LPR Mucus on Right Side Again....Help!

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Charberry, how was your appointment this week?

So I have had a couple dr's visits this week. I had a dental appointment for a tooth that has been giving me zinging pain. Turns out it wasn't the tooth, but I have another sinus infection. Thus another appt with my PCP. I've had facial pain and ear pressure for weeks, but not as intense as I have had with many other previous infections. I also think that with all I've been going through with my surgery, it took my mind off the facial pain. Because most antibiotics can be hard on the stomach, my doc wanted me to try another approach. Unfortunately, I am already on 2 allergy meRAB and 2 allergy nasal sprays. He ended up giving me a 'mild' antibiotic and a reminder to keep using the nasal sprays and saline rinses.

I also had a follow-up GI doc appt. He was happy that my asthma has been under control since the surgery. I talked to him about the nausea I have had since the surgery. He basically told me that my "tummy was angry" at having been literally been tied up and that it would "take a while" for it to calm. He also said that is why I have had a loss of appetite. He gave me a nausea med with a couple refills to take in the meantime. I was also diagnosed with IBS. That one is really frustrating because I had no problems there until I started in with the different reflux treatments this summer.

I left my GI appt with a reminder to keep taking my Prevcid and to continue following the reflux diet. I also have to follow the IBS diet. Those along with the instructions from my surgeon to avoid bread and meat have made it challenging to find fooRAB I can eat. Reflux diet avoid: fatty & greasy, spicy, tomato based, caffeine, citrus, chocolate, alcohol. IBS also avoid: raw fruits and veggies (especially lettuce) and all dairy. Surgeon avoid: bread and meat.
 
Why oh why? I've had this stuffed up nose again only on the right side (as usual) It's causing me to sniff and cough over and over. Driving me nuts! I feel as though the mucus is just hung right behind right nostral and if I could just "cough it all out." The weather has been much cooler so I can't see this being allergy related and all meRAB I've tried don't make a dent anyway. The nasal spray helps some but now I feel like the inside of my nose (right side) is swollen! Probably from the nasal spray that seems to help. What Dr. should I call? Don't think I can get in to ENT spec soon so wonder if GP can help. Maybe a sinus infection?

CharBerry
 
Mountain Reader,

I was concerned because I have this knot in my nose sort of like a pimple but Dr. said not mess with it other than use hot compresses on my face and put some neosprian on it with a q tip. This PND is so thick that I feel like drilling a hole in my head. I believe this is allergy related although I can tell some difference in when I eat or drink, but guess that would affect swollen nasal passages too? Right? I'm out of any acid meRAB and can't decide to go back on Nexium twice a day again or what. I was using OTC Prilosec but honestly I'm not better on them. I did get 2 nasal sprays and one is not a steriod. I also asked for Allergra this time since I remeraber it helped way back when. He did say that your body becomes immune to different meRAB and you sometimes need to switch around. I believe that too! I'm so bummed out that I feel like not even pursuing the trips to all the "new Dr's and surgeon." Like you mentioned in earlier post, he probably won't do surgery if my test are negative and I have this feeling that they will. Hate going back all thru test again, which I know that LPR is hard to pin point with test other than 24 hr ph and I am not looking forward to another one of those. If I do continue, I will certainly demand the double probe.

Sure hope you get to feeling back to 100%! I would be happy to even have to still take meRAB just to be out of this misery. I'm having IBS symptoms again too and do feel maybe I should have the colon thing. Sure hate the thought of that too! I never had asthma until the GERD. Did you have asthma before finding out about the GERD/LPR. I was sure hoping that surgery would take care of that problem! I've been told that I didn't have asthma but when I go to the emergency room not able to breath that's what they treat me for. I don't take any medication for asthma anymore because it didn't help me breath any better and I felt like the inhaler caused me to become hoarse. Do or did you have problems with your voice? Sorry if I'm asking same questions over. Are you satisfied with your surgery or think you will be once things get straightened out? I would expect to have some problems so soon after surgery although I've heard some say none at all while other's say nothing was different.....or even worse. I still think if the surgeon would Ok it, I'd give it a try! I've said couldn't make things worse but then been told that it could! I suppose that since I tested negative to allergy testing that these symptoms are related to GERD/LPR. I did show to be allergic to some molRAB and you know mold is everywhere. I just want to feel good again and normal! Well, as normal as I could get anyway. LOL.

