Feeling sorry for myself

[PaulaO]

I have chronic sinus problems. Have an excellent ENT and primary care doctor. Friday morning I got out of bed and was so dizzy I had to hang onto the wall. My friend gets the same thing and she said use Flonase and go back to bed. I did and slept for an hour. Felt somewhat less dizzy. Stayed home from work and slept most of the day. She also told me to get Mucinex so I got Mucinex D. My left ear is completely congested and causing the dizziness. The weather is beautiful--upper 60s and sunny. But I had to cancel my lesson yesterday because I'm still woozy. Been taking the Mucinex D which is helping. Same today. Still woozy and it's a beautiful day and I want to see Miss A. but obviously I shouldn't drive unless it's an emergency.

I have an appointment with my PCP tomorrow first thing. I'm feeling sorry for myself in that I don't feel good but want to see my girl....I'll live, but I want to whine about it.

[Tanga]

I'm so sorry. I discovered I had allergies when I had such bad headaches I thought I had a brain tumor. I am waking up with headaches right now they are so bad. The only thing I discovered that works is a combination of generic 24 hour sinus medication and Flonase two or three times a day. I get the dizziness, too sometimes.

Can you do the neti pot nasal drain through? That is supposed to help. I never really could get it to work for me.

[heddylamar]

I've got pretty nasty allergies like that and have found if a round or two of sudafed (the pharmacy sort, not the ineffective over the counter) doesn't sort it out, a visit to the PCP is in order. The last few times it's been an ear infection, but sinus infections (without much congestion) are my norm.

[VBOpie]

So sorry to hear you aren't feeling well, PaulaO. We all need a little sympathy now and then - be gentle with yourself. Definitely stay off Miss A until you feel strong again. No sense getting yourself hurt - and then really facing a long time out of the saddle. I know it's hard with beautiful spring weather. Hopefully, this won't last long.

[demi]

I want to tell you what works for me just in case it might help you. My ears were rarely plugged like yours, so maybe a different problem.

I had bad sinus headaches for years. Pain over my left eye, dizziness, and if I moved much, like even walking, I’d barf. Couldn’t read, couldn’t watch tv, nothing. None of the usual meds worked, even the Rx nasal spray (cant remember what it was). No pain med helped and I tried them all. I tried a neti pot. Couldn’t really get it to work and it didn’t help.

Then someone suggested that my sinuses weren’t draining because the outlet was dried out causing a booger plug. (she didn’t actually call it a booger plug!). She suggested just leaning over the sink and holding one nostril shut while sucking water up through the other one, and repeat on the other nostril. I was desperate so I tried it and it worked!! I could feel the mucus running down the back of my throat. And the pain went away as soon as the draining started. The initial pain of sucking water up was harsh but it was well worth it to get rid of the headache.

So, then I found this spray by Arm and Hammer called simply saline. It is in a spray can that is just right for shooting far enough up into the nostril to get to the booger plug. The squeeze bottles of saline just don’t get up far enough. The Simply Saline still hurts a bit but not as much as plain water, and again, well worth getting rid of the headache.

This has worked for me 100% of the time. Yesterday I had to do it three times in the morning, and I thought all was good, but when I rode, I started to get sick. I got off, went inside and sprayed again, and by the amount of draining I could tell that I just hadn’t cleared it out completely with the initial spraying.

[PaulaO]

I like the term booger plug. I do the neti bottle (brand name is NeilMed) daily, and a few times a week add a compounded steroid. I keep the Simply Saline in my car and desk but I don't think it is as forceful as the neti bottle. The neti bottle gets a LOT of gross stuff out of my nose.

Went to my PCP this morning. He said allergies are absolutely horrible right now, and that the dizziness is benign positional vertigo due to congested ears. He switched my allergy med to Xyzal (never heard of it) and gave me a script for Antivert to take if I get another dizzy spell. He also gave me positional head exercises to get the inner ear crystals back where they belong. I tell ya, this stinks!

[Hayburner]

Go ahead and whine away!

I have mild allergies and can't imagine how bad yours must be to also get dizzy from them.

Do you have a cold air humidifier in your bedroom? Those are supposed to help.

Maybe wearing a mask even at home would help.

When mine were bad, I would put a OTC salve around and in my nose to help keep dust and dirt out at the barn. It did seem to help when I was outdoors.

[KathyK]

I like the term booger plug. I do the neti bottle (brand name is NeilMed) daily, and a few times a week add a compounded steroid. I keep the Simply Saline in my car and desk but I don't think it is as forceful as the neti bottle. The neti bottle gets a LOT of gross stuff out of my nose.

Went to my PCP this morning. He said allergies are absolutely horrible right now, and that the dizziness is benign positional vertigo due to congested ears. He switched my allergy med to Xyzal (never heard of it) and gave me a script for Antivert to take if I get another dizzy spell. He also gave me positional head exercises to get the inner ear crystals back where they belong. I tell ya, this stinks!

I'm surprised he didn't suggest a diuretic. Years ago when a neurologist diagnosed me with benign positional vertigo, he prescribed a diuretic, along with some exercises. To this day, when I get vertigo I use an OTC diuretic and the vertigo subsides quickly. Ask your PCP about it.

[PaulaO]

Huh. Never heard of a diuretic for vertigo but it makes sense. Fortunately the vertigo is all but gone, and I can tell an improvement in the allergies by taking Xyzal for 2 days. My ears are a lot less congested. I took today as a sick day though. I needed the rest. Tomorrow I will see Miss A. after work.