Okay so I typically camp monthly with the scouts. In a tent. I didn't go in April because I was getting used to my new CPAP.
I practiced at home with my (AirSense 10) CPAP and plugged it into my battery pack, turned off the heated hose and humidifier. Slept all night, woke up great, my throat was a little dry without the humidifier but it was fine. Battery pack worked!
Last night was my first trial run camping with my CPAP. I packed it up and got in my tent and plugged it into my battery pack before bed. Except it was extra hard to breathe in my tent for some reason. I got my (full face) mask on and machine on and I was able to breathe through my mouth but it was a struggle through my nose. Usually I just breathe through my nose with my CPAP.
Anyway, my sleep was... not great. I mean, it was way better than before CPAP. But not as good as home with CPAP. My sinuses were clogging, my nose kept feeling like it was gonna be running. I took claritin yesterday and used flonase... but man it was just harder to breathe even with my mask. :( Maybe it was just a fluke because pollen counts are so high?
I'm signed up to attend summer camp which will be 7 nights in a row in a tent in a rustic campground. I have a place I can charge my battery pack each day for use each night so that's figured out. I just hope I'm able to breathe better through my mask. And I really wanted to kinda clean it out because my nose ran a little and that was gross... but we don't really have great facilities for cleaning CPAP stuff at camp. We have a latrine at the campsite, only running water is a rusty well. Any tips for me from people who have had more experience camping with CPAP?

Hello,
I made a throwaway account for my child’s privacy.
But I’ve been down a rabbit hole looking at systemic mastocytosis, and want to know what journeys people have been on.
My son is four. In the last 2.5 years he’s been hospitalized 3 times, and to emergency a handful of times. We have asthma/allergy clinic active. Also now ENT and soon to follow GI for suspected eosinophilic esophagitis. He definitely has allergies. He’s allergic to peas and about 20 environmental allergies such as trees, weeds, dogs, cats, etc.
He’s had severe bouts of swelling, rashes, nasal, respiratory symptoms, swallowing issues, bloody noses are constant, and bouts of diarrhea that seem to come on I’m allergy season. We’ve seen lots of specialists in the hospital, and asthma/allergy writes him off as seasonal allergies. However, he just had another flare up of symptoms starting Sunday night after playing outside for a few hours. His symptoms were almost to the point of me wanting to bring him to ER. He was short of breath, runny nose, eyes swollen shut, coughing, rash, stomach pain, broken blood vessels in his eyes, petechiae around his eyes, and hives. I have multiple food allergy kids and by FARE standards for food allergy, he was “anaphylactic”. I gave a double dose of Benadryl and it helped at least calm his breathing within a short while. I stayed on the Benadryl every four hours for several days. His swallowing difficulties have gotten worse with allergies the last few weeks and he had another choking episode last night.
My question is, in regards to controlling symptoms as well as diagnosis and talking to doctors. We’ve tried a wide bunch of antihistamines, at one point he was on 15mg twice a day of Zyrtec which seemed to do nothing. Xyzal seemed ineffective as well. He’s been on Claritin daily for the last year, and allergist just had us increase dose and give twice a day, on top of pataday drops, Flonase, and Benadryl. It’s taken 5 days of all those medicines, for swelling and allergy symptoms to decrease. Which seems unusual, like if I’m having an allergy, I take Benadryl, I’m pretty much resolved after a nap. My son however, it’s like once we are behind a flare up, it keeps compounding on top of itself, if that makes sense, and have to be extremely aggressive to get him out of the scary zone.
He’s traumatized by hospitals and doctors, and I don’t want to put him through more than is necessary, but I feel like his symptoms are far more out of control than normal allergy symptoms. I’ve been reading about EOE and mast cell disorders and how they can go hand in hand. I looked back at his labs for the last 2 years, and his eosinophils are consistently high, every blood test he’s had. Sometimes more mildly and others through the roof. I haven’t been able to find anything about what feels like antihistamine resistance or taking so ling to bring symptoms down also wanted to know your individual experiences that way.
I’m worried sick and just want him to be able to feel better and be a normal little boy, who can play outside and not seem borderline like he’s dying afterwards, any guidance is appreciated.
Thanks so much. ❤️

