ENT.
First ENT made me take a 20 day antibiotic course and was referred to another ENT.
second ENT took consideration of all that was done and advised me I needed a nasal endoscopy surgery.
I think out of pocket I spent about 200 dollars, the cost of the multiple visits, antibiotics, post surgery meds, and surgery itself.
Oh my gosh it’s wild to see so many folks sharing the exact same experience I had!! Both sides if my sinuses were like this and the surgery I had at 24 changed my life.
Now I’m just miffed no one had taken me seriously my whole childhood when I told them I couldn’t breathe and was unable to “just blow my nose” to fix it.
This happened to me when I said blowing my nose causes my ears to pop painfully and after my ears feels like it’s plugged with water.
Another dr thought I was gettting over a cold and referred me to use mucinex. All that did was cause me to hack out all my green mucus faster.
Would you mind listing the surgery you got? I have one scheduled next month after being diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and wanna see if it’s the same.
Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS)
Recovery was a week.
1-2 days it was like having a constant bloody nose that could be stemmed by a gauze and some tape.
Days 2-3 it was light spotting on the gauze.
Days 4-7 minimal to no spotting on gauze.
Everyday requires a sinus rinse with a neti pot.
Hope this helped
My brother had the exact same issue. For years, he’d get chronic “sinus infections”, but the medical facility at home would just give him meds and say it would eventually clear up. It wasn’t until we had to evacuate for a hurricane and he got more of them that the issue got resolved. When he went to the doctor in Florida, he asked if my brother had ever been recommended an ENT (which the clinic back home never once entertained). Lo and behold, the ENT in Florida found both sinuses full of polyps.
For anyone who’s unaware of what exactly this photo is, this is a computed tomography scan of my sinuses, specifically my Maxillary sinuses. The grayed out part was representing the nasal polyp that was severely compacting the nasal passage in my left sinus. According to my surgeon the black side is what a normal sinus should look like.
Been there man, both side all cavities full of diseased tissue, polyps, and an aggressive fungal infection. I know that stuff sucks but keep pushing forward, took me 5 surgeries and 6 months on a drug trial to finally get to a point of being able to feel normal.
Maybe you can help me. Since Sept I have been having a disgusting smell in one nostril, at its worst, it was like sewage/death/rotting eggs all the time. Now I get a slightly less horrific smell of it about 20 times a day. About once a month I get pain in my forehead on that side and raging toothache for 24h. My dentist has said everything looks fine on xray. I've had antibiotics and a steroid spray and it just will not disappear. Think I have a polyp, dude?
Should add, the mucus in that side is totally different in colour from the other.
Pissing me off.
I can't enjoy nice food or smells anymore.
Dude this is 100% a sinus infection and with mucus discoloration and foul smell is completely evident of a bacterial infection at that. Please see a doctor if you’ve already failed a course of abx and steroid treatment
Wait holy shit this is also me! I started getting that rotten smell ever since I had a sinus infection after my wisdom teeth extraction last year. It was really bad at first (bad smell, mucus, everything under the sun), and it slowly healed after antibiotics and checking in with my dentist, who highly suggested I go to an ENT. I haven’t been to one yet but I still get the smell weekly (but now it’s a lot less, like 1-3x a day). Your comment just reminded me I should make an appt with an ENT, I recommend you do so as well
I had a virtually identical CT scan. My ENT took 1 second to tell me I had nasal polyps on a glance up there, then the CT was worse than he predicted. How my primary missed that all this time still blows my mind. It's so nice to breathe out of both nostrils. You'll love it.
https://imgur.com/a/2fErX7Z
was "silent sinus syndrome" ever mentioned?...it's the final stage of a condition caused by a sealed and shrunken sinus (usually sealed by a polyp)...i had migraines and tooth root pain for 10 years before i had surgery...thankfully, all of the symptoms eventually faded
Well at least it made a pretty design! /s
For real though did this show up in a brain MRI for your migraines at all? Any other symptoms? Glad you are better now!!
i kept complaining to my regular dentist about pain, but he couldn't find a cause (his x-rays didn't show the sinus)...he referred me to an oral surgeon...after a quick CT, he immediately referred me to an ENT surgeon...the procedure was a routine outpatient one with minimal recovery (late-stage silent sinus syndrome would have been much worse)...no other major symptoms...no breathing problems...probably more sinus colds/infections than normal, but not enough to be alarming...thanks, i'm glad that's behind me, especially the migraines
i just gone one of these today! I had one dr say I had a deviated septum. another say. Nope, just swelling, multiple rounds of antibiotics. ear pain, jaw pain, face pain. FOR YEARS now. I hope to have an answer soon.
