ETD and mental illness

I live in the US

Anne.   What country are you in.   I may be able to get it somehow and try.  Thank you 

Hello James,  I'm in England....where are you ?

I've just privately replied to Stephen with all the facts, however, no doubt you've seen my messages to other people.  Because I've suffered this condition for so long, I now know what works for ETD and what doesn't.

Regards

Anne

hi anne 

I noticed your reply to james and that you said you know what works and what doesn't for ent as i too have been suffering from this for at least over 10 years im 55 and also have other annoying problems and with anxiety n depression which doesn't help matters,

Iv always suffered sinus problems in past and dr told me i have allergic rhinitis,nasal drip,swelling in my left nostril  causing that side to be more blocked,.he prescribed nasobec but i really did not like it plus im weary of steroids or antihistamines as some sinus meds i found set my anxiety off worse etc,so im just wondering if you know anything else i could try for the annoying itch in my ear caused with ent,,as i may have to put up with the other symptoms but i get so irritated with the itch deep in my ear although my dr said that a small amount of steroid should not effect my anxiety levels,

I did look up what else i could try but only found that you can use betnovate scalp application in ear again thats a steroid but if its only 2 drops in ear it may not worsen anxiety,but would that help the itch caused by ent,,i do have the scalp application as i suffer dry itchy scalp and a touch of eczema which gets worse with stress or some foods i eat,.sorry this is a bit long and drawn out ,but if you have any advice id be grateful as my dr never seems to give me answers or time runs out and your rushed in and out,thank you,

Dear Anne,Sad to hear how distressed you are,but understand it totally.If you read my previous notes on this site you'll know exactly where I'm coming from.Finally a GP at the practice I use gave me the absolute truth which is published here.At this time I'm attending a mindfulness course which  is giving me some hope of managing the condition.The doctors certainly haven't helped at all.

Hi Eileen,  Well, sadly steroids are the only thing that help me.  Sounds very much like you may have eczema within your ear.  Sometimes I experience severe itching from my left ear....so hard to get rid of.  However, as soon as I feel it coming on I'll take my Citrizine antihistamine and it seems to stop it.

Not sure how much you've read of my messages to people, but I'm currently using the Flixonase Nasule Drops which can be used twice daily for up to 6 weeks.  I'm afraid the Flixonase Aqueous Nasal spray no longer works for me...obviously need something that much stronger to feel the benefit.  I ask my ENT consultant if it ok to continue the drops, but instead of twice daily only once.  Now I seem to be on top of my problem I'm finding it I can go 2/3 days until I have to use it again.

Are you on medication for you anxiety.  What a miserable condition and doubled with suffering Eustachian Tube Dysfunction.  I feel deeply sorry for you, but you must use the steroid to get rid of the awful feeling of blocked ears....that will drag you down even further if not treated.  I've been on Prednisolone steroid tablets on and off for years for this condition and years ago to help with my Asthma.  Asthma is horrible, but ETD I personally think is worse......there doesn't seem to be anything out there that will cure us all from this wretched condition.

I can't remember whether I've ask you what country you live in....does make a difference whether you'll be able to get the Nasules.

You must suffer allergies against something with you suffering with eczema and ETD.

Sorry, I haven't anything else to offer you with help.  All I know is since April this year

using the meds that I'm on has certainly helped me.  I don't think the steroid will exacerbate your anxiety.

Do stay in touch and let me know how you get on.

Kind regards

Anne

hi anne ,thank you for your advice but think i may just have to live with this,,as i just cant get away with the nasal spray.leaves an awful taste in my mouth and smell,plus my throat felt all gunged up then felt my nose was tickling all the time,,it seems you sometimes take one thing to help or cure something else but then the one thing your taking can cause other unwanted effects so you cant win.

I googled the nasobec and found that some people have actually lost their sense of smell n taste even on short term use so thats put me right off.

I put a little of my betnovate scalp application on a Q tip and gently put that in ear and up till now its been ok,,but dr did say it was because of my eustachian tube problem and that to help the itch in ear etc that it was best to use spray up the nose but id rather put drops in ear then spray up nose and risk the other side effects..

 I do know that when iv taking anything like salbutamol when i had an allergic reaction from pet rats my son had years ago or prednisolone my anxiety got really bad and actually started off panic attacks that then led to a vicious circle and severe depression and took months and a hospital stay to get sort of well enough to cope,,it was awful beyond words.the more i worried about having anxiety attacks out in public or even in my home the worse they got etc and last year it started bad again so you can imagine why i am so scared to take anything that may make the anxiety n depression worse and try to avoid as much as i can,,as im still not back to where i was before it got worse and now as well as duloxetine antidepressant im now taking clonazepam and hate taking tablets or relying on tablets but what can i do its like being between a rock and a hard place so to speak,,ah well never mind thank you again anne for taking the time to try and help..

Take care 

kind regards back 

eileen

Hi michael

I have tried mindfulness and a long list of other things that have been of no great help i try to do a lot of distracting methods so as to try and keep my mind busy on something else which is very hard as you may know and sometimes impossible on some days when im at my worst. i suffer with a lot of pain too with osteoarthritis and another long lists of other problems i wont bore you with,,it seems the list gets longer as i age.,,iv just looked up that other thing which anne mentioned :sterno whatever its called ,was a long word for the muscle in neck and it really sounds that that may be making matters worse, as at the moment my neck is really strained on the left side and its always tense with anxiety etc,,and painful at the moment too which i think has caused me to have the headache i now have ,plus toothache etc which i have just read about,,and i never heard of that muscle to cause all these symptoms till now so it explains a lot when i get headaches the more tense that muscle is,,this morning took paracetamol still there so now iv took ibuprofen about half an hour ago and still there,,its no fun getting old is it except im not that old at 55 .so often wonder what on earth id be like at 70 or 80,,anyway you take care 

Kind regards 

eileen

You are very welcome Eileen and I wish you the very best.

Kindest regards

Anne

That sounds terrible.

Hi Michael, Are you still suffering ?  Do you by any chance suffer neck problems.

Someone on the Forum suggested that it could be the STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID MUSCLE.

Google it, like I did and have a read....definitely says this muscle can affect ears.

Anne

Dear Anne ,thanks for the advice.I do get a bit of irritation in my neck,but just put it down to my age.I'll look it up & query it with my GP.

Michael