Hello,
I made a throwaway account for my child’s privacy.
But I’ve been down a rabbit hole looking at systemic mastocytosis, and want to know what journeys people have been on.
My son is four. In the last 2.5 years he’s been hospitalized 3 times, and to emergency a handful of times. We have asthma/allergy clinic active. Also now ENT and soon to follow GI for suspected eosinophilic esophagitis. He definitely has allergies. He’s allergic to peas and about 20 environmental allergies such as trees, weeds, dogs, cats, etc.
He’s had severe bouts of swelling, rashes, nasal, respiratory symptoms, swallowing issues, bloody noses are constant, and bouts of diarrhea that seem to come on I’m allergy season. We’ve seen lots of specialists in the hospital, and asthma/allergy writes him off as seasonal allergies. However, he just had another flare up of symptoms starting Sunday night after playing outside for a few hours. His symptoms were almost to the point of me wanting to bring him to ER. He was short of breath, runny nose, eyes swollen shut, coughing, rash, stomach pain, broken blood vessels in his eyes, petechiae around his eyes, and hives. I have multiple food allergy kids and by FARE standards for food allergy, he was “anaphylactic”. I gave a double dose of Benadryl and it helped at least calm his breathing within a short while. I stayed on the Benadryl every four hours for several days. His swallowing difficulties have gotten worse with allergies the last few weeks and he had another choking episode last night.
My question is, in regards to controlling symptoms as well as diagnosis and talking to doctors. We’ve tried a wide bunch of antihistamines, at one point he was on 15mg twice a day of Zyrtec which seemed to do nothing. Xyzal seemed ineffective as well. He’s been on Claritin daily for the last year, and allergist just had us increase dose and give twice a day, on top of pataday drops, Flonase, and Benadryl. It’s taken 5 days of all those medicines, for swelling and allergy symptoms to decrease. Which seems unusual, like if I’m having an allergy, I take Benadryl, I’m pretty much resolved after a nap. My son however, it’s like once we are behind a flare up, it keeps compounding on top of itself, if that makes sense, and have to be extremely aggressive to get him out of the scary zone.
He’s traumatized by hospitals and doctors, and I don’t want to put him through more than is necessary, but I feel like his symptoms are far more out of control than normal allergy symptoms. I’ve been reading about EOE and mast cell disorders and how they can go hand in hand. I looked back at his labs for the last 2 years, and his eosinophils are consistently high, every blood test he’s had. Sometimes more mildly and others through the roof. I haven’t been able to find anything about what feels like antihistamine resistance or taking so ling to bring symptoms down also wanted to know your individual experiences that way.
I’m worried sick and just want him to be able to feel better and be a normal little boy, who can play outside and not seem borderline like he’s dying afterwards, any guidance is appreciated.
Thanks so much. ❤️

1. Use Rock Tape on edges (or cover the whole thing if you don't mind the cost). When using rock tape you can cut the strips down the middle to double the usable material and I've only had issues with the tape coming up twice in the last 60 days. I use the sensitive skin version, it's supposedly 30% less adhesive than the regular. It's also more elastic so it's more likely to snap back on it's self if you stretch it and let if got before using so move slowly. The regular is definitely the better tape but the sensitive has no issues it's just not as strong of tape. If you want link for tape just ask. But I don't want to make you think I'm an affiliate with a link off the bat. One of my physical therapists will refuse to use even the company branded tape, supposedly makes the location buy him this tape to use.
   
2. Use ethanol wipes to cleanse the skin. Before applying tape.
   
3. Stretch the pad horizontal or vertically when applying to your not stretched area of the body, stretch the pad in directions that the body part will move in (back should be vertical, base of neck should be horizontal). If you apply it to your pack when you're leaving forward with it pushing it, it means it'll get bunched up when you make your back straight.
   
4. You can spray Flonase on the area after cleansing it to reduce irritation. Even the Rock Tape sensitive makes my skin a little red. But I'm pretty sensitive from chemotherapy/immunotherapy. Let the Flonase dry before applying patch. A doctor can write a prescription for Flonase if you say have a sudden onset of nasal congestion after reading this post, that can be diagnosed as allergies via messaging and no appointment. It's a steroid so it reduce the immune response to the tape.
   

These are prescription lidocaine patches. Which don't look as well made as OTC. I've never used the OTC. Palliative care got them covered by insurance without me doing anything.

Has anyone had success with Astepro? Doc recommended taking it with my Flonase nasal spray to manage my rhinitis, but it left a horrid bitter taste I just couldn’t get out my mouth the entire day. Worse is while the rhinitis seemed to get better- the gut issues I’ve been dealing with seemed to be even worse that day- maybe it had something to do with it maybe it didn’t? I really don’t want to try it again due to the taste, so does anyone have advice on the taste? Has it worked for you?