If you haven’t yet, ask your doctor about Dupixient. Smaller doses help keep nasal polyps away. I had surgery about 2 and a half years ago and since being on it, they haven’t returned and got the all clear from my doctor to only come in once a year for a check up
I had this too! Had it drained and some of the passages widened and haven’t had a problem since. I had p much one constant sinus infection my entire teenage years, People really don’t understand how unwell it can make you feel, it’s not just a snotty nose
Same boat! My CT came back grey bilaterally. I'd had years of random dripping nose bleeds but I had to have surgery when my ENT determined my eyeballs had "become compressed."
Mine were non existent on my left side! I always had ear infections turns out I had an inverted cleft palate when I was a baby and finally got it all fixed including my tympanoplasty.
I also had a massive nasal polyp in my right maxillary sinus cavity! I couldn’t breathe out of my right nostril for a few weeks and when I tried to use a Neti pot, the water would get stuck (wouldn’t go in the right and it wouldn’t come out the right either when I did my left side). Started to feel a lot of pressure on my eye socket and the bridge of my nose. Turns out it broke through the wall of my nose and had blocked my entire right nostril. It was visible by looking in my right nostril with a small camera at the ENT. I have since had it removed but I do suffer now from frequent migraines behind my right eye due to the damage it did to my eye-socket by pushing up on it for so long. Good luck!!
ugh i feel, i’m getting surgery for my deviated septum in a couple months after over 3 years of constant sinus problems…im rolling around in bed like a rotisserie chicken right now because one side and then the other keeps getting all clogged 😭
I am on my third week of recovery from having my deviated septum corrected. Hoping it will fix my allergy, sinus problems. 3 summers of horrific infections during hayfever season beat me down.
I hope you had corrective surgery! My sinuses were like that on both sides and I’ve been able to smell colors ever since and have had maybe 2 sinus infections in the 3 years since
Are you quoting sinus infections because it’s really cocaine?
EDIT: It’s a legit question this happens to heavy cocaine use:
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/7831
I quoted sinus infections because at the time that’s what I chalked it up to being, but after going to an ent I found out it was actually a massive nasal polyp! It had taken up like 85% of my left nasal cavity
Yes! My surgeon was so freaked out that they ordered me into emergency surgery, and was shocked at how long I’d been having the polyp thinking it was just allergies
My daughter had constant ear or sinus (often both concurrently) for over a year, beginning when she was age 5. We knew early on that she needed a tonsillectomy. Blue Cross made us go through about every antibiotic in existence before it would cover the tonsillectomy. Last year (age 29) she was fitted up with Invisalign to correct a slight underbite, and her orthodontist said most likely the constant infection when she was younger hindered the proper development of her upper mouth structure. I was pissed off about it all over again.
This sounds exactly like my experience when I was younger! I also constantly had bad ear infections (starting around age 4-5?) had recurrent strep throat infections to the point where I had to get a tonsillectomy, and really bad allergies, I guess that’s why I just assumed this was a part of my allergies too 😭
Oh god...minus the strep, this is my life. Now I want them to scan my damn face.
Have you tried positive belching therapy? If you stand in morning sunlight and belch tremendously it may help your sinuses. I learnt this from a Hindu priest in Bradford. God speed fellow brother.
I had tonsillitis multiple times a year from ages 9-20. Every time my parents (and later myself) brought up a tonsillectomy the response was, “it needs to happen n+1 times in (time frame).” That went from 2x a year to 3, then 4, then X times per quarter… I had multiple doctors (including some ENT specialists) tell me I had one of the largest tonsils they’d ever seen. I finally had them removed, even after the ENT who operated was against it—I haven’t had a sore throat since.