Keep us posted since you are the only one I've had contact with before, during and after surgery. Not only for answer to my problems because I'm most interested in your health too now! I wish you only the best and a FULL recover and good health, my friend.

Char
 
You know, even though I have an ENT, Pulmonologist and GI doc, when I have a sinus or asthma flare-up I typically go to my PCP first. It is cheaper and I typically end up with the same type treatment. I do make sure they share the info with the other applicable docs so my care is coordinated though. I see nothing wrong with doing this as long as you have some confidence in your PCP.

This time of year I typically end up with a sinus infection. I'm not sure if it is the weather changes, fall and indoor allergens or something else. The dry air this time of year also makes things worse. For me, the cold air also triggers my asthma which is also a pain.

My sinus infections usually take 4-6 weeks to clear up so I usually end up seeing the doc more than once or going to my PCP and ENT.

Have you tried Astelin? For me the corabination of Astelin with Flonase really helped with my nasal symptoms. There is also a saline nasal spray with Xylitol that helps block some new bacteria from "sticking". It works well for me.

Are you running a humidifier?

I think I am lucky that my ENT is not only a sinus specialist, but he has an allergy clinic and believes in LPR. He is supportive when I visit him.

Feel better soon.
 
Char,

Reflux and Asthma: I was diagnosed with reflux at the same time I was diagnosed with my asthma. I guess it would be the chicken and egg thing. I don't know which came first. In Deceraber 2001, we had a major winter inversion here. I got a bad sinus infection and had a bad cough. My doc said it was just from the infection. I was volunteering during the Winter Olympics in late January 2002. I was stationed outside for 9 hour shifts for 14 days straight. My cough was horrible on some of the days. (Kind of took away from the experience.) After a couple shifts, I ended up at my clinic because the cough was giving me trouble breathing. That was when I was first diagnosed with asthma and received my first breathing treatments. It was during follow-up in the ensuing weeks that I finally found a new doc who really cared and really wanted to help me long-term. She adjusted my asthma treatments and started me on reflux medicine. I didn't have any reflux symptoms other than the cough so it was a surprise to me when it helped. Working with her, I went in for follow-up every 3 mos and kept things under control until about 3 1/2 years ago. At that time, I developed a cough that lasted for about 4 months. It took about 9 visits for me to get things under control then. I ended up on additional meRAB and with increased dosages of some I was already on. The problem with those flare-ups is trying to get everything balanced back again at the same time. Kind of like what I have been through since June. Only problem this time is that I exhaused all of the other medical options they could come up with. Also this time, I was without my wonderful PCP. She went to work for another clinic that doesn't take my insurance.

As for my reflux meRAB, since none worked great for me, my GI doc let me choose which one I wanted to be on. I have found that something is better than nothing with regarRAB to my symptoms.

Voice: I have had perioRAB of time over the years where I had some voice problems. I typically attributed it to ongoing PND/allergy/sinus problems. Several years ago, I completely lost my voice for about 6 weeks. There are a lot of mornings where my voice is really rough sounding. It is typically better by the time I finish showering and getting ready in the a.m. Other than that, I haven't had any difficulties with it lately.

Asthma: My albuterol usage sometimes causes some hoarsness, but the albuterol does help me breathe better so I have just accepted that it is just the price I have to pay. Have you been to a Pulmonologist for pulmonary function testing? It would confirm if you have asthma other breathing sensitivities.