41F nonsmoker, medical cannabis user (no flame)
I have had chronic pain for years that's only been resolved briefly by a month of steroids, or a month on meloxicam with PT.
I've dealt with TMJ dysfunction after an auto accident age 20, which also broke my femur and it has a rod and nails to this day. By 25 it was no longer mouth guards and muscle relaxers, and I was getting injections in the base of my skull, along my neck, and in my upper back out towards my shoulders. I was told it was saline, and the records are lost. I considered this a drawback of my prior occupation in a call center.
Age 35 my nails were drying out, splitting vertically, and my eyes were beginning to stay irritable. I topped out at 214 pounds and I'm 62 inches tall. I had been taking Saphris and Welbutrin for five years and aside from being sore and exhausted all the time, my lower neck had been consistently tight and burning enough for me to look into CBD. I also switched to Fetzima from Welbutrin, and the muscle cramps were comical.
In 2018 I decided to stop Saphris and use this body. My left hip was always restricted after the auto accident. I didn't understand why and no one suggested additional tests or MRI, or more aggressive PT.
2019 was a big year for me when I took a job on retail, after I hadn't worked for a few years. I had headaches all the time from my eyes and the light, which hadn't been a thing. I had more than 1 migraine per quarter, which was my baseline.
Under the stress of the pandemic I pushed myself. I got my symmetry, ROM, flexibility, balance, and strength back. It was rad, until it wasn't.
I was sweating out my headbands up to twice per shift, drinking 6 bottles of water every day at work. My face was always red. Cold tolerance lowered. My lower back felt awful. I went to see the orthopedic for guidance on do more, do less, do different? 2020 fall I have mild OA of SI joints. 15mg meloxicam and 1 month PT had not only made my back feel really good, but everything else as well that's been sore and irritable for years. We agreed to move to rheumatology.
2021 april: Hypermobility and anti-SSB. My ANA is not clinically positive and has a specked pattern. Long term tolerance to meloxicam is untenable. 18 months on hydroxychloriquine no conclusive relief.
I have had a colonoscopy and endoscopy but I'm not clear on 2020 or 21. Constipation, painful and nauseating, passing a concerning amount of mucus, revealed a 10mm single polyp that was benign. No signs of crohns and otherwise unremarkable aside from "senna abuse" and I quit that stuff the next year. The endoscopy was unremarkable, although I had already known that without prilosec for an unknown period of time that either I will be vomiting or at the very least need to vomit to relieve that episode. Baking soda water worked in my 20s and stopped working by my 30s.
2023 I had been through requested reduced hours, reduced duties, and no social life because once I got home and stopped moving it's like a timer that I had 40 minutes before I could barely move. Days off seemed to be more about recovery than catching up. I would find myself unable to stay awake in the middle of the day and the naps are always 4 ½ hours. I called out for those flares but they just kept happening. I felt like I was on fire every time my temp lowered to 97°. To be fair to my coworkers and myself, I quit that job. I tried to work regular hours at a different place that didn't have a 40 lb all day requirement, and within 3 weeks I was done. I couldn't think. I couldn't drive because of my head being so fuzzy. I didn't have access to water all shift and maybe it had something to do with it, but I quit.
The next month I started doing Rick Simpson Oil. It felt like I cleared the junk out of my head finally from all my medications. Now I've been thinking more, taking notes, and seeing how deep this goes. I've lowered so much of my stress with therapy and become more creative, and while all that has helped I am still sick.
December 23 my LDL was 195 and I was put on 10 mg rosuvastatin. I will say I know what happened there. I doubled down on foods I knew I could eat once I confirmed adult onset allergies. Sunflower seeds and undercooked/uncooked eggs are a no go. I also have an allergy to chlorhexadine.
I have tender points in so many places like near the elbows, shoulders, around my head, my neck is awful. My legs have them around the knees, thighs, hips, top and sides of my butt, face in front of the ears.
This year I screwed up my left shoulder with a labral tear. Physical therapy was fixing it, until it wasn't. Everything seemed well with strength and motion but then intense pain down my arm that was hurting my elbow as well. Mri showed biceps tendonotis, and I got a cortisone shot. Life was good. My neck felt better and the two recurrent knots in my left shoulder blade were much looser. Back to physical therapy, and after 1 week it's going to hell again. I have other tendons down that arm feeling like bruises from a car wreck but they are no larger than a thumbprint and no one can see them.
I've left my legs alone before they are too tender. I tried the theragun on them tonight and remembered why I don't. I asked who the pain specialists were in the practice, and now I'm here.
Current medications Lamictal, effexor, adderall D3 5000ui, chelated potassium, garden of life probiotics for colon health and their raw one women vitamin Zyrtec, prilosec twice daily (laryngeal reflux) 10 mg Crestor. As needed 350 mg soma, tessalon 100mg, cannabis Flonase, Astepro (laryngeal reflux) to keep my voice Restasis hurts my eyes for the entire day, not just application, and was discontinued after 5 weeks. My glands aren't dead and we're going to treat them manually at the next visit.
Continued concerns are my toes. I get chilblains in the winter while constantly wearing bombas slippers. The outer edge of my toes next to the pinky randomly numb out and are very uncomfortable. My big toe goes numb halfway down the nail bed randomly. Days where I cannot control my body temperature, I stay under the covers shivering until I pass out as soon as I'm warm... Then it's usually the 4 ½ hour snooze. My limbs are always affected. I have had a shawl in bed the last few years for the on then off with the cold shoulders.
I get zaps through my knuckles when trying to massage my arms with glides. I use Epiderm for a barrier on my face. It's been known to feel on fire and get a rash from my own sweat or tears. I will have some small degree of rash or tiny pinpoint hives here and there throughout the day on my hands unless I diligently moisturize. My cuticles recede the same without care. Wounds heal more slowly because everything seems to itch and I accidentally forget about them and catch them in a scratch. Coconut oil to the groin or the itching starts. Coconut oil in my ear canals as well.
Exclusionary Cardiovascular okay. Treadmill stress good. Echo good. Ekg good. Cholesterol within normal levels. 25 pound weight loss in 4 months and complete cbc okay from march '24.
If I'm missing anything pertinent lmk. 175 pounds. No oral contraceptive. Regular mentrual cycle. Bursitis 2x left hip. I started screaming after I woke up to either bursitis or tendonitis at the right hip last week, and the follow up from the mri last week will be Wednesday. Xray unremarkable.
Cervical unremarkable, slight bulge and osteophites. Thorasic unremarkable slight curvature and osteophites. Lumbar as presented earlier in post. All have recommended MRI/specialist.
This issue doesn't track for celebrex or tramadol, but the screaming incidents response to tramadol.

