I just want to be healthy again

Normally, I don't get sick much and rarely visit a doctor.

But in January, I got a massive sinus infection and ended up seeing a doctor because the pain just got to be too much. My main symptom of a sinus infection is, oddly, tooth pain. The first time I had a sinus infection, I went to the dentist, because I figured something had to be very, very wrong with my teeth for me to be in that much pain.

The pain this time was so bad that I could not sleep. Biting down on one side of my mouth left me in agony. So I bit the bullet, so to speak, and went to the doctor and got antibiotics, which did seem to help. (On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the time I had an abscess in my jaw and needed Vicodin to deal with the pain, this was a ten on the pain scale.) This was the first time in 12 or more years that I've needed antibiotics.

But since then, I've just had one cold after another. I can't seem to shake off whatever virus this this is. I get earaches. I'm tired all the time--which is not normal for me. I have a lot of small cuts and bruises because being tired makes me clumsy. My nose is rubbed raw from all the wiping and blowing I'm doing. Last week, I got a case of conjunctivitis. And today, I have acne on my face--and I'm in my 50s.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm not sick enough to need to stay home and stay in bed, but I just can't get back to normal. I'm making getting enough sleep a priority, eating healthy, cut out all dairy. Nothing seems to be helping.

What do you do when clearly your body is out of whack and you need to get it back on track?

Sorry Miss Cellane. You sound like me when I was going through menopause. In fact, I had constant sore throats, had 2 sinus surgeries, pneumonia,and lots of antibiotics....which gave me IBS. :(
Are you going through menopause?
I would say you need to go to an Internal medicine doc and have blood tests run.......just to make sure nothing funky is going on.

I just read that you were in your 50's........so I think menopause is a good bet. I don't know what the heck happens to some of us during that time. Our immune system seems to go haywire.

I would say to try to treat your symptoms (after you have blood work drawn). Have you had a ct scan of your sinuses? Both times I needed surgery, it was to put "windows" in my sinuses.....which means they just enlarge the holes that drain the sinuses into the nose and throat. I never had any more problems after that.

I also use a homemade nasal spray alot.........get an empty nose spray thing and mix 1 cup distilled water (or boiled tap water), 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Use it many times a day, blowing your nose gently afterwards.

Drink lots of water. Cut back on carbs and sugar. Eat alot of garlic (a natural anti-bacterial). Try to get some exercise and sun every day.

Take a good multi-vitamin plus a B complex every day. Calcium and magnesium might help you sleep better too.

Oh.....forget to mention something else really important........I think alot of women who are going through menopause develop sleep apnea. My internal medicine doc was smart enough to push me to have a sleep test, when I was seeing him for all these symptoms like you have. Since I've been using a cpap machine, my life has improved alot. Lack of sleep all the time can really do a number of lots of different systems in your body.
Good luck! And I hope you can feel better soon.

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Originally Posted by Miss Cellane

Normally, I don't get sick much and rarely visit a doctor.

But in January, I got a massive sinus infection and ended up seeing a doctor because the pain just got to be too much. My main symptom of a sinus infection is, oddly, tooth pain. The first time I had a sinus infection, I went to the dentist, because I figured something had to be very, very wrong with my teeth for me to be in that much pain.

The pain this time was so bad that I could not sleep. Biting down on one side of my mouth left me in agony. So I bit the bullet, so to speak, and went to the doctor and got antibiotics, which did seem to help. (On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the time I had an abscess in my jaw and needed Vicodin to deal with the pain, this was a ten on the pain scale.) This was the first time in 12 or more years that I've needed antibiotics.

But since then, I've just had one cold after another. I can't seem to shake off whatever virus this this is. I get earaches. I'm tired all the time--which is not normal for me. I have a lot of small cuts and bruises because being tired makes me clumsy. My nose is rubbed raw from all the wiping and blowing I'm doing. Last week, I got a case of conjunctivitis. And today, I have acne on my face--and I'm in my 50s.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm not sick enough to need to stay home and stay in bed, but I just can't get back to normal. I'm making getting enough sleep a priority, eating healthy, cut out all dairy. Nothing seems to be helping.

What do you do when clearly your body is out of whack and you need to get it back on track?

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Same thing happened to me a long long time ago. And I know what you mean about wanting to get healthy again and back on track. I had gotten a very bad infection with an infected tooth. I let it go too long. Antibiotics saved my life.
You are smarter than I was. You did the right thing with the antibiotics. And get that abscess taken care of no matter what you have to go through with a dentist/specialist.

That time in my life I -- how do I describe it? I felt poor in spirit. I had to start my health over from the beginning.
It takes time and patience and treating yourself well and keeping positive and always feeling about how great it feels to be healthy. Sometimes the positive thinking stuff works.

You will get better.

