Sinusitis Misery

[Mrsfrumble]

It's been a week now. My nose has been completely blocked for about 80% of that time. My throats is so irritated from post-nasal drip and breathing through my mouth that I can't stop coughing. I can't small or taste anything at all, and eating is rubbish when I'm trying to chew and breathe through my mouth at the same time. My ears are constantly blocking and popping. I keep waking up at night because of the coughing or because my mouth is so dry. My forehead and under my eyes are throbbing and so painful. I am SO MISERABLE!

Is anyone else suffering? Any quirky tips to help the symptoms? How much longer can I expect to endure this? NHS website reckons it can last up to three weeks! I might have tried to decapitate myself before then....

Ive got it now, coupled with a chest infection, I'm on antibiotics. The most annoying thing is that my hearing is muffled, so i can't hear people talking & I can't hear my own voice, the tv, yet I have an excruciating loud ringing sound in my ears & when I chew, brush my teeth or brush my hair those sounds are amplified. I've had the nasty cough for about 5-6 weeks & the whole blowing green mucus from my nose (yuk) for about a week. Started antibiotics last Thurs, but went back to GP yesterday as wasn't feeling any better & she swapped my antibiotics. If only the ringing in my ears would stop! If anyone else had this, how much longer is this going to go on?!

Sorry, I haven't any tips on making things better for you, it's a pain in the arse & so frustrating. Like others have said, it's perhaps worth a trip to your GP, just to make sure there's no infection there.

My blocked ears lasted 2 weeks and I'm still not 100% but almost!

Well, I went to the GP and I'm in the antibiotics club now too. A week of amoxicillin. Urgh! And I'm under strict instruction to ditch the decongestants too, so I'm guessing the half-decent sleep I've been enjoying will be replaced by waking up every 10 minutes because my mouth is so dry...

The blocked ears thing is so very annoying, isn't it? Swallowing is really loud, and everything else is muffled.

I just want to feel like myself again. I've been grumpy with my children and they've watched far too much TV over the past 2 weeks. On the the plus side, "dry January" has been a piece of cake for me

Mrs maybe your eustachian tubes are blocked. When mine are my voice is tremendously loud, eating is like a digging truck in my head, my pulse feels like it's in my ears and I asicalky feel like I'm completely hearing impaired. It's really hard to cross busy roads as I can't hear the cars behind me. If I were you I'd try the Flixonase nasal spray and a daily antihistamine, it's the only thing that'll calm your Eustachian tubes down. They are blocked and swollen.

I mean as well as your antibiotics. Mine took 2 weeks to go any where near normal.

Oh dear, sorry you are still suffering. Really do try the steam though. I promise it helps even if you feel like you can't inhale at all. Hope the antibiotics are helping. Unfortunately amoxicillin isn't the best for sinusitis, it's just cheap, but it might help start to improve things. I know what you mean about the loss of sense of smell and taste; it's miserable.

These days I start steaming as soon as I get a cold because it seems to help prevent it recurring. Unfortunately once you've had a bad bout of sinusitis you're more likely to get it again 🙁

Oh yes and I second the antihistamines, and you might want to try codeine for the pain (you can get low strength paracetamol and codeine in pharmacies; if you haven't used it before though, be cautious as it can make you dizzy and drowsy). BTW, insomnia can be a side effect of oral decongestants (e.g. Sudafed) so you might sleep better without them! They affect me quite badly.

Have you tried otravine sinusitis?

The GP told me that sinusitis developing from a cold was a sign of allergic rhinitis, and recommended beconase. I did take some last night before bed and had a better night than I expected (only waking up 4 times rather than 8).

I do feel slightly better today. I don't know if it's the antibiotics or the illness coming to its natural end. I still feel cold and achey, but I've felt hungry for the first time in ages and I can taste things faintly. Chorizo pasta for tea to celebrate!

Good news Op.