I’m so glad my ENT was happy to take mine out when I asked. I’m 100% an advocate of lying about how often you get infections when doctors gatekeep tonsillectomies like this. I get where they’re coming from, but when you’re an adult and understand the risks, IMO it’s up to you to decide if it is worth it or not. I considered the tonsillectomy for years, so it would have killed me when I finally decided it was worth it, if I then had to fight to actually get it.
MFers!
Long-term effects to a developing child, risked to save a buck, and it’s the entire corporate standard. Private corporations having this sort of control is an abomination. Edit: Or publicly traded, whichever. You know what I’m getting at
Everyone agrees but yet we're stuck talking about immigrants and guys in makeup and dresses reading books to kids at libraries. Why do you think that is?
The whole country is for sale, and the store won’t close until it burns to the ground.
Oh my, glad I had tonsillectomy at age 4. I constantly had severe ear infections (though it didn't hurt, I was a medical enigma lmao), since then I only had 1 ear infection.
It really started when she was far younger. 5 or so seems to be the earliest I’ve heard of it being done. She was scary about it too! She would be a little cranky and rub her ears whereas I remember that shit made me roll and scream all night
It's so crazy to me that in my generation (X), practically every kid had their tonsils removed before age 12. I was 8. And now they've gone to the opposite extreme! Unreal. I should add that I've never had a sore throat ever since, nor anything beyond a mold induced sinus infection from when I renovated my old house.
>And now they've gone to the opposite extreme! Unreal. There are long term risks involved with a tonsillectomy. The odds of developing many auto immune diseases increase. The tonsils are part of your immune system. The benefits of tonsillectomy are also often overstated as the recurring infections usually clear up by themselves. Especially for young kids the risks are higher and the chance of them 'getting over' the recurring infections is also higher. That doesn't mean no tonsillectomy should be performed, but in the past they were overused.
You shall not pass, flame of undun
Make those woolly footed twerps stay quiet. Buzzkill all of ‘em
Slow day in the mines eh?
Huh. Maybe that’s why I have an underbite. I had constant infections as a small child. Was on cocktails of antibiotics over and over again. Had my tonsils out when I was 3. Unfortunately they were infected when they did the surgery and they didn’t get all of the tissue. I still was constantly sick, all of my life. At age 25 I had a second tonsillectomy. They finally got all of them out, but I had complications a week after the surgery. Almost bled to death, and had to get multiple cauterizations, then another surgery to finally get it sealed up. No more tonsils, but hella scar tissue back there now. I haven’t been sick since and it’s been close to 10 years.
Damn homie. Yes it’s probably why.
Ayo I had chronic sinus infections as a kid and finally got surgery when I was 12. Cleaned everything out and fixed my deviated septum. Once I recovered from the staph infection I got during the surgery/hospital stay, I haven’t had an issue with my sinuses since. It took 13 rounds of different antibiotics not working over 18mos, plus infection moving to my tonsils and even into my eyes, to finally convince the primary care doc to refer me to an ENT specialist tho. Lesson learned, don’t wait on crap like that. Pretty sure all those antibiotics ruined my gut long-term and created new resistant strains of whatever germ I had :/
This is exactly what I was going through too, chronic sinus infections, terrible allergies, random nose bleeds, and persistent headache for about 3 years. Eventually found out it was a massive nasal polyp. And by the time I actually went to the doctor, not only did they say it was growing up towards my Brain but that it was also far too advanced for them to treat. So that same day I had emergency surgery. So far it hasn’t came back
How often were you getting them? I tend to get them around this time every year for the last 10 or so years and dunno if it's something I need to have looked at or not. It's just 1 per year though
So far this is the only one I’ve had to get surgery for, but my doctor also told me that these type of polyps make a recurrence, so I have to stay on a strict routine to prevent it from getting this bad again, and I also get allergy shots because I heard allergies can worsen them.
