Hi all,

Sorry for the length of this post but my sinus problems have been going on for a little while now and I've tried a lot of different treatments. I guess I'm just looking for some advice, sympathy or maybe just a "I've felt this too and I'm better now!" - I really feel at the end of my tether at the thought that it's just going to go on forever and would love to hear from anyone who's experienced the same (or similar) and has recovered.

I'm currently 30 and I really started to notice the problems starting about 2 years ago after a case of labyrinthitis.

Some weeks after the labyrinthitis was cured, I started experiencing dull aches in my temples and the area around my eyes and an unpleasant taste in my mouth. The latter was accompanied by this weird feeling that there was something hard - like a small piece of food - trapped at the back of my mouth near the tonsils. This could last for anywhere from a few minutes to a few days before eventually a small lump would become dislodged (sometimes when I coughed, sometimes for no apparent reason at all).

These lumps were really not pleasant. Although very small in size (most were no bigger than a breadcrumb, although the larger ones were maybe getting on for a small pea), they were incredibly malodorous. This also caused bad breath while the lumps were still there and it became quite troubling - as soon as I could feel one there, I just wanted it out but there was no way of forcing it. The lumps would just come loose as and when they pleased.

Eventually, I just started feeling awful all the time. My glands were swollen, my ears ached, my teeth ached, my jaws ached, my nose felt constantly like there was some kind of blockage right at the back - I could breathe easily and still smell things quite clearly and no mucus was coming out of my nose, but it just hurt right at the top, between the eyes. My headaches were worse and I was just so tired all the time during the day I could barely function at work and yet I kept waking up throughout the night and couldn't sleep.

I went to my doctor and have had many tests and treatments since then. I started off trying to just give myself saltwater nasal irrigations daily but that seemed to make things worse. I've since had multiple nasal sprays (Beclometasone and then Nasonex (which I still take (two sprays in each nostril daily)) and several antibiotic treatments. The initial infection didn't react at all to amoxicillin or doxycycline but did react to klaricid and fasigyn when used in conjunction with one another.

I felt like this latter treatment had cleared it up but, about a month later, some of the symptoms started returning. The main one that just keeps coming back (and I've had several courses of antibiotics since then (mostly doxycycline but also a second klaricid course)) is the balls of mucus which is also probably the most unpleasant.

The most recent tests I've had were a CT scan and an allergy blood test. The blood test revealed I have a lot of allergies (most notably dust mites and tree pollen, but also cats, dogs, etc) and the CT scan that I have a deviated septum. This is what the doctor feels is the cause of the repeat infections - the combination of the allergies inflaming the sinuses and the septum prevented them from draining properly.

I live in the UK and there are substantial wait times between tests and treatments but I have another appointment with the ENT specialist in a few weeks to discuss having an operation to correct the septum in the hope that this might fix it. In the meantime, I've been prescribed mucodyne (carbocisteine) which is a drug normally given to bronchial patients to thin mucus. I've not noticed any positive effects from this and, just recently, the infection has come back yet again.

I've been taking loratadine daily for the allergies and, whilst I don't noticably experience obvious allergic reactions, I'm not really sure it's doing anything.

I am currently experiencing the mucus balls, the bad breath, the headaches, toothaches, swollen glands and a new one too - my jaw feels like it constantly needs to be clicked back into place and yet refuses to click. Not sure if this is just a new symptom of the recurring infection or if it's tied in to the mucodyne?

I'm also asthmatic and take Symbicort (budesonide and formoterol) daily. I'm starting to feel like I'm taking a ridiculous number of different medications every day and to no avail since the infection just keeps returning. I just wish there was something I could do. It has such a tremendously negative effect on a lot of factors in my life from personal relationships to being able to effectively do my job and it's making me enormously miserable.

Sorry again for the length of this post. Thanks if you made it this far down!

So any of it ring any bells? Do I have a chance of ever feeling better?

Cheers.