My boss who is never here anymore because she is always sick is going through a similar thing. In her case, it has been going on in one form or another for three years. First, an ENT found a polyp at the top of her sinuses so she had surgery to remove that. Then, the dentist said it was being caused by massive infection beneath old root canals - it's all connected, right? In any case, she has been on different antibiotics for three years since it all started. Last month, she had the three root canal teeth removed and the dentist sent the infected area off to be analyzed. It came back with high readings of all types of potent "bad" bacteria so now she is seeing an infectious disease specialist to determine next stpes. In the meantime, she is getting cortisone shots, more antibiotics and ozone therapy. Leads me to believe that it is/was all tooth-related to begin with. DH has a lot of sinus and allergy stuff; I don't have any. We have compared notes and wonder if it was all the antibiotics he had as a kid that influenced his present health; I had no antibiotics as a kid. Just some things to correlate possibly but I would definitely get a second check on the teeth.

I was sick for a solid year before I retired. Looking back on it now, I can see how stress-related it was. But at the time, I was like you--I just wanted to be well again. It took a good 6 months after I retired to begin regaining my normal good health. Good luck to you. I hope you feel better soon.

Keep us updated Miss Cellane, and I am sending good wishes to you for better health, energy and good things very soon!

Me too! Colleagues came to work sick, and I got it three times. This last round, conjunctivitis - a first, and wow, is it awful! Then, sinus infection. Big ol' ugh.

My pulmonologist told me that this has been the worst year for viruses in 6 years. It takes a long time to get rid of one of these viruses as well.

Be well, Miss Cellane

I'm so sorry to read this. It sounds as if your immune system has taken quite a beating and is crying out for help. Given that you say you have a lot of cuts and bruises, it sounds as if you need extra vitamin C. Our lymph glands need medium to long chain saturated fatty acids to work well, so you might need to check that out. The antibiotics may have knocked out your friendly gut bacteria, so eating live culture yogurt and other fermented foods (not pasteurized after production) may help. Probiotic capsules may also help. I find my skin always responds with a sigh of relief to cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil. This makes sense, because the stuff that blocks our pores is oil-soluble. I gently apply oil, leave it for 10 minutes or so, and then wash it off with warm water and soap. I follow this up with a 50/50 mixture of rosewater and witchhazel, and then my usual moisturizer. The tooth pain is explained by the depth of the roots, which can be infected from the sinus cavities, and vice versa. I haven't tried coconut oil myself, but have read and heard good things about it for sinus problems, both as a food and for swishing round the mouth. This may be because coconut oil is rich in medium-chain saturated fatty acids, or because it has biocidal properties.

This might be useful: http://www.health.harvard.edu/flu-re...une-system.htm

I hope you feel better soon.

I'm so sorry you're feeling bad! Lots of good advice here.

I've also had that tooth pain from sinuses - scary! Feels like all your teeth are rotting at once.

For what it's worth, I've found a combination of pseudoephedrine, ibuprofen, steam, nasal irrigation, spicy foods (esp. soup), lots of hot tea, and taking long slow walks to be helpful. The pseudoephedrine is key.

Try Vitamin E (topically) on your nose/nostrils. Really works a miracle for me.

I usually get 4 colds or so per year - NONE so far this year (touch wood.)

I found what CathyA said interesting - I got the most colds/flu while I was going through menopause (age 47-52) but never made a connection!

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Originally Posted by redfox

Me too! Colleagues came to work sick, and I got it three times. This last round, conjunctivitis - a first, and wow, is it awful! Then, sinus infection. Big ol' ugh.

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I had pinkeye, too! In early January!
DH brought it home from his family reunion which included many small children. His version lasted many days; mine was only 24 hours. But then, I did use his eye meds so perhaps that nipped it in the bud.

I agree with Suzanne. Antiobiotics reek havoc on the immune system. Taking a quality probiotic is a simple thing to try!!!

Please take care!

I've had chronic sinus infections almost every winter for years. If I get a head cold in the winter, I will usually have sinus problems until the weather warms. At least from my experience, the traditional OTC medicines will make things worse. Decongestants and nasal sprays (other than saline) give temporary relief but have a rebound effect that dries the sinus membranes out (what they are supposed to do) which causes more irritation to the sinus membranes and then the perceived need for more relief, which turns into a vicious cycle.

It's interesting the other issues that come from sinus infections. I've had tooth pain, sensitive areas on my forehead, killer headaches, and yes, it causes me to wear out easily and feel tired a lot.

I've never had luck with antibiotics and nettie pots. I bought a steam inhaler for about $40 and it is the best thing for me. I will use it 2 or 3 time a day for 5 or ten minutes when I have problems. It's the same effect has a hot shower or breathing steam over a hot kettle. I also use saline nasal spray.

Colds can turn into a vicious cycle for me if I'm not alert to remembering that this happens: the constant post-nasal drip makes me swallow more often. More swallowing means swallowing more air, which is a trigger for silent reflux (the type that does not cause heartburn and is very difficult to diagnose). Silent reflux, in turn, has caused for me: laryngitis, sinus infections, sharp pains in my ears, and ear infections.