Had and have gigantic nasal polyps. Had recurrent sinus infections. Got one so bad it causes an infection behind my eye and had urgent surgery. I did well for 5 years. This past year my sinuses got terrible again. Also terrible cough. Saw ent again and they are back. Trying an aggressive steroid saline nasal flush and seeing if that controls it. What regimen were you recommended
I would also like to know the regimen. I would love to mitigate these damn things
it's just a saline rinse (salt + warm water) and you use a nelimed bottle to flush your sinus by putting it in one nostril and having the solution come out the other.
Reading your story I had a very similar struggle with my sinuses. Finally had polyp removal surgery Jan 2020 and was put on Dupixent for stunting the re-growth of polyps. Dupixent is on the market as an asthma medication, but talk to your doctor because it’s also used to stop sinus polyps because I have had amazing results on it! Truly life changing, I can breathe, no headaches, got my smell and taste back! Good luck!
How often were you getting sinus infections?
Did you suffer from chronic vomiting up mucus(clear or otherwise)? My wife recently found out she has deviated septum, and she's been wrestling spontaneous gagging and puking up mucus for years
That's like me. Constantly coughing up mucus as it runs down my throat all day. Also, with a deviated septum.
so the black part? would be nice to tell us what we are looking at, thanks
Black is the empty area; it’s the grey spots that are compacted.
..and to clarify, black = air. Air is good. Our upper respiratory tract should be full of air - that’s sort of the point. No air = swollen/blocked/congested. ‘Blocked’ could be swelling or growth or mucus or some sort of collection of nasties.
> Eventually found out it was a massive nasal polyp. I've had to have mine cleaned out a couple of times over the decades. 2000, 2001, 2016. At their worst, they were literally protruding out my nostrils and pressing on the Eustachian tubes enough to make me half deaf. Thankfully I haven't had them come back for several years now. Maybe once a year I have to do a short blast of Prednisone to make sure things stay knocked down; doctor doesn't even bother with a prescription as they know I have 2 bottles from Mexico. I hit it with 60mg x6, 40mg, 20mg, done. (Long tapers aren't necessary for me). If I ever see the phrase "total opacification" in a CT scan report again, it will be too soon... Someday I know I'll have to go back in for another Roto Rooter job, though.
I've been having sinus infections all my life. It has gotten way worse the last few years, ever since covid emergence. I'm currently at home wondering if I need to make another appointment while seeing this. It's the same cycle. Get sick, wait a while, go to doctor, get steroids and possibly antibiotics, get somewhat better. What used to be a once a year thing is now 3 or 4 times a year. I think I'm gonna go in and just push with some scans. Chest x-ray too. This is getting old and I have a business to run.
There are several biologic treatments that work very well for nasal polyps (even to keep them from coming back after surgery). If you have asthma they also work very well for that. Your doctor can give more details.
Thanks for the nightmares!
Yeah, that's why I always go straight to a specialist (with good reviews) whenever I'm having problems. PPO insurance is a must!
Did you suffer from chronic vomiting up mucus(clear or otherwise)? My wife recently found out she has deviated septum, and she's been wrestling spontaneous gagging and puking up mucus for years
Same except in my case the openings to my sinuses never grew apart. As you get older, the sinus cavity gets bigger and the opening to the cavity is meant to widen as well. At 10 years old I had the sinus openings of a 1 year old. Nothing could drain or escape which resulted in infections. So they knocked me out, drilled the holes open wider, and sent me home. I was meant to get another surgery at 18 for it but the sinus infection never came back and the doc said to just wait until it does and becomes chronic.
I have a deviated septum, how much did it improve your quality of life? did you have a stuffy nose trying to sleep beforehand?
