Sinusitis/Labyrinthitis ???
 

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can offer any ideas as to what I am suffering from and how long it could take to clear up!?

I was diagnosed with Sinusitis (Chronic) about a month ago (although the problem has been going on for 2 months now) after symptoms of light headedness/balance problems and inflamed maxillary and frontal sinuses. I had not suffered from a cold or anything prior to this. I was put on 2 courses of antibiotics and they haven't seemed to do any good.

My frontal sinus is not as swollen now and I don't feel nearly as congested, I still have a considerable post nasal drip according to the doctor. My main problem is that I am still more or less constantly "spacy" (it isn't really dizziness) unless I'm lying down in bed. I have been spending most of the last month in bed due to this.

After a recent visit to the doctor over concern at a swollen temple he has taken a blood sample for an ESR test. He says I have a swollen temporal artery and it could be temporal arteritis (bear in mind I am only 26!) I am experiencing mild infrequent headaches on both temples seperately. Could this just be an effect of the sinusitis? Another doctor said he could feel a good pulse in both sides, I myself cannot find a pulse in either side but I'm not good at feeling a pulse anywhere! Could the infection have moved in to the Ethmoid or Sphenoid sinus or somewhere else? I get a puffy area around the temple depending on what side I am lying on, like there is fluid in my face that moves about dependend on my head position. After quite a hot shower yesterday the areas just above my eyebrows and around my temples puffed up quite considerably along with what looked like a heat rash (the rash I usually get after a hot shower) and then went away after about 5mins.

I am obviously quite concerned at this as I am most certainly not in a state to fly but am also worried about what implications it could have on obtaining a Class 1 medical in the future.

I am not entirely satisfied at the doctors diagnosis and am going to see an ENT surgeon on Monday who will hopefully recommend an MRI or similar so a proper diagnosis can be made.

If anyone feels like making comment or suggestion it would be very much appreciated as I said earlier I am getting rather worried about it (I'm a bit of a hypochondriac also!!)

Thanks,
Jimmydacraw

Edit : I forgot to mention that I hold a Class 2 medical at the moment. What are the implications for that? Should I be telling the CAA or anything?

It sounds as though you are doing all the right things, but unless you are advised against it for some reason, dooshing with sterile saline solution may help more than you would imagine.

It requires some effort and patience to persuade the water to go to the right areas...leaning backwards off a chair -- holding nose and blowing. etc. GENTLY!

I have a bit of a thing about salt...mentioned it several times, but it does seem to be one of those natural remedies that make sense. Perhaps it stems from our evolutionary background.

Well I saw me ENT consultant today and he had a look up my nose with an endoscope. Apparently the sinus openings are all looking healthy! He has now ordered a CAT scan to try and identify where the problem lies. I have seen 3 doctors and they are all completely stumped for a diagnosis. Hopefully something will show up on the scan that can be treated.

I've been trying to do a little research of my own on the internet to see if I can find anything that it could be but am having no luck! The only thing that looked slightly similar was Fibromyalgia. The main area of my swelling is now around the temple and the outside edges of the eye (the Zygoma I believe?).

Again any comments or ideas are more than welcome!

Sorry If this doesn't seem a very appropriate thread but as I said previously it is really starting to concern me now as it is dragging on for so long!

Jimmydacraw

Just a shot in the dark here - but if it is affecting your balance, it might be some kind of weird ear infection that is agitating the surrounding areas as well (like your sinuses)

Have you been away on a foreign trip recently?

I'd see about getting the strongest antibiotic available and see what happens after that!

A mate of mine got really, really sick about six months after coming back from Thailand a few years back, and after two weeks of blood tests and lumbar punctures and all sorts of other satanic stuff, he was given a whopper of a course of anti-b's and then it was over as quickly as it started.

They told him that it was probably a very mild infection that was happy to live itself out on the quiet and then something kicked it up to a more severe level.

This might go down as crap to you - but just thought I'd throw it in there!

Hope it works out!

Wayne

Thanks for the reply Farrell. I was in Western Australia back in May for 2 months, was in various places up as far as Port Hedland. I was bitten by plenty of flying beasts so I guess there is scope for an infection to be passed on there?

The balance side of things appears to be getting a bit better the last couple of days, it is more the swelling around my temples that is bothering me now (seems to always be worse on the right side) so with any luck things will continue to get better and whatever was the cause of it will cease to be. Incidentally does anyone know if there are lymph nodes on your temples that swell up when you are fighting a virus/infection?

If it was an infection caught abroad I would assume that the 3 courses of antibiotics would have gotten rid of it? Although I guess if they were designed to target my sinuses then they may not have been effective.

Jimmydacraw.