Over the course of the past 11 months, I've gotten sick almost once a month and it always seems to follow the same pattern...
Day 1: Left middle ear feels a bit stuffy, as though there's some inflammation around my eustachian tube.
Day 2: Both ears now feel stuffy, sinus and nasal congestion with swollen lymph nodes in my neck. Yellow mucus in my throat.
Day 3: Ears, nose and sinuses are stuffier. Congestion has now moved into chest, coughing up thicker yellow or green mucus, especially when I wake up in the morning. Shortness of breath. Lymph nodes still swollen.
Usually a mild temperature and fatigue, and occasionally aches, will accompany the above, and takes about 10 days to clear my system regardless of if I take antibiotics or not.
I've seen an ENT with these symptoms 3 times and each time he diagnosed them as sinusitis and prescribes amoxicilin and nasonex. Due to the frequent recurrence, I had a CT scan of my sinuses - the concern being drainage issues - which checked out fine.
I've subsequently seen a pulmonologist and disease specialist. The pulmonologist did blood and airways tests. Airways checked out fine. First blood test revealed fairly severe allergies (IgE 261 for those familiar with Immunoglobulin E levels) and low white blood cell count. White blood cell count showed up normal upon retest a couple weeks later. IgE level remained high.
The disease specialist said that this wasn't necessary uncommon - that often times your body is debilitated by a severe virus and subsequently, for often as long as a year, your body never quite fully recovers and experiences these recurring illnesses. As it so happens, this all started with a pretty severe something-or-other that I picked up in Argentina 12 months ago that caused severe bronchitis. My left eustachian tube has not felt the same since. The disease specialist said not to waste my money on following up with other dr's and that I just had to wait it out. The only thing I could do would be to consult an allergist to get prescribed something so my allergies wouldn't affect my immune system.
I hated hearing this prognoses because I just feel so helpless. I do my best to stay healthy - I workout every other day (I've always been athletic), I'm conscious about what I put in my body, and I live a pretty low stress life. Yet, I still get sick almost every month like clockwork! And once the initial symptoms kick in, I know I'm in for a 10 day ride no matter what I do to combat it. It's incredibly frustrating!
I guess what I'm looking for by posting is either confirmation of the specialist's diagnoses and prognoses, or a new perspective on the matter. For a while I thought I might have lymphoma as I almost always have swollen lymph nodes.
Also, I'm 26 and have been healthy my whole life with the exception of getting bronchitis every couple of years and having sports-related asthma. The asthma also comes about with respiratory illnesses, such as this one.
Any input is much appreciated.
Day 1: Left middle ear feels a bit stuffy, as though there's some inflammation around my eustachian tube.
Day 2: Both ears now feel stuffy, sinus and nasal congestion with swollen lymph nodes in my neck. Yellow mucus in my throat.
Day 3: Ears, nose and sinuses are stuffier. Congestion has now moved into chest, coughing up thicker yellow or green mucus, especially when I wake up in the morning. Shortness of breath. Lymph nodes still swollen.
Usually a mild temperature and fatigue, and occasionally aches, will accompany the above, and takes about 10 days to clear my system regardless of if I take antibiotics or not.
I've seen an ENT with these symptoms 3 times and each time he diagnosed them as sinusitis and prescribes amoxicilin and nasonex. Due to the frequent recurrence, I had a CT scan of my sinuses - the concern being drainage issues - which checked out fine.
I've subsequently seen a pulmonologist and disease specialist. The pulmonologist did blood and airways tests. Airways checked out fine. First blood test revealed fairly severe allergies (IgE 261 for those familiar with Immunoglobulin E levels) and low white blood cell count. White blood cell count showed up normal upon retest a couple weeks later. IgE level remained high.
The disease specialist said that this wasn't necessary uncommon - that often times your body is debilitated by a severe virus and subsequently, for often as long as a year, your body never quite fully recovers and experiences these recurring illnesses. As it so happens, this all started with a pretty severe something-or-other that I picked up in Argentina 12 months ago that caused severe bronchitis. My left eustachian tube has not felt the same since. The disease specialist said not to waste my money on following up with other dr's and that I just had to wait it out. The only thing I could do would be to consult an allergist to get prescribed something so my allergies wouldn't affect my immune system.
I hated hearing this prognoses because I just feel so helpless. I do my best to stay healthy - I workout every other day (I've always been athletic), I'm conscious about what I put in my body, and I live a pretty low stress life. Yet, I still get sick almost every month like clockwork! And once the initial symptoms kick in, I know I'm in for a 10 day ride no matter what I do to combat it. It's incredibly frustrating!
I guess what I'm looking for by posting is either confirmation of the specialist's diagnoses and prognoses, or a new perspective on the matter. For a while I thought I might have lymphoma as I almost always have swollen lymph nodes.
Also, I'm 26 and have been healthy my whole life with the exception of getting bronchitis every couple of years and having sports-related asthma. The asthma also comes about with respiratory illnesses, such as this one.
Any input is much appreciated.