After 2 months of an uncured sinus infection, 2 rounds of antibiotics, I'm losing hope...

Hello,

Just to provide some history and background. I am a 22 year old female with no medical history of any serious disorders, diseases, etc. I have allergies and received immunotherapy for roughly 5 years to treat it resulting in less severe attacks. Medical history would indicate that I have suffered from anxiety and depression. After taking Zoloft for a year, I chose to discontinue along with the birth control I was on (at the time, I believed my depression was a side effect of the birth control I was on). I stopped taking both roughly 2+ years ago. The only medication that I have taken daily and consistently is Allegra. I am allergic to penicillin. I have been tested for COVID-19 and it was negative. I am not pregnant nor have I ever been pregnant. I have never had any STD and and have not been sexually active in over 5-6 months. I have (regrettably) smoked cigarettes in the past (more than a year ago) only socially and very infrequently. I do drink alcohol but not a lot and haven't drank since these issues came up. I do not do recreational drugs except smoked/ingested marijuana, although like with alcohol, I haven't since I got sick.

NOW TO THE ISSUE.

AT THE START: Toward the end of July, I started to suffer from insomnia. Accompanying my inability to sleep was headaches that later turned into extreme pressure in my head. I have this intense pressure in head and headaches every day since, morning and but worse at night, especially when my head was on the pillow or I was lying down. I also have had ringing in my ears that would worsen at night.

SYMPTOMS: Now, the most discomforting and terrifying part was when I started to feel numb and a "pinch" or "zap" sharp pain/sensation in random parts of my head. I also would feel this pinched nerve sensation in my right leg right on the lower left side of my knee. Very sharp and painful too, it would last less than a minute a couple times a day. I have also experienced brain fog, loss of focus and energy, vision fuzziness, extreme fatigue and tiredness, muscles feel atrophy and scalp sensitivity. But my head would literally "zap" me a wake like someone poked me with an electrical charge. It makes me want to rip my hair out of my head and I find myself clenching my scalp anytime the sensation comes on. When I would lie down, it would feel like a huge marble ball would be rolling smacking into my head or something. I have also felt goosebumps along my neck and head, with numbing sensations at the top typically on one side and lastly, my toes are always clenched very tensely and tightly and this subconsciously done, I even catch myself having to relax them. I honestly didn't even feel the nasal congestion until a few days before I visited the first doctor.

FIRST DOCTOR VISIT DIAGNOSIS:

This is when I went into into panic mode, which resulted in my first trip to the doctor, who upon looking in my nose "suspected" (his words) a sinus infection. There was no culture done, or scan/test. He then prescribed 500MG of Cefuroxime to be taken twice daily for 10 days.

ER TRIP:

During this 10 day period I experienced another "head zap" episode so severe that it woke me from my sleep and left the top of my head feeling numb. This resulted in a trip to the ER where they did a CT scan of my head which came back normal. The scan showed a sinus infection in the "left side of my head" (my primary informed me during my follow-up, not the ER doctor, he gave me a paper on "paresthesia" without mentioning anything else). I finished the round of antibiotics actually feeling somewhat better for a day or two. Afterward however, everything came back: the headaches, zap feelings, pressure, ear ringing, etc. even the pinched nerve feeling in my leg (no idea if its related or not).

2ND & 3RD APPOINTMENT:

I scheduled another appointment with my primary care doctor. Once again, I was told its a sinus infection and was prescribed the same amount of the SAME antibiotic. I wanted to protest this initially but I was so desperate for anything to help that I heeded her advice. At this point I was also taking Tylenol, Allegra and doing sinus rinses to aid the process. I was about 3 days in and I started to experience random occurrences: broke out into hives eventually went away and haven't returned. I had chest tightness and pain in my sternum when breathing so I went to the urgent care clinic.

This is when I saw a nurse practitioner who helped me change up a regime. Firstly, she agreed with me that she probably wouldn't have prescribed me a second round of the antibiotics but that it would be worse to stop in the middle of taking them. She then recommended I take Zyrtec instead, Advil (which ended up helping 10x more than Tylenol) and a nasal spray (I am taking Neil MD's sinus allergy nose spray). She told me if I am still unwell after this round of antibiotics she will refer me to an ENT. I have also made an appointment to see an allergist in case my allergies have evolved and could be contributing.

CURRENTLY:

As I write this, I have one day left for my antibiotics and basically feel as miserable as I did at the beginning. Mucus from the sinus infection has trickled down my throat or comes out when I cough (it is dark yellowish) and some has come out of my nose (its clear). Despite this, the pressure almost seems worse and the zaps and headaches and ringing all seems to be just as prominent. I can't recall the last time I felt good, even performing simple daily tasks prove to be so difficult and I am just so baffled as to what is making me feel so miserable. I am not a doctor and I trust that my CT scan was normal but my brain/head literally feels like there's something wrong and I feel like I have no control and just have to suffer through feeling all these horrific sensations while getting no sleep. The zaps that wake me up have made me scared to fall asleep and I am just going through the night waiting to be in pain and discomfort. I feel so lost in regards to getting rid of this sinus infection... is it really the culprit behind this or could the sinus infection be a symptom of something else? Also, I know my anxiety factors but I am tired of my concerns being dismissed by doctors who just tell me its anxiety. I feel as though there is something else going on because antibiotics did not do a thing, I do not want to be on another round, it has been more than 2 months and I am tired of the "drug and go" method, it would be nice to crack down what really could be the issue here. If it is a sinus infection why hasn't it gotten better...again, any insight anyone has would be SOOO appreciated, I am really just looking for any advice. Is seeing an ENT is the next step? Is seeing an allergist still a good idea? I am down on my luck here, I appreciate any responses and if you read this all the way through, thank you so much.

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