I feel like I'm dying :(
Posted by KissMyPooh@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 55 comments
I've a had a severe sinus infection for 3 days. Saturday I ended up in the ER where I was diagnosed. I was having severe all over head/face pain and neck pain. Mainly on the right side. After 5 hours and a ton of tests they diagnosed me with Sinusitis, gave me a prescription for Amoxicollin, and sent me home.
I've has 3 doses so far. Don't feel any better really. Still in a lot of pain. Bought a nasal spray which helps loosen mucus a bit, but not much. Temp is 99.8. So not too high. Not to mention I woke up to the right side of my face being puffy. My nose is still stuffed, my head is throbbing, my teeth are aching and the inside of my head is burning. Igh.
Fuck my life! Kill me now! This aucks...
darrevan@reddit
Listen. I have had 7 sinus surgeries and take a daily pill and use 2 sprays and 2 rinses every day as well. Don’t use the OTC sinus shit. It makes things way worse. Go to Walmart or CVS and see a saline sinus rinse kit and a jug of distilled water. Never use tap water. Then go home and use one packet on each side of your nose 2-3 times a day. It will help more than you can imagine. That OTC saline sinus spray is really bad for your nose! Stop using it now. Finally the antibiotics will work around day 6. Just hand in there. But a saline sinus right we would be your best friend right now. Also may want to try mucinex. I take it 3 times a day. Also a warm rag on your sinuses just below the eyes will loosen some of that shit up too. I have been doing this for a very long time.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
The med is already working. But my right side of my face is puffy. They think it's a combo sinus infection tooth infection. Luckily the Amoxicillin will kill both. My teeth don't hurt so it could be just puffy from sinuses too. Ill be getting a neilmed bottle tomorrow. Rinse my sinuses out good.
darrevan@reddit
Each of your teeth have small pockets above them and a sinus infection can seep into those pockets which are right above the nerves. You will always feel it in your teeth with a bad sinus infection. Sometimes your ears too.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Good to know.
BanDelayEnt@reddit
Nothing worse than not being able to breathe through your nose. I've been dealing with chronic sinusitus for awhile. Fwiw, try some non-drug options too. Xlear natural nasal spray might help you. Also, this sounds weird, but you can dab kimchi juice into your nostrils...kimchi has a probiotic called L Sakei that many people with sinusitis are lacking. If that's the issue, you should get some relief within hours of your first use of kimchi juice.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Thanks.
LibertyMike@reddit
Will confirm, Xlear is nearly miraculous, helps to ward off sinus infections. Xylitol, a sugar alcohol is a natural anti-bacterial agent. Bacteria in your nose think it is sugar, so when they attach to it, they die because they can't metabolize it. I use it pretty much twice a day now. Once in the morning before working out, and once before bed.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'll check it out.
italicizedspace@reddit
Those are the worst...the infection is so close to all the most important stuff, bleh. Antibiotics take a bit to start really kicking in but it's good you got that treatment going. Wishing you a seamless return to normal life!
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Thank you friend. I'm hoping the meds start working soon. I'm glad at least they tested and it's not covid.
Yeah, I'm mud upper 40s and it seems illness lasts a bit longer these days.
InfectedSteve@reddit
Sinuses are assholes. Mine hate me all the time.
What helps is freeze pops oddly. Just holding that cold thing in your mouth til it melts feels a little better.
Hot shower, with a hot washcloth pressed to your face. Make a 'tent' with your hands around your nose so you can breathe, turn your face into the water and let the heat help loosen things up, then start hocking up shit and spitting it out.
VICK'S makes shower steamers. Pricy shits, but they help. Mentholated.
Other than that, can try sinus rinse to help speed the process. Just saline solution.
Sinus infections are no fun OP. Good luck to you.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
How do you deal with facial swelling. I'm even puffier now Monday morning then I was Sunday.
InfectedSteve@reddit
Try to drain out as much as you can.
mucinex, and an allergy pill with a decongestant in it to help thin the shit out and break it up, along with the hot shower, and the saline solution nose flush over the sink.
Swelling is because you have shit compacted in your sinus cavities.