After being diagnosed prediabetic 9 months ago, I’ve made radical changes and gotten my blood sugar back under control. With pollen season having arrived, I’ve got a problem - my allergies.
For years, I’d taken both Cetirizine and Flonase to control my allergies (Cetirizine year round and Flonase in late Spring/early Summer). About three years ago, someone suggested adding 1-2 TBS local, raw honey to my diet every day. The first year I did this it helped a little but years two and three were phenomenal. I’d been told it can take almost a year to build up in your system but when it did, I ditched the Flonase completely and only had to take the Cetirizine in early Spring/early Summer.
When I was ditching sugar, honey lasted longer than granulated but disappeared over the winter. I am very much regretting that now. Even with both Cetirizine and Flonase, I’m miserable. The honey is going back in, blood glucose numbers be damned. What I want to know is whether there’s a best time of the day/way to add it back in. I used to have my 1-2 TBS in my morning coffee/tea. Without the honey, I’ve gotten out of the habit of a morning warm drink but I could add that back in. Is there a better time/way? I have to have it consistent or the exposure to pollen won’t help and if it’s different every day, I won’t be consistent. Morning or night would be better since those times are stable in my routine.

Hey there so I have had sinus pain since late March, it is currently early May. For a couple weeks I thought it was getting better and almost went away but then it came back. So overall I've had this for about 5 - 6 weeks.
I use to have chronic sinus infections and pain. The last time I had sinus problems was 10 years ago. So it's weird it is happening again suddenly. In the past antibiotics would usually solve the problem. I haven't had anything more than very mild seasonal allergies in the past 10 years either.
I take Flonase and have been for about 20 years and use it only about once a week. I started using it for congestion that was causing me migraines.
Symptoms: The main one and only symptom I care about and want fixed is forehead pain and eyebrow area pain. It can be 8/10 some days. My whole head and neck hurt too. I have other muscle tension issues so all the pain is combining into one and it is really brutal. Slight pain on cheek bones. Briefly had a sore throat and white tongue. One day my throat was swollen. I gargled with apple cider vinegar and salt and it went away 15 min later. A little bit of blood was in throat for one day. That was weird because I wasn't coughing so that didn't come from coughing. Very mild ear ache (both ears).
Symptoms I DON'T have: Green/yellow mucus; my mucus is completely clear. I have no cough. No congestion. Nose is not stuffy. No post-nasal drip. My nose is very mildly runny. So no problems with too much mucus or coughing. No additional pain in my face or head when I bend over. No additional pain when I press on sinus areas. No problems breathing. No fever.
Went to the doctor. Two doctor appointments. First one looked up my nose and said there is inflammation. She didnt seem sure or not if I had a bacterial infection but prescribed me doxycycline. I am terrified to take it because the last two times I took antibiotics I had horrible reactions to them. It's a long story. But basically something about my body and antibiotics has been very bizarre the last couple years. I have the doxycycline but haven't taken it. If I am going to take it I have to set aside a few days to see how I react. But honestly I would rather try Amoxicillin first before doxy since it is the first line of antibiotic treatment for sinus infections and seems to have the potential for less intense side effects, so I think I am going to find a doctor to prescribe that to me if I can. I am scared to take them but I have to risk it.
2nd doctor appointment with a different doctor: doctor looked at my ears, nose, throat and mouth and saw some inflammation in the left ear and that was it. He said he doesnt believe I have an infection and saw no reason to prescribe antibiotics.
I don't really know what to think. TW: I am very scared and have a lot of anxiety over this and feel like dying. The pain is ruining my life. I have dealt with so much chronic pain in my life, especially the last few yesrs. I don't know what to do. Maybe if anyone has any opinions or insight into if I have a bacterial infection, a virus, allergies, or just inflammation (but still very painful), or a combination of things, let me know.
My fears are 1. How long will I have to live with this pain and 2. That my sinus problems are bacterial and the only way to fix this is that I will have to take/try antibiotics and having bad reactions to them and having to repeat this cycle and try more antibiotics over and over again
Things I am doing: Nasal rinse with neti pot with baking soda, salt and xylitol packets once every day or two. Tried apple cider vinegar rinse a couple times. Doesnt seem to help at all but I keep doing it.
Taking several supplements: probiotics, garlic, oil of oregano, turmeric, NAC, vitamin C, and others
The thing is, I had a UTI a while back and took two rounds of antibiotics and they didnt work. I did some research and took supplements to get rid of my UTI and it worked very well and went away in about a month. So I figured Id try the same thing again with the sinus infection. But taking supplements doesn't seem to be doing anything.
I fucking hate my life.
Edit: I got a blood test and my neutrophils are a little high. Although high neutrophils can mean tons of things it probably does mean I have a bacterial sinus infection. I am terrified to take antibiotics. I could bawl. Oh my god.