Allergies: I do have major allergies. They have worstened over the years as I moved around the country. They seem to get worse every year. I too have major mold allergies. Thankfully I live in an extremely dry climate (basically a desert climate) so the molRAB aren't as bad as they were when I lived in the midwest. I'm currently 1 1/2 years into my second go-round of immunotherapy. Weekly, I get two shots that are addressing 27 of my worst allergies. I plan on getting food allergy testing in the next few weeks.

Are you using a humidifier to help with your current sinus infection? There is also a good saline nasal spray with menthol in it that gives a bit of relief. You might see if something like that helps too. Let me know how the nasal sprays work for you.

Surgery: With regarRAB to my reflux symptoms, after 4 weeks, I am still free of my cough. I have a bunch of belching, but both the surgeon and my GI doc said it is from air that isn't making it through when I swallow so it is coming back up. I also have some lingering pain on the left side of my stomach, or rather where them moved my stomach around. Other than the nausea and lack of appetite, which should eventually get better, I would say that so far, I am very pleased with the surgery. I can't remeraber the last time I went an entire month symptom free. I go in to see my Pulmonologist this week. I'll see if he has any updates in my asthma plan.

I understand many of your frustrations. I guess the best I could recommend is to not ever give up. Without any hope of feeling 'normal', it can make things even more miserable.

Thanks for your good wishes. Take care.

MR
 
hi char sorry u have a sinus flare up.......this LPR sure does sux....im doing nasal saline rinses three times a day at the moment to help with my stinging eyes and nose..i make my own saline its easy to make.........maybe you could try doing saline rinses three to four times a day. when are the rest of your tests? do u think that the surgeon will give you a operation........im sure sick of my issues and as my first 24hr probe came back normal im not sure what to do next......ness
 
Thanks to you both for the good advice. I'm still waiting to be scheduled for ph test and others, which I think will not show a thing. Sometimes I almost wonder if it's something else but have been told LPR by every ENT spec I've seen. Already been the asthma/allergy route? I am going to my GP Thursday and sure he'll give me something. All ready had an appt scheduled anyway. Does having sinus infection make ya'll just feel bad? Just having LPR can wear me out on bad days!

MR, have you noticed less LPR symptoms since surgery? I really doubt this surgeon is going to OK surgery for me since I feel like my test will not show much. Could be wrong but about to the point that I feel there is no hope to ever be normal again and not sure if I'd know what it felt like anyway. Now, I have a knot or swollen merabrane in my nose. Like a pimple or something? I think I probably do need to use 2 different sprays or more. I even used Afrin this morn since PND was so bad. It seems to be working too!

Char
 
CharBerry,
Sinus infections can REALLY wear you out. All other health problems aside. I drag for weeks on end when I get full blown infections. I usually get really bad head and face aches too, although not every time. Using the saline sprays or rinses should help some though. Now, when I get the sinus infection I typically also get an asthma flare-up. Those on top of the reflux result in months of nonstop coughing for me. It is pretty miserable. Have you tried an ice pack on your face. I'm not sure it really helps, but it does give me some temporary relief sometimes.

As for the tests, the ones that were most helpful for actually confirming my diagnosis were the pH test, the Modified Barium Swallow and the Esophagram. The last two were done at the same time and they visually showed the acid (and some food) coming up into my throat and towarRAB my lungs. I had them prescribed my my Pulmonologist who suspected the reflux was really aggrevating my asthma. My PCP and GI doc didn't ever tell me about them.

Since my surgery, I have had only one small incident of coughing and that was true asthma, not a reflux cough. So far, so good on that front. On the flip side, I have some other digestive issues that have develped since June when all of this started up so bad and they seem to be worse as I try to add "real" food back into my diet. I'm headed back to the GI doc tomorrow for a follow-up and to get the results from labs done during a Colonoscopy I had done a few weeks ago. I'm suspecting I have developed IBS or that I have food allergies. (Just got a doc to write out orders for food allergy testing today.) Odd thing is that all these problems started once they started putting me on different PPI's back in June. I think they really messed up my system.

Keep us posted on how you are doing.
 
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