If you can, press your fingers right near the corners of your eyes firmly near the bridge of your nose. pinch inwards a little and drag them down the bridge of your nose to about midway where your cheeks start, then down to your nose a few times. Hold your head over a sink with hot water running and is steaming. It sometimes helps me push the shit out.
You can also try putting a kettle of water on the stove, a towel over your head and something menthol in the kettle, breathe in the steam vapors.
Sitting up in bed at night ( prop yourself in a corner if you have your bed next to a corner wall ) rather than laying down to sleep also helps.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Thanks so much. I'll try all that.
InfectedSteve@reddit
Good luck to you. I know sinus infections are no fun, and take ass forever it seems to go away.
There are other sinus drugs you can take out there. (Sudafed / sinupret --what you don't want is to dry it up --that leads to other issues, you need to thin it out. )
But the main things that always help is regularly flushing them out, loosening up mucus by thinning it out with the mucinex, little dairy as possible ( it aids in creating it ), Flonase nose spray to try and open nasal passages, saline solution ( I use the walmart brand bottles of it, 3-4 dollars depending on the bottle, but worth it )
You may want to consider taking the mucinex daily to keep the shit thinned out, I do along with a decongestant. I'll eat the mucinex like candy if I friggin have to. Rather do that than put up with this crap in my head.
Sleeplesshelley@reddit
Try a Neti pot. It will help flush out everything that is in there, just be sure that you use distilled water. This has saved my life at times. It feels a little like you are drowning until you get used to it but it's cheap and it works.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'll try it. Is facial swelling common for sinus infection? Sunday morning I woke up to avoid puffy face, now Monday morning the palate and face pain are reduced but my face is even more swollen.
Sleeplesshelley@reddit
I've had some bad sinus infections and I've never had my face swell like that. Are you sure you don't have a bad tooth?
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'm having a video visit today. I have dental pain on upper gums. They said is from sinuses. I'll see what doc today says.
Strong-Piccolo-5546@reddit
i had a sinus infection for 9 months in 2010-2011 and had to have surgery to have it removed. go to an ear, nose, throat doctor for this. Amoxicillin does not work on all infections. I had to go with stronger anti-biotics.
Also, get a neilmed spray bottle. you can get it at a pharmacy. use this to clean out your sinuses. it helps to flood out the bacteria. Do not use tap water, you can end up with an amoeba in your brain. boil the water, or just buy water that was boiled. when you use it, flip your head back and swirl it around. do it several times/day.
there is also a steroid dose pack you can take for a weak to help clear you up. cant take it more than a week. but its good to use with neilmed to clean out bacteria.
ER for a sinus infection, is damn dude. the most expensive way to handle this. I took 15-20 ibuprofin a day when i had this. After the surgery i had 1more sinus infection. then nothing. it opened up my sinuses. I also use that neilmed bottles 2 times a day. Allergists and ear, nose, throat doctors recommend them highly. It helps clean out bacteria. Again do NOT use regular tap water.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'll buy one.
Strong-Piccolo-5546@reddit
I recommend going to an ENT about your sinus infection also.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Ok
penguin37@reddit
I'm a chronic sinus sufferer thanks to an immunodeficiency. I can't recommend nasal irrigation enough. The easiest low cost way to do it is to get a squeeze bottle for irrigation (Neilmed makes one and several other companies do too.) Use the saline packets that come with it and use distilled or reverse osmosis water. If you warm up the water a little, it will be soothing and help clear you out. Because I have to do this twice a day, I invested in a little machine called a Sinupulse which does a great job of getting the saline in the sinus cavities.
I'm surprised you didn't get a script for Prednisone to speed up clearing the infection. That's usually standard for severe sinus infections.
I hope you feel better soon!
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'll look into that. My chief complaint right now is facial swelling. Sunday morning I woke to my upper lip on right side of face feeling "off" so I went into the bathroom and found out the right side of my face was puffy. Last night facial and palate pain were subsided some but when I woke up this morning I realized my left upper lipbis puffy and the right side of my face is puffer.
Is this common? How do you treat it?
penguin37@reddit
That would be what the Prednisone would be for. Sounds like you might need a steroid. A decongestant might also help but doesn't replace a steroid.
