AIBU to go to a&e

[Zd24]

Posting for traffic but basically I have been unwell for 4 months, in September I started feeling “dizzy” out of the blue, when I say dizzy I don’t mean spinning, I struggled to explain it to doctors at first. There is 2 ways I would describe the “dizziness” one is being on a boat like when you feel a boat move, it will feel like that for a split second, stop and then after it will happen again, only when I’m outside walking. Another way I could explain it is I’ll just be walking and all of a sudden it feels like the ground has moved beneath my feet for a split second, I went to the gp in September as I had this along with ear pain, doctor said could be labyrinthitis but my ears looked fine and said he didn’t know what it was and to come back if it contuined, I went back to the gp 3 times more within 3 weeks, by the end of the 3 weeks I ended up with a really bad sinus infection so the gp gave me antibiotics and put all my symptoms down to a viral infection turned bacterial. Dizziness eventually went away and then it started again mid October, sinus infection most of the symptoms resolved however I was still having green smelling discharge coming out of my nose every morning so it never fully went away even after course of antibiotics. I’ve been like this since mid October, dizziness some days is better some days worse, I had a viral illness last month and it ended with a severe sinus infection, I went to the pharmacy and had more antibiotics which I finished, but this time the symptoms haven’t got better, on the left side mainly I have pain and popping feelings in my ear, pain around my face where my sinuses are, constant green smelling discharge and a bad smell in my nose even after finishing the antibiotics, I went to the gp yesterday and explained all this and the “dizziness” she said she things it was acute sinusitis now chronic sinusitis, she looked in my nose and said the left side had congestion and most of the pain when touching my face and ear pain is on my left side. She said the next step will be to try steroid nasal spray, I started that yesterday and feel even worse, I had a really bad tension headache last night in the sides of my head, felt ok this morning and dizziness seemed a bit better, but after taking the spray this morning I have so much pressure in my face and loads of green smelling discharge coming out and ear pain, my mum things the spray is starting to work and the infection is coming out but I’m not sure ? Just been in Lidl with my 14 month old and i haven’t felt that “dizzy” before, I have so much pressure in my head and got back into the car and burst into tears, I’ve been dizzy for 4 months and now it’s got worse. I don’t know what to do, it’s genuinely ruining my life, I’m so depressed because of it and I’m scared there is something more that’s wrong or worse.

I’m feeling like I should go to hospital now as no one seems to be taking it seriously, I’ve got pain behind the back of my eyes since this morning and my face hurts to touch, my ears keep hurting and popping and as I said the dizziness has got worse since starting the spray, this can’t be normal how I’m feeling. Would I be unreasonable to go to a&e ? I am really worried this is something serious.

if anyone has been through something like this can you please give me any positive stories or advice? I thought for a long time the dizzziness was stress and anxiety but it’s not just making me physically ill it’s also making me mentally ill, it’s triggered severe panic attacks which I’ve never suffered with.

I just feel so “full” inside my head, nose and ears. I just don’t want to leave it and something bad happening. Honestly don’t know what to do.

Really sorry about what you're going through especially with young kids it's extremely hard and in my experience the health service doesn't always respond adequately.

Haven't rtft but if it hasn't been suggested before yet try NAC. I've suffered from sinus infections for years as well as occasional bouts of labyrinthitis and this is the only thing that really helps me. It both thins and dries up the mucus to keep your sinuses open. It has a good evidence base, it's used in the NHS for bronchitis. I combine this with nasal decongestant in the acute phase of a cold but you can only take the latter for five days. If things are really bad I'll add an antihistamine. Oh also I use neilmed saline nasal rinse but only with warm water, cold makes it worse.

I also use steroid spray but only between infections as it's immunosuppressive and can potentially make things worse as others have noted. It's more about maintenance of open sinuses between infections, to prevent reoccurrence.

This advice is primarily about preventing more infections going forward although it may help with your current one. However if you have an active bacterial infection you might need more antibiotics or some other intervention so calling 111 sounds sensible. Sinus infections can be serious.

