I know this is gross.....but I need an opinion...

[leapyrtwins]

I'm hoping your news is good too.

Thanks for the update.

Jan

[Melissa778]

Ok, so the stinky nose saga continues......After 2 rounds of general antibiotics, 1 powerful round....a two week reprieve.....the stinky snot syndrome is back.  Doc now has me on steroids, zithromax, and has FIANLLY ordered a CT of my sinuses because they are concerned about nasal polypsand I've had the sinus infection off and on since the end of Oct.? 

Anyone ever had this?  My question is, I have never had sinus issues until I had my surgery and GK.....is it common after surgery's like this and radiation to have probelms with sinuses due to how close the sinuses are in relation to the AN?  And any info anyone can provide me on nasal polys is appreciated.

Melissa

[yardtick]

Melissa,

I'm going through the same thing.  Last year I was put on prednisone and I went cuckoo on the 60mg a day.  I see the Specialist next Wed for battle number 2.  This has been go on since Christmas and getting progressively worse.  I just came off of a round of really strong antibiotics my GP gave me, no relief.  My breath stinks, I make horrible noises when I recline or lay down.  Last night the noises were so loud I was awake all night.  These noises are almost, I'm saying almost as bad as my husband's snoring, with one exception Louie can sleep through his snoring!!!!  Thank goodness we sleep with the bedroom door closed

Anne Marie

[JudyT]

I too have trigeminal pain (alliviated somewhat with heat) sinus pressure....headaches.....numbness....dry eye etc. on left side. This all seems to affect balance. No green goop though.....sounds like profound infection somewhere in there. Never had allergies etc. before Ck. This has been ongoing for 4 years. I use a humidifier in bedroom....steam pot on stove with spices ( cloves, cinnamin, eucalyptus etc.) it seems to help along with nasal spray. Truly a mystery....but a doctor's evaluation is best I think. You must just be miserable. Hope you get it solved soon.

Judy

[Melissa778]

Ok, well the stinky nose saga continues......STILL have a sinus infection (going since Oct/Nov).....round 5 of antibiotics and steroids.....doc says CT scan of sinus' is some of the worst he's ever seen.  Right side (AN side) 100% blockage, left side 50% blockage.  Doc wants to do sinus surgery if this round (3 weeks) of meds doesn't work......Not sure I want to take on ANOTHER surgery....will this ever end??  And now I'm concerned it will delay my BAHA surgery in June.....

Has anyone had sinus surgery.....?
Is this related to all that I had done (translab & GK)?  Doc seems to think no direct correlation, but I have never had sinus issues before the AN....so he seems to think it could have all had some sort of effect in soem way.  Just frustrated that I have to go through more.....

Melissa

[leapyrtwins]

Melissa -

I'm so sorry to see you are still battling this problem.  I was going to ask you if it was considered AN surgery related, but it looks like that's what you're asking others.  I wish I knew the answer.

As for the BAHA surgery, if it were me, I'd take care of this issue before getting the implant.   In fact I'd imagine your doc wouldn't want to go ahead until the sinus infection is cleared up.

Good luck with this round of meds; please keep us updated.

Hoping for good things,

Jan

[lori67]

I've never had sinus surgery, but I had a friend years ago who had it.  He always had bad sinus problems and had his sinuses "scraped" for lack of a better word.  I know, it sounds awful, but it worked like a charm for him and as far as I know, he never had any issues after that.  He did have some nice black eyes for a little while afterwards, but I'm sure it was worth it.

I think you should definitely get the sinus thing under control first before the BAHA implant.  If you wind up with the infection spreading to the newly implanted post, sometimes they have no option but to remove the post to let the infection clear up - something to do with the post not having any immune system to fight off the infection.

Maybe you can ask the sinus doc to get you in quickly so you might not have to worry about postponing the BAHA surgery.

Lori

[Lupy]

Hi Melissa,

Sorry to hear about your stinky nose but I have to second Lori in that I have known two people who have had sinus surgery after years of sinus infections and both have said its the best thing they ever did. No problems since. I hope they don't have to resort to that with you and that it clears up before then!

Best of luck!

[wendysig]

Melissa,

Sorry to hear you are STILL dealing with your sinus issues.  I've had sinus infections but never for this long.  I have to agree with Lori, taking care of this now is a good idea.  Hopefully your sinus surgery won't interfere with you BAHA surgeyr.

Good luck,
Wendy

[TP]

Since my AN surgery I've had sinus issues. I think in my case it is related to the fact I have no fluids (tears, nose or saliva) on my AN side due to facial paralysis. When I am in dry areas of the country it is alot worse. I live in sunny, humid Florida so it does help some....

[Kim Zingale]

Hi Melissa,

I'm not sure exactly what kind of sinus surgery you'd be having, but I did have surgery when I was a freshman in high school to remove polyps from my sinuses. I had many sinus infections growing up, and I think the point of removing the polyps was to stop the infections from recurring. Anyway, all they did was go up through my nose and clear out the sinus cavities below my eyes; they went up the ones to the forehead as far as they could reach as well. In the 12 or 13 years since the "clean out," I've had only one sinus infection, so I think it worked.

From what I can remember, I was in the hospital overnight but I didn't really feel that bad. The worst part was when they pulled out the packing from my nose and blood started gushing out (sorry, that was kind of graphic). I would say that the sinus surgery was much "bloodier" than the AN surgery. But I think you should definitely get it taken care of. Oh yeah, I couldn't drink out of a straw or play my clarinet in band for two weeks after because they didn't want the pressure to disturb any of the healing going on inside. I would imagine that if you did this soon, it wouldn't interfere with BAHA surgery in June.

Hope that helps!
Kim

[bpham]

Currently I seem to have some minor headache and also the site of the surgery (translab back in Oct 07) seems to be sore to the touch.  My head is feeling kind of sensitive to the touch and my tinitus is louder.  I went to the doctor yesterday and he diagnosed me with ear infection, the same side of my AN.  I'm taking antibiotics at this point for 2 days now and hope that it goes away otherwise, I will have to go back to the specialist at EAR Institute to find out what else is there... This so far seems to affect my nerve a little bit and if it does not get worse over time, it might be OK.   Good luck!

[jazzfunkanne]

ive had sinus surgery twice over the years before they found my AN, i am now feeling really blocked up again, so i have a apt with my ent on the 15th too see if my polys have grown back as this can happen.

[leapyrtwins]

Melissa -

how are the meds working?  Is the sinus infection clearing up?

Inquiring minds want to know 

Hoping for good news,

Jan

[Melissa778]

I've had some difficulties with the meds, so they've scaled them back a bit.  I go for a CT on Friday (the 17th) and follow up with the ENT on the 29th to see where things are at.  Crossing my fingers for a snot free scan   Although I am not that hopeful......still having the same issues when blowing my nose and I can still feel it all in my face, I also have what feels like alot of pressure in my head and evern around my surgical site???.  Just the thought of another surgery bums me out.  Ever since I found out I had an AN it just seems like my health has gone downhill drastically.  Every time I rebound from one thing there's another beginning......it's frustrating.  My tinnitus has increased horribly.....maybe from the infection or meds???  Not sure, but it's driving me insane!!!  And the meds I am on are making me a monster......I dont' think the increase in tinnitus has helped that either.  But I am hopeful and keep plugging though......The kids schedules are hectic with T-ball and soccer so I've been busy, which helps me tremendously!!

sniffling ans sneezing.....
Melissa