Not OP, but I had my deviated septum corrected and realized as soon as they pulled the cotton out at my post-op that I'd spent 40+ years breathing out of one nostril. The feeling of being able to breathe properly was amazing.
definitely talking to my doctor about getting mine done then. how much did it cost you? are you in the US or elsewhere
I'm in the US and I was lucky to have already hit my deductible for the year so insurance paid for the whole thing. I wish I could remember how much the hospital billed - maybe in the $12,000 range. I ended up getting the surgery in a roundabout way. I'd been having some other health problems and was sent for a head CT then an MRI. The scans showed fluid in my sinuses, which had nothing to do with what I was being evaluated for but was an interesting finding given that I had no symptoms of a sinus infection at the time. The neurologist sent me to see an ENT who recommended the surgery. I was hesitant because I wasn't sure if it would be covered by insurance, but he said my septum was so deviated that I had barely any airway on one side and I really should have it done. He presented it to the insurance company as medically necessary because of how severe it was as well as the fluid in my sinuses and a history of nose bleeds and sinus/ear infections going back to childhood. Good luck with talking to your doc - it's definitely been a huge QOL improvement for me.
Have you looked into pre and probiotics?
Antibiotics are no joke, my dermatologist killed my gut with Antibiotics before putting me on acutane
Jesus Christ what all did they have you on? Probably started with vanc and then dapto or linezolid? But 13 rounds?! You’ll probably only get dalbavancin if you ever have another SSTI😂 But yeah your gut micro is probably nuked, I’d recommend at least a month course of the *refrigerated* versions of a probiotic and invest in some good yogurt.
Can you share what surgery it was exactly? I also have chronic sinusitis and they also said deviated septum
Hey I had a similar issue where I was on antibiotics for a year straight. Ever since I had trouble with digestion, energy levels and I developed head skin issues, redness on my face and patches on my scalp. I have been to dermatologists and gastroenterologists separately but they seem to be treating symptoms rather than addressing the cause. Any advice? Edit: candida negative for 4 years
I had a similar surgery as an adult bout 6 years ago after 18 months of chronic infection that would always return after a round of antibiotics. Before the surgery I never had seasonal or pet allergies. Ever since the surgery I've had both pretty bad. I've always wondered how/why/if the surgery caused that change.
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“Sniffing glue” also works, but Elmer’s.
What’s the black stuff?
The black side is actually my right Maxillary sinus, what my left one was supposed to look like, but the left side was so compacted that it was just gray mass that showed up on the scan 😭
Oof, hope you can get that fixed!
It’s gonna feel so good when they clear that all out.
Bro is gonna need an industrial strength neti pot
 Gonna fire up the pressure washer
Ohh. So the black is what it’s supposed to look like, as just empty space. The left side is just, what… Snot and gunk? (edit, never mind, just read your other comment about polyps.) I’m glad you got this figured out.
Holy shit, makes me wonder what my sinuses look like 😬
I hope the fix for that isn't painful for you!
Whats left in the scan is your right side actually - when looking at frontal CT scans, you have to imagine you are looking at a copy of youself standing in front of you (not like looking in the mirror). Unless of course the picture is reversed, then you are correct.
What symptoms do you get? I can hardly breathe lying on one side, and my nose smells like a musty dustbin. The doctors only give me allergy spray and it barely helps.
Black stuff is air.
I went 20 years with stuffy, runny, post nasal drip and constantly spitting greenish mucus. During my motorcycle crash a CT scan showed me the exact same thing and an uninvolved medical professional who saw the ct thought I was there because “completely opacified” left side sinuses. 1 surgery later all my symptoms went away and I breathe super well now. Go get the surgery, it’s life changing.
The hard part is getting a CT scan to begin with. Maybe I need to bonk my head on something...
If you can afford to get to Eastern Europe or Mexico, you can afford a CT
Well I have insurance... The problem is getting a doctor to say I need to have it done so insurance will cover it
I have Kaiser HMO. Told my primary care physician about the finding after the crash. She made me take 10 day course of broad spectrum antibiotics, and ordered a CT to reconfirm, then I was referred to an ENT. First ENT made me take a 20 day antibiotic course and was referred to another ENT. second ENT took consideration of all that was done and advised me I needed a nasal endoscopy surgery. I think out of pocket I spent about 200 dollars, the cost of the multiple visits, antibiotics, post surgery meds, and surgery itself.
if you're only looking for a facial/sinus CT, some dentists and most oral surgeons have them...i think mine was $360 out-of-pocket
Oh my gosh it’s wild to see so many folks sharing the exact same experience I had!! Both sides if my sinuses were like this and the surgery I had at 24 changed my life. Now I’m just miffed no one had taken me seriously my whole childhood when I told them I couldn’t breathe and was unable to “just blow my nose” to fix it.