I'm currently on the waiting list for sinus surgery. It took a really long time to get there and I did eventually pay for a private consultation to speed things along so I echo what others say that if you can afford it just pay. If not then at least ask for a referral. I wasted years, literally, waiting for the NHS to help and I still haven't had my operation yet.

All of this plus Neilmed sinus rinse kit -amazon
Use cooled boiled water not tap and rinse frequently, do each nostril in turn and gently blow your nose
The crap that comes out is beyond belief
Then use the steroid spray
Sometimes inflammation of the nasal passages causes sinus congestion and infection- steroid spray reduces the inflammation and breaks the cycle
NO DAIRY-so important to cut mucus
Drink plenty of warm herbal tea-lots of fluids to loosen the gunk
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen regularly for pain
Chew gum gently to unblock ears and nasal passages
Steam, steam, steam !!

If after 3 days this doesnt help then back to GP
So much sympathy Op

If it’s only been one day since you last saw the GP and they gave you a new course of treatment then I would give that more of a chance to kick in first. Did the GP say how long to try the new spray for before going back? In my very non-professional medical opinion I would suggest that if there’s no improvement in a few days then perhaps ask the GP for an urgent referral to an ENT. And give 111 a call to ask for advice rather than asking random strangers on the internet.

It’s not clear if you were driving or a passenger, but if you’re feeling dizzy then you probably shouldn’t be driving, and might feel more comfortable avoiding car travel.

Not sure you should be driving if you're dizzy

Call your GP and say you need an urgent appointment or call out of hours later today. If an infection is getting worse you may need IV antibiotics. I once had a wisdom
tooth infection and warned to make sure it cleared up as can spread to the brain. I am more sensitive to serious infections as after repeated visits to my GP for a uti, I ended up feeling worse and trusted my gut to go to a&e instead of out of hours. I was worried I’d be sent away but they did blood tests and I was admitted with sepsis. I just felt terrible and couldn’t explain it but green discharge is active infection. And infection can sometimes be very serious so do get seen by someone!

Not read the whole thread but if you are suffering from dizziness look in YouTube and watch the Brandt Daroff and Epley manoeuvre, try to get your ear crystals back in place … sounds weird but work !

Ps GP bloods don’t usually include inflammation markers… my Crp was over 300

Presumably the same biology taught you that the sinuses are near the brain and if infection is left untreated it can, in rare cases, spread to the brain causing meningitis or encephalitis or an abscess.

That’s why you don’t mess about with sinusitis.

Could you see if there is an ENT appointment privately next week?
If you feel very unwell call the GP back, or 111. Out of hours service might be an option. They are very good where I live at least. Can refer you onto hospital.

Ps. Have you taken your temperature? They will want to know it. If you have anything at home to check blood pressure or oxygen do this too. Count your heart rate
You want to be looking for signs of serious infection like previous poster said above.

It sounds awful OP, I can understand why you're so worried and frustrated, especially with little ones to look after.

I would do all I could to avoid A&E, mainly because you're likely to come out with more bugs than you went in with!! Definitely chase it up with your Dr though, or ring 111 and see what they advise.

At the end of the day, nobody on here can really advise you - and those saying it's not an 'emergency'....it probably isn't, but none is us can know for sure - you need to speak to a clinician again to see what your next step is.

I hope it clears up soon - I used to have bouts of dizziness and it's horrendous, even without all the other symptoms you're experiencing.

If you can get through the weekend with support from partner/mum/friends then you will have given the new treatment a few days to take effect. If you can't get help this weekend go back to your GP today. Sounds as if you have had an ongoing sinus infection for 4 months, causing the dizziness. My DH had labyrinthine, at its worst he felt he was falling even when lying down.

Sorry you're feeling so poorly, I had a sinus infection for the first time in December 2022 and I have never felt as much facial pain as I did then. I suffer from extremely painful migraines and the sinus infection was worse.
You need to get a sinus irrigation bottle from the chemist, use warm water with the solution and rinse your sinus three times a day or more if it helps relieve the pain.

