Chronic Sinus Congestion- How Painful It Can Become- A True Story

Here is an exchange with a woman who has a very serious case of chronic sinus congestion. She seems absolutely desperate, and she openly states that if she doesn’t get relief she would consider ending her life because she is so miserable. Many of us suffer with chronic sinus congestion but it is far less debilitating that what this woman is experiencing. She lives in England, and I was not able to recommend any ENT doctors there, although a prominent ENT in New York said he would consult with her if she would travel to his office. In any case

reading the story of this poor woman in her own words might be an eye-opener and make people appreciate how delicate and important our nasal systems are to our well being. Most people just take their noses for granted and ignore the fact that this part of our bodies needs to be cared for too. Note that she took steroids and antibiotics for years, was misdiagnosed, and had a sinus operation that made her even worse than she was previously. This is food for thought for anyone with chronic sinus congestion and sinusitis.

Here is the lady’s first email to me and my response. Some words were misspelled, and those have been corrected. Her second email will be posted on this web page: Chronic Sinus Congestion, since the exchange is lengthy. She had happened to come across an article I had published on the web.

"Just came across your articles, so helpful. I am demented and am not at all surprised that people commit suicide (because of chronic sinus congestion and pain- ed.). I have told my consultant that I am not taking this illness into my old age and that I will take a pill if there is no cure. I have for 18 years been diagnosed with bronchiectasis (spelling? -ed.), and years of steroids, antibiotics and pain and suffering have resulted in nothing. I am now being told that I do not have this lung disease and that all my problems stem from my nose/sinuses. I have since a child, always had to backward sniff to clear mucous, that never seemed to come down my nose. I am not 56 and still suffering so badly that I get no sleep night after night and spend hours on end trying to bring up the mucous that has dripped slowly onto my lungs, causing all sorts of problems. I know that the mucous build up is in my head because I can feel it there, but no one ever listened. I underwent sinus operation some months ago, and boy do I regret it. My problem is so much worse. I think thy have opened the flood gates, and I now drown in mucous dripping down onto my lungs. Buckets of it. I am beside myself, truly. I am so angry that I am now worse rather than better after the operation. I hummed about having it, as I intuitively felt it was not right, and I was worried that opening up the cavities, would allow more mucous through, I was right. I so wish I had listened to myself and not others. Now I am virtually bed bound. I am an energetic young for my age woman who cares about herself, exercises and eats healthily, and I have no quality of life anymore. Night after night i struggle to breathe whilst the mucous is unable to come down my nose and causes blockages which wake me suffocating. I am beside myself, my partner and sons are too. I cannot believe that I am living in the 21st century and cannot find help getting basic SNOT out of cavities. I worry about the damage it has on my body, it cannot be right after all, and I worry that going into old age with this illness will not allow me any life whatsoever, it is bad enough now, and I am fighting it with all I have got.. Where do I go, who do I turn to. I am under the best lung hospital in this country, The Royal Brompton . They have now dumped me and passed me over to ENT at Hammersmith hospital. I am getting nowhere and I am getting worse. The operation was a disaster and I am drowning in my own mucous. What can I do? Is there anyone in the world who can help me, please. Thank you.”

Here were my first and second responses to this woman: “I am not a medical professional, just a sort of an "expert patient", so what help I can offer is limited. I just sent an email to a noted ENT in the U.S. with whom I am acquainted and asked if he knows of a highly regarded colleague in the U.K., where you apparently live. When he responds I'll let you know. You need to find an ENT who can offer real help in your particular case. A number of sinus patients do not respond to normal therapy. Operations often don't help either. I've had two of them myself, and I can't say they helped much.

You didn't say if you have tried the pulsating nasal irrigation with saline solution mentioned in my article. This should offer some help in clearing the mucous from your system. It sounds like your cilia system isn't working well. Clearing mucous seems like it should be a trivial thing, but it isn't. The pulsating nasal irrigation should clear things out, at least temporarily. I'm sure you can find the Hydro Pulse machine in the UK. Try this site: Pharmacy Solutions.

There is a relatively new area of research based on the theory that some sinus patients have an unusual immune response to the presence of fungi. You can see a video of Dr. David Sherris describing this on his web site www.drsherris.com. Click the video button on the right, or you can also read a written report on the link just above the video. This mechanism is a bit complicated and technical. Dr. Sherris is a researcher with the Mayo Clinic, and his practice is in Buffalo, NY. He has developed a therapy called anti-fungal therapy which helps a number of people with chronic sinusitis. You could email his office and ask if he has colleagues in the UK who practices this therapy. This may not be your problem, but it is an avenue to be aware of. If I were you I would look at everything.

Hope this helps. It sounds like you are suffering a lot, and I'm sorry for that. You can only keep researching every possible source of help. Sooner or later you will find a particular doctor or therapy approach that can help you.”

Second response- same day- “Forgot to mention. You need to read a couple of books. Start with "Sinus Relief Now" by Dr. Jordan Josephson, Director, New York Nasal and Sinus Center. Read also :"The Sinus Cure 7 Simple Steps" by Dr. Murray Grossan. Dr. Grossan is the inventor of the Hydro Pulse nasal irrigation machine I mentioned.”

The dialog continues here- Chronic Sinus Congestion Part 2