I thought it would be a good time to post about my journey through these difficult conditions I’ve been going through. I’m about at the 3-3.5 month mark since this all started. It all happened 5 months ago when I injured my neck badly at the gym.
I was going through the toughest time of my life, severe anxiety, depression and my spirits were down from the injury. It was some crazy nerve pain and I felt like I wouldn’t be like myself again. Pain doctor prescribed me Meloxicam, Methyl Prednisone, Tizanidine, Cyclobenzaprine and Gabapentin. What a cocktail that was. I took all of that but then stopped taking them because I did not like the way I felt on all of those meds.
One night sleeping, I heard this ringing in my ear and I was like what am I hearing. It put me in a panic and kept me up all night. I couldn’t sleep then I started looking online about tinnitus, doom scrolling the T Reddit. I went to the doctor to get an ear wax removal. She looked in my ears and said I had no wax. She blew some air in my ears, which was a terrible idea and she said I had some fluid in there. Prescribed me Zyrtec the C name of it and Flonase. I took that stuff and it didn’t really help.
Then here comes the ear sensitivities. Noises started sounding louder to me, I was getting crazy sound distortions. I would hear whistling over fans and running water. It was driving me nuts. I’ve never experienced anything like this. Then I searched online and found the hyperacusis sub. I went down a rabbit hole of non stop reading all day and night.
I was in a really dark place. I’ve never been so depressed in my life. Digital audio was harsh to my ears. I couldn’t watch tv, listen to Instagram reels, packaging tape would sound brutal, beeping noises would drive me nuts, I had to have my volume down to a quarter and have it on speaker to talk on the phone. Music was sounding weird with crazy sounds in it. The loud car mufflers would make me jump and panic.
I’ve been a dj all my life. I just turned 37 years old. Music is my life. I haven’t touched the decks since this happened. I would read all the horror stories on here and on Tinnatistalk. People said they couldn’t leave their rooms, shower with earplugs. I thought my life was over and that this is what it was going to be now.
For days and months, this is all I would be doing is doomscrolling and reading all the stories of H and T. I knew this was not good for my mental health. But I want to share with you all that I’m doing much better than when this first started.
I take L Theanine, magnesium glycinate, ginko biloba, vitamin B complex, vitamin D, multivitamin, zinc and magnesium threonate. For sleep, I take gaba, l tryptophan and melatonin. My sleep has gotten much better.
The sound distortions have faded. Music is sounding normal to me now and I can listen to house music all day long now. In the beginning I couldn’t even listen to any music. My ttts spasms have calmed down. At the height of this my ears would be so sore from all the spasms. I can handle going to the gym, restaurants, theme parks, hanging with friends, walking at the park, supermarkets.
I will not go to concerts, raves, movies and dj yet. Maybe down the line when I recover more but I’m so happy to be making progress like this. I felt it was right to write about my journey and give back. Because when I was at my darkest days, people I reached out to on here helped me out. Thank you so much and I hope everybody who is going through this gets better because this is truly debilitating.

Hey all, I'm a 28 year old male experiencing some scary symptoms.
Height: 6'1
Weight: 209 lbs
Pre-existing conditions: Allergies (environmental and food), Asthma
I do not smoke, drink, nor partake in any recreational drug use.
Medications I am on: Flonase, Dupixent 200mg, Zyrtec
Thanks for taking the time to read this ahead of time, I'm going to try to keep this as concise as possible for consistency. I've been struggling a lot for the past 5 weeks and I'm pretty desperate for help and have mostly been passed over and sent on my way at doctor's offices.
I recently was sick 5-6 weeks ago after visiting with my nephew. The symptoms were mainly covid-like but I had no official diagnosis. I experienced congestion, inconsistent feverishness, weakness, fatigue, headaches. These symptoms improved minus the congestion. (I have had multiple occasions where a virus turns into an ear infection, for note)
4-5 weeks ago I wanted to get back to my regular routine, I typically work out a couple times a week so I started with core exercises, I noticed when I tensed up that my right ear started to feel really full and I felt tension in my neck and the back of my head. I had two episodes where I had numbness in the mastoid region that just seemed like nothing would resolve it, almost like bloodflow was an issue in the side of my neck.
I've struggled off and on since then with even the simplest things making me feel congested, anything where I slightly exert myself will leave the sides of my neck feeling tense, as well as the back, and sometimes tightness in my face. The symptoms of this are always worse on the right (the side with the unilateral tinnitus)
I went to my PCP a few times. I was put on two courses of antibiotics, two courses of prednisone as well. The prednisone seemed to temporarily help (30mg taper both times, however once I would get down to 10mg I noticed that the symptoms would start to be exasperated again, the prednisone did nothing for dysacusis or tinnitus)
My PCP eventually ran labs for me and said that my labs looked fine. I was then instructed that I absolutely need to be seen by an ENT. I went to an ENT, did a hearing test, my hearing test came back normal with one slight dip at the 4khz range in my right ear that was, according to them, at the limit of the normal range, but not into slight loss.
My tymp readings were as follows.
Right Ear: Volume of 1.3, Pressure of -15, Compliance of .4
Left Ear: Volume of 1.5, Pressure of 0, Compliance of .6
The first ENT who ran the audiogram told me it looked as if I am in the natural progression of a healing ear infection. He did not touch my throat at all and spent about 5 minutes with me in total. I understand he sees patients all the time and he is certified in surgery and knows more than I do, but I wish he would have at least touched my neck. He sent in some prednisone (30mg taper) for me as well as dexamethasone sodium phosphate eye drops that can be used in the otic route as well.
Eventually my symptoms came back as this taper dwindled down (finished the taper today), I called back and asked for the nearest appointment to be seen by the ENT again. I went back in today, the doctor told me he didn't note any fluid in my ear but could tell there was some pressure. He said he didn't like the other tapers I was put on, and wanted to go in swinging, put me on 60mg taper that I am to start tomorrow as I finished my taper today. This ENT touched my neck briefly but did not engage me about my muscles feeling tense and feeling tightness in my neck, he asked if I had difficulty swallowing. I told him I did not, and that was it.
Basically I'm wondering if someone could offer any comment on what this could be, I'm at a loss here and wondering if I'll be dealing with tinnitus, hyperacusis, and dysacusis from now on or if it will get better. Thanks so much for your time, and sorry this wasn't as concise as I wanted it to be.

