So frustrated !!!

Am so sorry you are going through this. Have you gone to an ENT so they can do a culture and a CT scan of sinuses ? What symtoms do you have ? I finally went and they did a culture which was negative but the CT wasnt good. Alot of inflammation and mucosal thickening . They did another culture because it had gotten worse alot of phelem, pain in my cheek bones and jaw. So they gave me another antibiotic temporarily because the culture takes a week. Well now they called me and told me that they found a bacteria but the lab hadnt sent the sensitivities so to stop the antibiotic till they get the report because it might not be the antibiotic i should be taking. I am kinda glad because the antibiotic they gave me was causing alot of stomach issues. I feel like am on a roller coaster when will this finally end. . I can truely understand your frustration. Keep me posted .

Thank you for all the info. When i took the levaquin my stomach was fine but the clindamycin was really raising havoc with my stomach and has a black box warning for c diff . Now that i stopped the antibiotic i have so much phlem it just doesnt quit . i feel like i have a cold but i dont. I made an appt with an allergist becsuse my ENT thinks that alot of it is being caused by allergies . I also went to get some probiotics but there are so many to choose from any suggestions will be very helpful . Also where can i get the menthol crystals ? And how much do you use ? SO hopefully i will get some answers this week because i am truely miserable .

Do you irrigate already and if so do you already add something other than just the saline solution to the mix.?

How often do you irrigate.?

When you note the mucus does it tends to be yellow or green or just clear and thick.?

I'm assuming you must have an infection to be given all those antibiotics.

Posting what part of the world you live in will help when people suggest products.

I'm in the UK and can buy menthol crystals from a pharmacy.

There are very many different types of probiotics - I guess it's a matter of trial and error. Perhaps try kefir as it's recommended here and see how that goes? You may have to give it a week before you can tell if it makes a difference but I guess a litre of kefir (which should last a week) is cheaper than a bottle of capsules. Other posters might have a better answer.

If it's something in your sinus that's got a bio-film protecting it antibiotics won't touch it. D Mannose is used to get rid of bio-films in the bladder but I have no idea if or how this would work for the sinus - it's to do with the acid I believe. Again, maybe another poster will have more of an idea.

Good luck

HI Vimes,Sorry i havent responded but I was in the hospital with atrial fibrillation. While i was in hospital i was coughing alot and congestion. They said that the ct i had read there are frothy secretions within the right maxillary sinus and fluid within the right sphenoid sinus suggesting possible superimposed acute component.Correlate for symtoms of acute sinusitis. And mucosal thickening suggestive of rhinitis. They gave me a prescription for singular . To answer your questions , I live in the US . I only irrigate with saline once a day. My mucus last week was yellowish green first thing in the am but then during day clears out. Today i have been really congested and some yellow but not like last week and cough . The ENT did a culture which grew Corynbacterium species. They said that it wasnt common and still awaiting lab for a senstivity report. I have an allergest appt next week. I am so congested. I am doing the saline rinse, allegra, singular and something for the cough. I dont know what else to try .

Hi Miriam, thanks for the info , concerning the kefir, do you drink like a cup a day ? I saw the menthal crystals on amazon. I will order some. Also i find it very interesting about the D mannose. My daughter uses it for reacurrent UTI and i am going to look it up .I am also wondering I take protonix which is an acid reducer every day for GERD and am wondering if this could have something to do with this since you mention the acid thing , Because even though i take antibiotics, it helps but just comes right back to hunt me . I sound like i have a terrific cold and cough but I dont have a cold. The ENT wanted me to take some steroids but with my history of A fib which i just had an episode i really dont want to go that route now. This is soooo frustrating. I really appreciate all your help and Vimes maybe something will work . Thanks again .

I do hope that you are feeling better from your hospital stay 😃

I live in the UK.

Prior to me having Sinus surgery on both of my maxillary sinuses one was completely blocked (structurally) and full and the other was nearly blocked and full of liquid / air bubbles, typical of being very infected. The surgery sorted out the openings as well as removing the diseased / infected material in their.

Doing that has been successful in opening up those sinuses for irrigation but I still seem to be prone to having chronic rhinosinusitis symptoms.

I started to think more of my gut health due to the fact that around 80% of our immune system resides in our gut.

So probiotics and kefir is taken each day. I do know for a fact that by doing so it has greatly improved my digestion and bowel habits. And I'm sure it is also helping to put back what several rounds worth of antibiotics have depleted from me.

As noted before I consider oral antibiotics to be very much wasted in my experience of dealing with sinus issues, and even detrimental overall to a persons immune system.

I typically irrigate twice a day, sometimes up to three times. That to me is crucial in making sure that everything up in your sinuses keeps moving as freely as possible. I used to use only the saline solution but now, with the agreement of my specialist, I'm using a 10% solution of povidone iodine, several drops within my saline mix, to help with its antiseptic, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal properties. This to me makes a difference.

I have also recently bought a steamer, the type that people use for their face. This has a nasal attachment and does extra to what the traditional irrigation offer. It gives me the impression that it is loosening up the otherwise very thick and difficult to move mucous.

After having another CT scan on Monday of last week I will see my specialist on Thursday of next week to see where we go.

Dealing with chronic rhinosinusitis is not simple nor fun at all. It is complicated as there seems to be no one single solution that works for all and something other than oral antibiotics needs to be considered for the first approach from doctors and specialists. I have read of a person using an antibiotic mix within their irrigations and others using probiotics directly in their nostrils, a special mix of probiotics designed for that.

Even though I have mention kefir be also aware of your diet and whether that might contribute to the congestion, keeping off dairy is suggested by some. But I do use kefir and will continue to do so.

I have used other things within my saline mix to help but please consider irrigating more than once per day. Perhaps talk to your doctor about it.

Best wishes

Hi Sunflower,

I would go with whatever Vimes suggests re the kefir - or you could start with a small cup a day and see how that goes. I was thinking that a litre carton would be 5 small cups - enough to see if it makes anything worse, anyway!

Vimes is right in saying that dairy can increase mucous production, although youghurt and kefir seem not to do this, perhaps because of the activity of the cultures they contain.

I've already commented that both Levaquin (and the other fluoroquinolones) and clindamycin can encourage c.diff - in fact I think all antibiotics (ABx) can play havoc with your microbiome , which is so important for your heath. It's very important to re-establish a healthy microbiome after taking ABx and I always make sure I have live yoghurt or something if I need antibiotics.

Re the GERD - this can be caused by dietary problems and I think you can find advice on line about improving your friendly stomach and gut bacteria. Many people - including most doctors - think that acid stomach problems are caused by too much acid whereas the opposite is more often true - the stomach has too little acid! This causes digestive problems but the symptoms are taken as being from an excess of acid. If you take protonix or other proton-pump inhibitors (e.g. names ending in "-prazole") for too long your stomach struggles to produce enough acid to counter the effects of the inhibitor. This just turns the problem into a vicious circle - and makes it very hard to stop taking the PPI. Look on line for dangers of PPIs and also the natural alternatives and food to eat or cut out. There's a book called clever guts by michael mosley which is a real eye-opener!

Many people believe that stomach problems can lead to breathing and sinus problems so it may be that all these things are linked. A healthy microbiome is a very important key to a healthy body!