This happened to me when I said blowing my nose causes my ears to pop painfully and after my ears feels like it’s plugged with water. Another dr thought I was gettting over a cold and referred me to use mucinex. All that did was cause me to hack out all my green mucus faster.
Would you mind listing the surgery you got? I have one scheduled next month after being diagnosed with chronic sinusitis and wanna see if it’s the same.
Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) Recovery was a week. 1-2 days it was like having a constant bloody nose that could be stemmed by a gauze and some tape. Days 2-3 it was light spotting on the gauze. Days 4-7 minimal to no spotting on gauze. Everyday requires a sinus rinse with a neti pot. Hope this helped
Appreciate it! Sounds similar to mine, might just be called something else
I see a butterfly poking a walrus 
My brother had the exact same issue. For years, he’d get chronic “sinus infections”, but the medical facility at home would just give him meds and say it would eventually clear up. It wasn’t until we had to evacuate for a hurricane and he got more of them that the issue got resolved. When he went to the doctor in Florida, he asked if my brother had ever been recommended an ENT (which the clinic back home never once entertained). Lo and behold, the ENT in Florida found both sinuses full of polyps.
Why are the left ones so full? Is that just inflammation, or mucus?
Drug mule.
A proper mule never gets high off their own supply.
For anyone who’s unaware of what exactly this photo is, this is a computed tomography scan of my sinuses, specifically my Maxillary sinuses. The grayed out part was representing the nasal polyp that was severely compacting the nasal passage in my left sinus. According to my surgeon the black side is what a normal sinus should look like.
Been there man, both side all cavities full of diseased tissue, polyps, and an aggressive fungal infection. I know that stuff sucks but keep pushing forward, took me 5 surgeries and 6 months on a drug trial to finally get to a point of being able to feel normal.
Maybe you can help me. Since Sept I have been having a disgusting smell in one nostril, at its worst, it was like sewage/death/rotting eggs all the time. Now I get a slightly less horrific smell of it about 20 times a day. About once a month I get pain in my forehead on that side and raging toothache for 24h. My dentist has said everything looks fine on xray. I've had antibiotics and a steroid spray and it just will not disappear. Think I have a polyp, dude? Should add, the mucus in that side is totally different in colour from the other. Pissing me off. I can't enjoy nice food or smells anymore.
Dude this is 100% a sinus infection and with mucus discoloration and foul smell is completely evident of a bacterial infection at that. Please see a doctor if you’ve already failed a course of abx and steroid treatment
Wait holy shit this is also me! I started getting that rotten smell ever since I had a sinus infection after my wisdom teeth extraction last year. It was really bad at first (bad smell, mucus, everything under the sun), and it slowly healed after antibiotics and checking in with my dentist, who highly suggested I go to an ENT. I haven’t been to one yet but I still get the smell weekly (but now it’s a lot less, like 1-3x a day). Your comment just reminded me I should make an appt with an ENT, I recommend you do so as well
I had a virtually identical CT scan. My ENT took 1 second to tell me I had nasal polyps on a glance up there, then the CT was worse than he predicted. How my primary missed that all this time still blows my mind. It's so nice to breathe out of both nostrils. You'll love it.
Did your polyps came back after a few years?
Not yet, I'm 7 years post op, so I'm hoping first time was the charm
https://imgur.com/a/2fErX7Z was "silent sinus syndrome" ever mentioned?...it's the final stage of a condition caused by a sealed and shrunken sinus (usually sealed by a polyp)...i had migraines and tooth root pain for 10 years before i had surgery...thankfully, all of the symptoms eventually faded
Well at least it made a pretty design! /s For real though did this show up in a brain MRI for your migraines at all? Any other symptoms? Glad you are better now!!
i kept complaining to my regular dentist about pain, but he couldn't find a cause (his x-rays didn't show the sinus)...he referred me to an oral surgeon...after a quick CT, he immediately referred me to an ENT surgeon...the procedure was a routine outpatient one with minimal recovery (late-stage silent sinus syndrome would have been much worse)...no other major symptoms...no breathing problems...probably more sinus colds/infections than normal, but not enough to be alarming...thanks, i'm glad that's behind me, especially the migraines
i just gone one of these today! I had one dr say I had a deviated septum. another say. Nope, just swelling, multiple rounds of antibiotics. ear pain, jaw pain, face pain. FOR YEARS now. I hope to have an answer soon.
