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Conditions and Diseases > Sinusitis Forum > Sinus Inflamation, No Infection, Bad Headaches
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Q: Sinus Inflamation, No Infection, Bad Headaches
asked by: Mathew777 on July 26th, 2004
New User
Hello - I have bad chronic headaches that come and go with no noticable pattern. I have tried several drs and just can't seem to get answers or pointed in the right direction. Below is a list of what is going on:

some of the basics:
-i have stabbing headaches across my forehead and the left-top and top side of my head. These headaches seem to come and go without reason. They last from 4 to 24 hours and average about 2/3rds of the day.
-also of note, for about 2 years before this started, I would get a stabbing warm pain in the top-right of my head. I rarely get that anymore and it is accompanied by everything else if I do.
-the headaches can start in the morning or late morning or afternoon, rarely do they start at night
-i have started recently to become slightly dizzy, flushed, slightly disoriented, and foggy headed when the headaches are worst.
-i have chronic (sinus?) pressure, some in my face but mostly in my forehead.
-i can barely move air through my nose and would suffocate if forced to
-i never have any nasal drainage
-i never have itchy/water eyes
-a few times that I have cried hard (unrelated to the pain) my sinuses instantly totally block up and seem to fill with mucous and the ensuing pressure is herrendous
-if I go 5 feet under water a sharp stabbing pain in my ears starts which is immediately excruciating

what I have tried:
-oxymetalazine (afrin), I used it on and off for 2 months several weeks at a time. It worked wonders - I could breathe clearer than I ever realized I even should and had no pressure and only minor headache. I have not used it in 6 mos.
-every antihistamine, no effect
-rounds of several antibiotics, no change
-small trials of cortical steroids (oral, nasal, and shots), minimal if any effect!
-pseudophredrine, it used to help, but then stopping it for awhile and trying it again has little effect
-ibuprofen used to work, but even not taking it for many months has no effect now
-acetaminophen (loath to take it) sometimes has a good effect and sometimes a bad effect
-aspirin seems to have a little effect on the headache but causes a different kind of pain discomfort
-imitrex in small doses seems to help a little with the pain but the side effects are not tolerable
-acupuncture, no help
-chiropractice, no help, but didn't give it enough tries maybe?

Medical discoveries:
-nasopharyngoscopy reveals massive inflamation of the sinuses and throat with no discernable infection
-ct w/o contast shows only polypoidal mucosal thickening
-i have a deviated septum (although a mirrow shows there are openings on both side of my nose)
-standard blood and urinalysis workups reveal everything is normal.

Some history:
-i quit smoking recently for 4 mos and quit caffeine at the same time for 5 mos with no beneficial effect
-34 mos ago stopped using cocaine after 2 mos heavy use
-18 mos ago had 3 top front root canals for badly damaged teeth and 5 crowns placed all in a row
-15 mos ago had worst headache of my life for several days after staying up 50 hours for work. The headaches seem to have began sometime around here
-14 mos ago had a really bad sore throat for about 3 weeks. Thesinus congestion seemed to begin or increase around this time

i know this is a lot of information. But I am just at a loss as what to try or do next. I have to be very careful financially how many specialists I go to, plus what tests get run and rerun. I can't take this any longer. It is eroding my sanity and life as I am more debilitated at work and my mood plummets.

Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Matthew
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Replies(9)
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sandyallen
replied on July 26th, 2004
Extremely eHealthy
Have you been to an e.N.T.(ears, nose, throat) specialist, they can sometimes help more. Are you under a lot of stress, this does not help any situation!, I used to take afrin a lot, it helped and it did give me a slight buzz! I am no Dr., but, it does sound like sinuses! But if I were you I would get to a Dr.
Take care!

Good luck!

Sincerely,
sandy
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MrsMustang
replied on July 29th, 2004
New User
Mathew,

i have the same kind of headaches and have pretty much tried the same treatments as yourself. I have had a deviated septum for about the past 4 yrs. And also get horible sore throats right before I seem to get a sinus infection. Over the counter sinus medicine does nothing for me anymore along with nose spray and clarinex I am also being given. I recently seen an ent and was sent for a ct scan of my sinuses. The scan showed thickening of the mucos which I am told is causing the inflammation and headaches. I was put on prednisone and avelox. The prednisone helped while I was on it, but no sooner did I stop taking it the headaches started to come back, but not as bad. I am going to see another Dr. In this practice next week to hopefully find a real solution to the problem.

