Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Los Angeles
Sinus Inflamation, No Infection, Bad Headaches Posted: 07-26-04 16:03pm
Hello - I have bad chronic headaches that
come and go with no noticable pattern. I
have tried several drs and just can't seem
to get answers or pointed in the right
direction. Below is a list of what is
going on:
some of the basics:
-i have stabbing headaches across my
forehead and the left-top and top side of
my head. These headaches seem to come and
go without reason. They last from 4 to 24
hours and average about 2/3rds of the
day.
-also of note, for about 2 years before
this started, I would get a stabbing warm
pain in the top-right of my head. I
rarely get that anymore and it is
accompanied by everything else if I do.
-the headaches can start in the morning or
late morning or afternoon, rarely do they
start at night
-i have started recently to become
slightly dizzy, flushed, slightly
disoriented, and foggy headed when the
headaches are worst.
-i have chronic (sinus?) pressure, some in
my face but mostly in my forehead.
-i can barely move air through my nose and
would suffocate if forced to
-i never have any nasal drainage
-i never have itchy/water eyes
-a few times that I have cried hard
(unrelated to the pain) my sinuses
instantly totally block up and seem to
fill with mucous and the ensuing pressure
is herrendous
-if I go 5 feet under water a sharp
stabbing pain in my ears starts which is
immediately excruciating
what I have tried:
-oxymetalazine (afrin), I used it on and
off for 2 months several weeks at a time.
It worked wonders - I could breathe
clearer than I ever realized I even should
and had no pressure and only minor
headache. I have not used it in 6 mos.
-every antihistamine, no effect
-rounds of several antibiotics, no change
-small trials of cortical steroids (oral,
nasal, and shots), minimal if any
effect!
-pseudophredrine, it used to help, but
then stopping it for awhile and trying it
again has little effect
-ibuprofen used to work, but even not
taking it for many months has no effect
now
-acetaminophen (loath to take it)
sometimes has a good effect and sometimes
a bad effect
-aspirin seems to have a little effect on
the headache but causes a different kind
of pain discomfort
-imitrex in small doses seems to help a
little with the pain but the side effects
are not tolerable
-acupuncture, no help
-chiropractice, no help, but didn't give
it enough tries maybe?
Medical discoveries:
-nasopharyngoscopy reveals massive
inflamation of the sinuses and throat with
no discernable infection
-ct w/o contast shows only polypoidal
mucosal thickening
-i have a deviated septum (although a
mirrow shows there are openings on both
side of my nose)
-standard blood and urinalysis workups
reveal everything is normal.
Some history:
-i quit smoking recently for 4 mos and
quit caffeine at the same time for 5 mos
with no beneficial effect
-34 mos ago stopped using cocaine after 2
mos heavy use
-18 mos ago had 3 top front root canals
for badly damaged teeth and 5 crowns
placed all in a row
-15 mos ago had worst headache of my life
for several days after staying up 50 hours
for work. The headaches seem to have
began sometime around here
-14 mos ago had a really bad sore throat
for about 3 weeks. Thesinus congestion
seemed to begin or increase around this
time
i know this is a lot of information. But
I am just at a loss as what to try or do
next. I have to be very careful
financially how many specialists I go to,
plus what tests get run and rerun. I
can't take this any longer. It is eroding
my sanity and life as I am more
debilitated at work and my mood
plummets.
Any ideas or suggestions are greatly
appreciated!
Matthew
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sandyallen
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 02 Feb 2004 Posts: 4580
Posted: 07-26-04 20:59pm
Have you been to an e.N.T.(ears, nose,
throat) specialist, they can sometimes
help more. Are you under a lot of
stress, this does not help any situation!,
I used to take afrin a lot, it helped and
it did give me a slight buzz! I am no
Dr., but, it does sound like sinuses!
But if I were you I would get to a Dr.
Take care!
Good luck!
Sincerely,
sandy
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MrsMustang
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Jul 2004 Posts: 1
Posted: 07-29-04 06:59am
Mathew,
i have the same kind of headaches and have
pretty much tried the same treatments as
yourself. I have had a deviated septum
for about the past 4 yrs. And also get
horible sore throats right before I seem
to get a sinus infection. Over the
counter sinus medicine does nothing for me
anymore along with nose spray and clarinex
I am also being given. I recently seen an
ent and was sent for a ct scan of my
sinuses. The scan showed thickening of
the mucos which I am told is causing the
inflammation and headaches. I was put on
prednisone and avelox. The prednisone
helped while I was on it, but no sooner
did I stop taking it the headaches started
to come back, but not as bad. I am going
to see another Dr. In this practice next
week to hopefully find a real solution to
the problem.