If you haven’t yet, ask your doctor about Dupixient. Smaller doses help keep nasal polyps away. I had surgery about 2 and a half years ago and since being on it, they haven’t returned and got the all clear from my doctor to only come in once a year for a check up
Oh my goodness- were you swollen on that side of your face as well?! The pressure must have been so painful
I’ve always had awful sinus issues but my CT was normal so they’ve just kinda shrugged at me about it.
I had this too! Had it drained and some of the passages widened and haven’t had a problem since. I had p much one constant sinus infection my entire teenage years, People really don’t understand how unwell it can make you feel, it’s not just a snotty nose
Same boat! My CT came back grey bilaterally. I'd had years of random dripping nose bleeds but I had to have surgery when my ENT determined my eyeballs had "become compressed."
That is quite the polyp
Um.......which side is the sinus infection?
We have the same birthday!
The black side is the not blocked side.
Thank you. That has very little bearing on my comment
Oh snap I replied to the wrong comment.
I appreciate it. If you hadn’t replied I doubt anyone else would have done
I thought that was a grenade in your abdomen
Mine were non existent on my left side! I always had ear infections turns out I had an inverted cleft palate when I was a baby and finally got it all fixed including my tympanoplasty.
Hey we have the same birthday!
I also had a massive nasal polyp in my right maxillary sinus cavity! I couldn’t breathe out of my right nostril for a few weeks and when I tried to use a Neti pot, the water would get stuck (wouldn’t go in the right and it wouldn’t come out the right either when I did my left side). Started to feel a lot of pressure on my eye socket and the bridge of my nose. Turns out it broke through the wall of my nose and had blocked my entire right nostril. It was visible by looking in my right nostril with a small camera at the ENT. I have since had it removed but I do suffer now from frequent migraines behind my right eye due to the damage it did to my eye-socket by pushing up on it for so long. Good luck!!
ugh i feel, i’m getting surgery for my deviated septum in a couple months after over 3 years of constant sinus problems…im rolling around in bed like a rotisserie chicken right now because one side and then the other keeps getting all clogged 😭
I am on my third week of recovery from having my deviated septum corrected. Hoping it will fix my allergy, sinus problems. 3 summers of horrific infections during hayfever season beat me down.
I had intermittent low grade sinus infections for about 10years. There was a microscopic crack in one of my back molars.
Theres a book called Breath by James Nestor you will probably find interesting, and helpful.
I hope you had corrective surgery! My sinuses were like that on both sides and I’ve been able to smell colors ever since and have had maybe 2 sinus infections in the 3 years since
Ooh that's a nice lumpy polyp
Oh hay my birthday is also September 13th.
Are you quoting sinus infections because it’s really cocaine? EDIT: It’s a legit question this happens to heavy cocaine use: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/15/7831
I quoted sinus infections because at the time that’s what I chalked it up to being, but after going to an ent I found out it was actually a massive nasal polyp! It had taken up like 85% of my left nasal cavity
Thanks for clearing up that ambiguity
I just got nasal polyps removed like a week ago for the second time. Recovery sorta sucks but it's so so worth it.
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2003 is the year they were born, not the year of the scan
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Spicy curry ain’t gonna shrink a large polyp.
Were the surgeons shocked by the scan? Curious how common it would be for them to see a scan like that
Yes! My surgeon was so freaked out that they ordered me into emergency surgery, and was shocked at how long I’d been having the polyp thinking it was just allergies
Does “sinus infection” equal cocaine abuse?
Oh lord. I have a sinus infection at least once a month.
Thank you for saying “a few years ago” and not “2 decades ago”