What I have to do to stop the cycle is cut out all acidic foods (including apples, yogurt, etc) for at least a few days - this helps the esophagus and larynx heal. I also have to put conscious effort into reducing the swallowing, and eat smaller meals to avoid pressure on the sphincter muscle.

You'd think I would remember this, but even though I've been through it before, it usually takes me more time than it should to figure it out. I had an episode in the fall that went on for almost 3 weeks before I figured out what was happening - and then healed myself within 3 days.

Anyway, my theory is that everyone has a weakness that shows up when they are sick or otherwise stressed. For me, it's the reflux. My DD has this, too. In fact, so does my mom, and she had chronic sinus infections for years that her MD never figured out - until she started taking zantac all the time, after which she never had another. Some people seem to be predisposed to strep throat; while my DD has never had it, some of her friends get it at least 2x/year. Others have a generally fussy stomach and seem to be prone to vomiting illnesses.

I did not experience more than usual illness during menopause, unlike what others reported. In fact, I generally felt fantastic, surprisingly enough!

Anyway, what I would do is support the parts of the body that are usually weaknesses. For instance: if the stomach, eat small meals, avoid spicy and acidic foods and beverages, and don't eat within 3 hours of bedtime. If it's fatigue, I'd look for ways to increase energy, such as eating lots of greens, doing gentle exercises, and keeping a very regular sleep pattern. If it were my sinuses, I'd breathe steam, saline drops, and strictly avoid anything that triggers congestion (for me, that's wheat, dairy, and any artificial scents).

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Originally Posted by Miss Cellane

Normally, I don't get sick much and rarely visit a doctor.

But in January, I got a massive sinus infection and ended up seeing a doctor because the pain just got to be too much. My main symptom of a sinus infection is, oddly, tooth pain. The first time I had a sinus infection, I went to the dentist, because I figured something had to be very, very wrong with my teeth for me to be in that much pain.

The pain this time was so bad that I could not sleep. Biting down on one side of my mouth left me in agony. So I bit the bullet, so to speak, and went to the doctor and got antibiotics, which did seem to help. (On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the time I had an abscess in my jaw and needed Vicodin to deal with the pain, this was a ten on the pain scale.) This was the first time in 12 or more years that I've needed antibiotics.

But since then, I've just had one cold after another. I can't seem to shake off whatever virus this this is. I get earaches. I'm tired all the time--which is not normal for me. I have a lot of small cuts and bruises because being tired makes me clumsy. My nose is rubbed raw from all the wiping and blowing I'm doing. Last week, I got a case of conjunctivitis. And today, I have acne on my face--and I'm in my 50s.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm not sick enough to need to stay home and stay in bed, but I just can't get back to normal. I'm making getting enough sleep a priority, eating healthy, cut out all dairy. Nothing seems to be helping.

What do you do when clearly your body is out of whack and you need to get it back on track?

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This is completely anecdotal, not scientific, but I read somewhere that drinking Roobios tea is good for maintaining health. In the late summer, I got a cold/sinus thing and it kept coming back every week or two, and repeating. I wasn't kicking it. I decided to start drinking Roobios, just one cup a day. Who knows, it could be completely a coincidence, but from that day on, I didn't get sick. I've been sick with a virus one time since August.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Miss Cellane

Normally, I don't get sick much and rarely visit a doctor.

But in January, I got a massive sinus infection and ended up seeing a doctor because the pain just got to be too much. My main symptom of a sinus infection is, oddly, tooth pain. The first time I had a sinus infection, I went to the dentist, because I figured something had to be very, very wrong with my teeth for me to be in that much pain.

The pain this time was so bad that I could not sleep. Biting down on one side of my mouth left me in agony. So I bit the bullet, so to speak, and went to the doctor and got antibiotics, which did seem to help. (On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the time I had an abscess in my jaw and needed Vicodin to deal with the pain, this was a ten on the pain scale.) This was the first time in 12 or more years that I've needed antibiotics.

But since then, I've just had one cold after another. I can't seem to shake off whatever virus this this is. I get earaches. I'm tired all the time--which is not normal for me. I have a lot of small cuts and bruises because being tired makes me clumsy. My nose is rubbed raw from all the wiping and blowing I'm doing. Last week, I got a case of conjunctivitis. And today, I have acne on my face--and I'm in my 50s.

It's getting ridiculous. I'm not sick enough to need to stay home and stay in bed, but I just can't get back to normal. I'm making getting enough sleep a priority, eating healthy, cut out all dairy. Nothing seems to be helping.

What do you do when clearly your body is out of whack and you need to get it back on track?

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Have you been tested for anything by a doctor? Some of the symptoms you have could be from one of any number of autoimmune diseases (something I've unfortunately become too familiar with recently) or even worse (cancer). You probably should go for a full lab work up just to see what's up. Don't assume that an infection is just an infection - it could be caused by something else.