I (34/f) suspected I had LPR or asthma a little over a year ago - my ENT handed me a pamphlet and showed me the door. Symptoms did not persist, so I forgot about it. Come Janurary, my boyfriend caught neurovirus and I have literally never been the same since. That week, I started burping very frequently - after everything I ate/drank. The GI doc I saw chalked it up to "You're young and healthy I think you just have anxiety. Here is an rx for famotidine". I'm a new RN working in oncology, so I was VERY anxious when I first stated my job around that time. The script did NOTHING for me and I discontinued use after 3-4 weeks.
In February, my left ear seems to have become permanently full feeling. Fast forward to the end of March, and I'm having all kinds of bizarre symptoms that I feel are a mix of anxiety and what I described as allergies/asthma. I see an allergist, he immediately does all his tests (skin test, pulmonary function test, etc) - and he is VERY confident I have LPR. He put me on prilosec OTC and flonase, told me to work on my diet, and me to see him again in 6 weeks.
I immediately bought a wedge pillow, cases of alkaline water, and REALLY cleaned up my diet (it's not perfect, but it's a work in progress - I'm loosely following the acid watcher diet but I have my slip ups). I work overnights, so the timing of the prilosec changes depending on when I wake up - but I've been diligent in taking it every day and trying to eat within 30-60 mins of taking it.
I'm starting my 5th week of the meds and my LPR symptoms/esophageal spasms/throat issues are 95% better (even my ear feels way less full) - however, now I'm getting frequent heartburn. The traditional upper-abdomen burning kind. That and I'm still burping, but not nearly as frequently/not after everything I touch anymore. Those are my big symptoms.
I've lost a few pounds, my skin, hair, and nails look better than ever, my poops are great, my energy is good, I'm no longer anxious like I used to be... BUT THIS HEART BURN IS FREAKING ME OUT!!!!!!! WHY DID IT EVOLVE?????
At first it was like "oh weird I have heartburn", then oatmeal gave me heart burn, then I started getting it at the end of the day/at night on an empty stomach - maybe 1-2x a week. And now, for the past 3 or 4 days, I think I've had heartburn intermittently. If nothing during the day, then it's at night or in the morning on an empty stomach if I don't eat quickly enough. Now I'm wondering if it's emotional because I feel it starting to brew as I write this.
I'm seeing a new GI doc in about 2 weeks and I see my allergist in a little under 3 weeks. His plan was to ween me off of the PPI because he doesn't want to see me on it long term. I am also in the process of starting to work with this holistic registered dietician who is also a RN who helps people manage chronic illness through diet.
I am absolutely desperate.
I don't know what to DO or to FEEL!!!!!