Did you test for covid? It can look like a lot of things these days.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Yes. Luckily not covid.
peccatum_miserabile@reddit
Report no relief after 48 hrs, you need to switch to Augmentin. They should have told you this at your appointment.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
They said report after 5 days.
peccatum_miserabile@reddit
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'll schedule.
MrPodocarpus@reddit
One side of your face puffy? Im relatively clueless but im guessing the docs checked for shingles?
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I don't think they did. They tested for 2 influenzas and covid.
monkeybelle@reddit
I've been able to avoid them for a while, but with amoxicillin I'm usually starting to feel some slight relief by the end of the second day. If you're able, take Sudafed (the version behind the pharmacy counter,) I like the 12 hour version. Hot showers/baths help to loosen things up, too.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'm actually feeling slight improvement with regards to palate pain but my face is even more swollen then it was Sunday morning.
TKD_Mom76@reddit
Did they give you plain amoxicillin or did they give you Augmentin, which is amoxicillin with an added ingredient to make it harder for bacteria to destroy the antibiotic before it can be useful? If they gave you Augmentin, you might be feeling miserable just from the medication. It always kicks my ass for the first four or five days of treatment, but it knocks whatever has decided to colonize my sinuses clean out! Plus, sinus infections are notoriously hard to get knocked out. They flat out suck.
Drink plenty of hot tea or whatever your hot beverage of choice is and get lots of rest! I hope you're feeling better soon!!
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Amoxicillin plain..And thanks:)
phironuthi@reddit
Invest in a sinus rinse (neti pot). Changed my life.
big-muddy-life@reddit
I empathize. I have the beginnings of one and my anxiety is through the roof.
When I get to that really awful place, chewing Dentyne Ice Arctic Chill gives me just enough relief to stay sane. Something about the strong mint is soothing and nothing else works.
I also take Mucinex with REAL Sudafed during the day and drink gallons of water. Again, helps just enough to keep me sane until the antibiotics kick in.
According-Gazelle362@reddit
Sinus infection … yay 🙃. Sorry you’re miserable. Besides the Rx you might try one of those face mask ice packs. My mother said that helped a bit with the inflammation and pressure while the meds are getting ramped up. Ok now I can’t remember if it was ice or heat but ice makes more sense for inflammation. Hope you feel better soon.
Ideal_Radiant@reddit
I have chronic sinus issues and I feel so bad for you. It’s miserable. Hopefully the meds work soon. Your sinuses could be impacted. If possible maybe try a Nettie pot and sinus massage to loosen things up. I hope you feel better soon
cheesecheeseonbread@reddit
Stopped getting sinus infections when I gave up dairy. YMMV
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Hmmm
cheesecheeseonbread@reddit
Beats getting new holes drilled in your head to let the infected snot out, which was what was being suggested to me at the time
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
holy crap. please update us when you start to feel better. and do you have any guideline on when/whether to go back to er?
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Me? Im.told tobjust take meds and ride it out.
cheesecheeseonbread@reddit
Well, it's only been 3 days. After 6 months of this you'll be ready to give up pretty much anything you think might help. :)
Optimal-Ad-7074@reddit
sorry, i need to read names more carefully. yes, i thought i was speaking to you.
cheesecheeseonbread@reddit
Oh I'm fine thanks, this was years ago. Haven't had an infection since.
any guideline on when/whether to go back to er?
You mean the hospital emergency room? Never needed one. I just hadn't really been able to function in life for about six months, and they didn't want to keep giving me antibiotics forever.
HubbaHubba4444@reddit
Do you have a nebulizer? Do a mixture of a 1/3 Saline, 1/3 Colloidal Silver and 1/3 Hydrogen Peroxide....3 times a day. Improvement will take 2-3 days.
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I wish I did.
SilanceDoGood@reddit
It sounds like you’re taking the necessary steps to recover. So, I’m going to send you some positive thoughts …it couldn’t hurt!
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
Much appreciated!
kimbersill@reddit
I know it probably doesn't sound good but take 2 shots of something strong, you won't be sorry. I'm sorry you're sick, what part of the country do you live in so I know if it's coming to a town near me soon?
KissMyPooh@reddit (OP)
I'm sober :(
I live in your basement lol. Jk. I'm in Chicago.