The nasal steroid spray makes you feel dizzier and made me feel a bit out of it, my vision was affected. Warm cloths on your sinus areas, look up an image. It took a long time for me to unblock the ones above my eyebrows and the disgusting solid green mucus that comes out is sickening. Humming and pressing in just in front of your ears on your face helps distract from the pain. There's lots of info online.

It took me three GP visits to eventually find out what was wrong as I had never had one before.
Good luck relieving the pain and hope the dizziness subsides.

An extremely rare consequence, and one that an appropriate length of antibiotics will prevent. Which is why you go back to the GP before your antibiotics have run out if there’s been no improvement, and they increase the course.
If it’s a recurrent case like op claims, you see a different dr who might consider an urgent referral to ENT, to see if there’s anything underlying going on.
This is still not an a&e case, and if you’d ever watched the news or visited a hospital in January, you’d know the risk is quite high that op would pick up something even nastier from the waiting room-which would further exacerbate her symptoms.

Scaremongering someone who is already panicking herself isn’t helping anyone…

Sinus and associated ear issues are the worst and dizziness isn't unusual.
DS had surgery on his nose and forehead following an attack by a patient.

His surgeon did an amazing job but warned that DS will always be prone to infections. On his advice DS uses a Neti Pot with a warm saline solution, he hates the sensation and the debris that comes out but says the relief is immense.

Used at the first threat of a cold helps a lot. They are not expensive and widely available in chemists, Amazon etc.

I have had dizziness for 3 years… YES 3 years!!! Along with numbness and tingling. I’ve had an MRI, a 24 hour ecg, multiple blood tests… nothing. It is so debilitating op I also have 3 young children so I totally empathise, it still scares me too. But unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a magical solution with dizziness. I would be reassured with the ear pain and congestion, because it is an explanation - something I unfortunately don’t have.

Sounds horrendous OP.

Can I ask a couple of personal questions as I have suffered something similar.

Does it feel better or worse when you lay down?
Are you overweight?
When you say you get a headache, where is the pain?

Sinus infections can take months to resolve and frequently reoccur hence chronic sinusitis.

You would be wasting your time going to A&E, it’s not an accident or emergency, you’ll be told to go and see your GP instead.

You could discuss referral to ENT with your GP given how long it’s been, I don’t think that unreasonable.

Get some over the counter stugeron - miracle workers

Acute sinusitis can take up to 12 weeks to clear. The infection is technically on the outside of your body and antibiotics are not really effective. It can develop into chronic sinusitis that is symptomless, that is to say no pain or discharge, but can hang around for 12months.

The sinuses in your head connect up from the nasal sinuses through the ethmoid sinuses to the mastoid sinus. So nose up through the bridge of your nose then across your eyebrows following the route glasses would take to behind your ears.

Lots of viruses can cause labyrinthitis and Mennieres disease. Also if your eustacian tubes are congested then it can affect your ears.

However constant dizziness is worrying. What is your diet like? Are you currently taking any medication other than those your GP gave you for the sinusitis? Low blood sugar will cause dizziness. Chronic anaemia can cause dizziness. And of cause pregnancy can cause dizziness along with chronic inflammation of the upper airways sometimes causing sinusitis like symptoms.

Make an appointment with your GP. You may need your iron levels checking. I had very low iron during pregnancy and my consultant was surprised how I managed to stay upright. My mind was a constant fog and I felt dizzy most of the time.

Not an accident.
Not an emergency.

Don't waste the precious time of A&E staff, OP.

It doesn’t sound nice at all but it’s not an accident or an emergency. You need to push your GP for a referral.

I agree with all of the above. The steroid nasal spray can take more than a few days to work but it should help a lot.

Have you had a blood test? Because that exact feeling of the ground suddenly moving underneath you was the only symptom of anaemia I had during pregnancy. Never experienced it before in my life and it went away after my iron levels returned to normal.

My thoughts (from having had labyrinthitis) is that (potentially) the infections are triggering labyrinthitis OR you have menieres.