If one of these Dr. Can provide me any other inforamtion I will be sure to pass it along.

Good luck,
mustang
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wakkochic17
replied on July 29th, 2004
Experienced User
Have you tried going to a neurologist? While your sinuses do show inflammation, many headaches that feel like sinus headaches are actually migraines. You have the exact symptoms of someone with migraines. I would try a neurologist as your next course. While you may need to try several meds (since not all work for everyone), if they don't work then it will rule out the migraines.
Be very careful with affrin, it can make your sinuses worse.
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andy1858
replied on August 4th, 2004
New User
I Have the Exact Same Symptons
I have had these symptons for about 1 1/2 years. I have had 2 sinus surgeries over the last year, still no relief.I have had mri of my head, 5 sinus cat scans. I have no infection, but lots of pain and sinus swelling. Ringing in my ear. I am going through allergy testing at this time. They say they will probably start allergy shots. I am allergic to different types of grass. Maybe thats the probably. But like you I do not have itchy or watery eyes. Or the common allergy symptons. If I find the answer I will let you know. I hope you can do the same for me.
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oconnor13
replied on August 23rd, 2004
New User
Sinus Probs/headaches
I, too, have suffered from these same problems for the last two years. I have been to see 2 ents, an allergist and an accupuncturist, but found no answers. I went through immunotherapy and took allergy medication for nearly two years, with no effect. This year, I began suffering from a chronic congestion, but with no mucos involved. I went to see a new ent, who diagnosed me with turbinate dysfunction and recommended I have a sinus procedure to shrink the turbinates.

Then, at the direction of my primary care physician, I went to the diamond headache clinic in chicago and was diagnosed with tension-type migraines. The doctor stated that it is a little known fact that migraines cause congestion, and that if you treat the migraines the congestion will disappear as well. In addition, the medication I take, zomig (nasal spray) for migraines also completely clears any congestion I have, which further proves that the congestion is being caused by the migraines, since the medication does not have any form of decongestant in it whatsoever.

My suggestion is to see someone (a headache clinic, neurologist, etc.) who specializes in migraines, and I have a feeling you will get to the root of your problem.
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rohtoc
replied on October 9th, 2004
New User
Health Suplement For Sinue
Allergies could be due to depleted/weaken immune. System and depleted antioxidant defense system.

I am taking some health . Supplement.
I had tried the antioxidant supplement (grape seed extract which inhibits the release of histamine, and harbors anti-inflammatory properties)
i feel better at times and can breathe better. I will try the nutritional supplement soon.

You can give it a try. Pm me if you want the necessary information.
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kayak2mom
replied on October 12th, 2004
New User
Have they tested you for a thyroid problem? I have read that sinus congestion can be from that...


I also have daily headaches, several types, sinus problems, infections, cysts, surgeries etc nothing has really helped....


I hope you can figure out a way to help! I also wondered if the doctors know about the past cocaine use, if that might have some connection?


Hang in there....A neuro would be a good idea to try help figure this out!
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Dooba
replied on October 13th, 2004
New User
"sinus" Headaches
I would recommend seeing a neurologist who specializes in headache and an ent (and have the 2 of them confer). I am the former. Many many many migraineurs have nasal congestion. Many nasal decongestants have anti-migraine properties. There is also a recently proposed type of headache called nirsh. Non-infectious rhino-sinusitis headache. I believe you will require several long-term preventative medication trials (one at a time) possibilities include: gabapentin, nortriptyline, amitriptyline, topiramate, etc. Avoid afrin as it should never be used more than 2 days a week. Abortives such as eletriptan may be somewhat useful if taken early in the attack. Good luck--the meds will not need to be there life-long but perhaps one year. Vitamins, anti-oxidants, allergy shots etc won't hurt you, but the chance that they''l help is very slim.
-dooba
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Keshav Das
replied on July 29th, 2006
New User
Beware of all migraine meds!!! They are okay but only once or twice a month. More than that you will get rebound headaches. All migraine meds have lots of crazy side-effects.
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