Blocked sinuses...again

[Hilomom]

This is the 3rd time in 6 months. My sinuses and nose are so plugged that literally, no air is getting through. Xray of sinus in January showed NO airspace at all. Took Doxycycline ( which made me nauseous) and Sudafed and finally after 2 weeks I began to notice some improvement. And now, months almost to the day, I'm plugged up again. So, please, dear CLL community, could this be CLL related? If so, how in the heck do I deal with/manage it? I think I need to get my regular Dr to refer me to an ENT. Does this sound reasonable? I just can't imagine going through this every 2 months.

[mrsjsmith]

Sorry to hear this,

I also suffer with narrow sinus. Not sure what country you are in ? but the antibiotic Azithromycin, Avymys spray and Sterimar saline spray all help me.

Do you know what your Ig levels are and are you eligible for IVIG ? There has been a lot of comments regarding this recently.

Finally you need an ENT referral.

Colette

[AdrianUK in reply to mrsjsmith]

I am also on the so called “holy trinity” of sinus treatments. And it helps me tho I do still have excess sinus fluids. In my case it’s partly allergic so I also take fexofenadine antihistamine tablets. This all just about keeps it under control.

And as explained in the Uk anyway one of the pre requisites of being given IVIG (boost of antibodies) is that you have first tried a regular antibiotic for a few months. At the moment this seems to be controlling my previously regular infections quite well. If it stops working then my doctors will check my own antibody levels and consider replacement at that point.

Also sometimes ENT will consider you for surgery if that seems sensible.

[Hilomom in reply to AdrianUK]

Thanks Adrian. I'm not totally convinced that my sinuses are infected, but rather, just filled to capacity! I did have sinus surgery in the early 90's, which helped me.

I'm going to start asking more questions and get a referral to an ENT. This seems to happen on a very cyclical basis, so I'm keeping track of it. I will also suggest, if antibiotics are needed, a "Z-pack", which here in the US is the azithro....(sorry, dont know the whole name).

[MsLockYourPosts Passed Volunteer]

You really need to insist on seeing an ENT. I spent years with blocked sinuses. It took sinus surgery twice, several years apart, to fully remedy the situation, and it was totally worth the few days of discomfort. An ENT will be able to determine whether your issue has to do with a structural defect, polyps, swelling of the sinus membranes, or something else. At this point I would not focus on CLL being involved. There might be a slight chance of it being related, but I think that it’s more likely to be something else. Regardless, it is important to see a specialist so you can get some relief.