If one of these Dr. Can provide me any
other inforamtion I will be sure to pass
it along.
Good luck,
mustang
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wakkochic17
Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 494 Location: South Carolina
Posted: 07-29-04 15:59pm
Have you tried going to a neurologist?
While your sinuses do show inflammation,
many headaches that feel like sinus
headaches are actually migraines. You
have the exact symptoms of someone with
migraines. I would try a neurologist as
your next course. While you may need to
try several meds (since not all work for
everyone), if they don't work then it will
rule out the migraines.
Be very careful with affrin, it can make
your sinuses worse.
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Unavailable
Post temporarily unavailable Posted: 08-04-04 20:07pm
This post is being reviewed and is temporarily unavailable.
oconnor13
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 1 Location: Chicago, Illinois
Sinus Probs/headaches Posted: 08-23-04 11:51am
I, too, have suffered from these same
problems for the last two years. I have
been to see 2 ents, an allergist and an
accupuncturist, but found no answers. I
went through immunotherapy and took
allergy medication for nearly two years,
with no effect. This year, I began
suffering from a chronic congestion, but
with no mucos involved. I went to see a
new ent, who diagnosed me with turbinate
dysfunction and recommended I have a sinus
procedure to shrink the turbinates.
Then, at the direction of my primary care
physician, I went to the diamond headache
clinic in chicago and was diagnosed with
tension-type migraines. The doctor stated
that it is a little known fact that
migraines cause congestion, and that if
you treat the migraines the congestion
will disappear as well. In addition, the
medication I take, zomig (nasal spray) for
migraines also completely clears any
congestion I have, which further proves
that the congestion is being caused by the
migraines, since the medication does not
have any form of decongestant in it
whatsoever.
My suggestion is to see someone (a
headache clinic, neurologist, etc.) who
specializes in migraines, and I have a
feeling you will get to the root of your
problem.
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rohtoc
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Posts: 4 Location: singapore
Health Suplement For Sinue Posted: 10-09-04 01:27am
Allergies could be due to depleted/weaken
immune. System and depleted antioxidant
defense system.
I am taking some health . Supplement.
I had tried the antioxidant supplement
(grape seed extract which inhibits the
release of histamine, and harbors
anti-inflammatory properties)
i feel better at times and can breathe
better. I will try the nutritional
supplement soon.
You can give it a try. Pm me if you want
the necessary information.
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kayak2mom
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Posts: 14 Location: CT
Posted: 10-12-04 09:54am
Have they tested you for a thyroid
problem? I have read that sinus
congestion can be from that...
I also have daily headaches, several
types, sinus problems, infections, cysts,
surgeries etc nothing has really
helped....
I hope you can figure out a way to help!
I also wondered if the doctors know about
the past cocaine use, if that might have
some connection?
Hang in there....A neuro would be a good
idea to try help figure this out!
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Dooba
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Posts: 3 Location: USA
"sinus" Headaches Posted: 10-13-04 14:45pm
I would recommend seeing a neurologist who
specializes in headache and an ent (and
have the 2 of them confer). I am the
former. Many many many migraineurs have
nasal congestion. Many nasal
decongestants have anti-migraine
properties. There is also a recently
proposed type of headache called nirsh.
Non-infectious rhino-sinusitis headache.
I believe you will require several
long-term preventative medication trials
(one at a time) possibilities include:
gabapentin, nortriptyline, amitriptyline,
topiramate, etc. Avoid afrin as it
should never be used more than 2 days a
week. Abortives such as eletriptan may
be somewhat useful if taken early in the
attack. Good luck--the meds will not
need to be there life-long but perhaps one
year. Vitamins, anti-oxidants, allergy
shots etc won't hurt you, but the chance
that they''l help is very slim.
-dooba
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Keshav Das
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Jul 2006 Posts: 2 Location: NYC
Posted: 07-29-06 18:19pm
Beware of all migraine meds!!! They are
okay but only once or twice a month. More
than that you will get rebound headaches.
All migraine meds have lots of crazy
side-effects.