I want to know how YOU would handle the following situation...
My father in law body, age and fat shames me regularly while depending on my husband and I for all his needs... I need advice.
He and I usually cut up pretty well and we agree on a lot of things, but he doesn't have a filter, he's grabby, he's rude, he's ornery and overall just runs his mouth more than he should. It's gotten so bad that people are storming away from him angry in stores and he's getting treated differently than the other patients at his doctor appts. (i.e. not allowing him to be in the waiting area where he can talk to the other patients, keeping him contained to a room by himself, keeping the candy jar hidden from him and not allowing conversation to wander at all etc).
His hygiene has gotten very poor. He hasn't showered in at least 2 months and maybe 3 times total in the last year. He's filthy and he stinks BAD. He suffers major allergy issues due to the way he chooses to live and has some health issues also.
I have given him an air purifier, taken apart and cleaned his entire kitchen with bleach and a drill with a rotating brush to get layers of roach and mice turds off every surface. Installed and bait mouse and rat traps all around his house because he won't empty or bait them himself. I organized and paid for exterminators to keep the vermin to a lower population because the way he chooses to live, they will never be gone. He lives in a dilapidated house that his ex dead wife's family owns (my husband's uncle and aunt technically own this home) and they allow my FIL to live there because he pays the taxes and keeps people from stealing their grandma's few sparse posessions. If the city were to step foot on the property they would condemn it. It's got mold, roaches, mice, broken windows all around, roof caving in, the yard looks like a junkyard with numerous broken down vehicles and junk everywhere, mildew and layers upon layers of dust and spiders both inside and outside the house. Looks like it was decorated this way for Halloween, I shit you not.
He has 2 dogs who have never bathed their entire lives. He leaves the front door open no matter what the weather is like and the mice and birds are very comfortable just coming inside and eating his food right off his plate next to him on the couch. I've seen roaches crawling all over his drink and watched him drink it anyway.
He can't cook for himself. I have to cook meals at my home and either have him for dinner and then take him back home or take him food in containers. He can eat snacks and microwave simple things.
He can't do dishes; he is both physically incapable plus the drains are clogged full of roach eggs and flies. He used to claim his water heater being broken was the reason but once his other son replaced it for him nothing changed.
He changes clothes once a month or less and he can't do laundry. We bag up his laundry and wash it for him... forcing me to clean the washer and dryer afterwards... and we fold and put them away... he still wears dirty clothes.
He abuses nose spray and albuterol inhalers and he literally will go through a bottle of nose spray or his albuterol inhaler in 2 days or less. He has learned how to manipulate the emergency room to send the inhalers to a different pharmacy so he can get more of them every month. He also has his other son's in another state send him their albuterol inhalers as well as several boxes of nose spray by mail.
My husband and I spend ALL of our spare time driving 30 mile round trips every single day to ensure his father's needs are met so his dad can continue living this way. I have 2 special needs kids in the home, aged 13 and 21 who have their own sets of doctor, therpy, dentist, PT, school as well as my own and my husbands healthcare and rides to worry about. I cannot tell you the amount of time, money and cleaning spent so my FIL can sleep on a couch in a rotting house and live in a way that actually makes him sick. My husband is enabling him because he's the only parent he has left and I'm going to need advice on how to deal with that too.
Now that I've painted the picture of who I'm talking about here and how much time, energy and money is spent by me to keep him happy... would you believe this man actually has the nerve to routinely fat, age and body shame me to my face and behind my back?
I'm 5'11" and I weigh 185. I have IBS, diverticular disease and ulcerative pancolitis. At age 35 I had emergency surgery that took half of my intestines out of my body as well as my left uterine tube and ovary. So sometimes my belly gets swollen and I look fatter than I really am. Most people call me statuesque and beautiful. I'm shapely, dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin. In addition to being tall, I'm an exotic mix (white, black, chinese, native american). So I'm "attractive" by most standards. My doctor tells me my weight is healthy for my height. I am 44 and I still cycle normally despite it all and would like another child if possible. I'm also growing out my gray hair which my father in law cannot stand.
He routinely makes comments about how fat I am or that my hair is greasy or I have bags under my eyes and will call me disgusting. He will actually rip the gray hairs from the nape of my neck and he talks about me so much that my husband's ex wife and her cohorts hear about it from his other son's, who dislike my husband due to the exaggerations and made up stories my FIL tells them. So the ex wife hears all this stuff and she has her daughter and sister fb calling and messaging all my family and friends screenshots of the gossip.
As you can imagine, this is grotesquely embarrassing for me. Some measures I've taken to counter this behavior include using big stretchy headbands that I can pull and stretch down around the nape of my neck and over my ears to keep him from sticking his wet freshly licked fingers in my ears and yanking the gray hairs out of my head and neck. I also have been making sure all my bags and random junk sit in the seat behind mine in the car so when we are taking him places, he sits behind my husband instead of me. This reduces his ability to touch and fuck with me the way that he does.
There have been other instances where he's grabbed my ass or tits too. He's found hairs on my shirt and picked them off and grabbed my tit hard while doing it. He's also many times grabbed and squeezed my ass. He never does it in my husband's presence however. While I will speak up when he does it and tell him to stop, I don't harbor an attitude or act like a bitch. I let a lot slide and tell my husband not to say anything (he asks me often if I want him to say something to his dad) but I don't want to add to the drama. His father already exaggerates things and makes up stories and tells everyone things that simply are not true anyway.
A good example I like to use was a choking incident he had. My FIL has no teeth and no dentures. He still eats normal for the most part unless its nuts or something like that. We were all eating a burrito together and he started choking. My husband and I both lept from our seats to help him and he cleared his own throat before we got to him. Then he told everyone in the family and all the neighbors that we sat there laughing at him while he was choking to death and that he almost died and he contends we did NOTHING to try and help him. To him this is all very funny. Just a big joke. So you can see, he's a problem parent. Big time.
The other day, he really pissed me off. One of my brothers in law is having another kid and his dad told us they found out they were having a girl. My husband mentioned always wanting a daughter of his own to raise. He has always wanted a little girl of his own, ALWAYS. While he raised 2 stepdaughters with his ex wife, having a daughter of his own is just a wish of his I hope one day to fulfill. Even in our 40's, we would welcome that.
His dad blustered at me incredulous and angry in front of my husband:
"Are you fucking kidding me! You don't need another kid! Look how fat you are! My god!! You're too old!"
I interrupted him and I said
"I guess its a good thing it's not up to you then, my doctor says my hormone levels match a 27 year olds".
So he boasts
"YOU'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A DOCTOR!!!"
That is when my husband got him to change the subject and shut him up. If he hadn't I was about to lose my shit. Thats a sensitive subject for me for a lot of reasons. Getting pregnant isn't as easy for me as it is for most women and yes we are seeing a fertility specialist. My ex husband abused me and was terrible to me during my pregnancies. Having a pregnancy with a loving husband is something I absolutely would invite into my life now that I have a loving husband. I've also had two miscarriages trying to get pregnant in this last year. We really have been trying very hard to have another child, but his father doesn't know that. We can't say anything because we know what we would get in return.
My father in law also is very controlling and has to do everything his way. He gets jealous of the amount of time his son spends with me and creates situations to interfere in our lives much like an annoying mother in law would do.
If he's feeling like he's not priority he will make my husband drive the 30 mile trip to his house to take him to the emergency room and sit with him and hold his hand while they tell him nothing is wrong with him. He gets lonely, calls and says he can't breathe and demands to be taken. He refuses to call 911 like a normal person with actual breathing issues would do. We have to waste our gas and take him ourselves. Mostly to work the doctors and pharmacy into giving him another albuterol inhaler or flonase nose spray, both he abuses.
I had surgery on my arm a couple weeks ago (carpal and cubital tunnel release) and this surgery was planned for many months in advance. I already outlined above the level of attention and care we give to this man. The week of my surgery, we kept trying to get him to do his usual stuff. Get his groceries, pay his bills, get his scripts, go to his appts etc etc etc. He refused. Every single day he wasn't feeling well. Sinuses too stuffy. Bla bla bla. First time ever he refuses to go all over hell and creation on our dime and interfere in our daily lives.
Then the day of my surgery he insists on us taking him to get his allergy shot first thing that morning. He gets these allergy shots every Friday but if he doesn't go on Fridays he has the option to go the following Monday. So instead of sleeping in and focusing on myself until my surgery time at 1pm since I hadn't eaten or drank anything since midnight the night before... I got to take him to his doctor and sit with him trying to keep him in line and try to prevent him from being abusive to the staff before my procedure. So I do that, babysit him and then rush to go have my surgery.
About 3pm they are done, I'm in recovery. 4 pm I'm back in town where we live and we get the call that we have to take him shopping. So the day of my fucking surgery not only was I inconvenienced BEFORE my proceduce when he could have waited until monday for that shot... But now I'm sitting in my car, half awake, in pain, crying and trying to recover from surgery while my husband does all the bullshit he wants to do because NOW is the time he finally wants to do it. I dropped a few comments then about how it would been nice if he had let us handle this stuff at any point during the week before today. But he didn't say anything. Instead he started bitching about the weeds we killed with weed killer before my surgery and he made my husband get out there and weed wack the dead brown weeds that were basically dust at this stage. All it did is made a dust cloud in his yard. Now he's insisting we start chopping down a tree when I'm still recovering and have my own shit I need to do over here. But I digress..
Then the next day he calls saying he needs my husband to take him to the ER, that he can't breathe. Refuses to call 911, let his neighbor or anyone else take him. So basically he can't stand the idea of my husband caring for me... he should be over there caring for him. It's ridiculous!
He pulled something similar last summer when I had emergency gallbladder removal surgery. I asked him to call his grandson to take him to Walmart to get his Allegra D from the pharmacy. He goes through that too fast also and they won't let him get it more than once every two weeks so either myself or my husband would use our ID and get it for him. I was too sick still after surgery to drive him and my husband needed to care for me. He got legitimately angry and cussed me out because I made him find another way. He hasn't asked us to get it in over 2 months because he told my husband's brother we refuse to help him anymore and the brother is getting it and mailing it from out of town.
Yesterday was my final straw day.
There I am in my car working (self employed can work basically anywhere with my phone) and now 2 weeks out of surgery. I decided to sit and work while my husband took his father shopping and to get his scripts and the usual his allergy shot etc. Normally I go in with them but this time work was busy and to be totally honest I'm tired of his shit. I chose to stay and work to avoid the situation with him all together; Yes, I'm admitting I'm doing that. So yesterday at the store when they were finished shopping and finished loading up the back of the truck, my father in law gets back in the truck while my husband is returning his motorized cart for him... and thats when he starts in...
"He's going slow today! Says he hurt his back! He was complaining about his back to everyone in line! I told the guy next to me, his wife, she's at least 250 pounds and he says '250 POUNDS MY GOD!!!!' I told him you won't get off him in the morning! You can't leave him alone, just climbing up on top and riding him until his doinker falls off and look now you've gone and broken his back! You can't just get up there on top like that when you're a great big fat person. You're destroying his back! And you want to have a kid! JESUS!! You're already fat, do you know what you would look like pregnant? You know how a buffalo looks with the hump???"
I see my husband approaching and hearing some of this so I just took this opportunity to speak up. By speak up, I mean say something in a normal tone of voice very calmly and nicely. But still standing up for myself. That is how I handle myself.. Years of abuse have left me sometimes afraid to use my voice. It's just my way and how I handle things.
I said to him,
"You know, I could be spending my money lots of other ways than running you everywhere you want to go when you want to go but I choose to do this out of the kindness of my heart. It wouldn't hurt you to show me the same kindness and stop tearing me down all the time about my weight. It hurts my feelings and I don't like it. It makes me feel bad about myself. I don't bring up how bad you smell or the fact that you've totally given up on taking a shower do I? I don't tell you that you belong in assisted living because we have to do all this shit for you that you can't do for yourself, do I?"
This man was shell shocked that I stood up to him like that. His eyes got REAL big and I could tell he was really embarrassed.
Thats when my husband now in his seat asks "what the hell is going on here?" and his dad says "IDK I guess I need to watch what I say she's being overly sensitive." So my husband spoke up and said to his dad "She is never going to be ok with anyone talking about her weight dad". I mean like yes, hello... I don't know any woman that would be ok with this treatment honestly. Even back in his day this was not acceptable. He is 69 years old, not 169 years old.
His father tried to backtrack and acted like the buffalo comment had nothing to do with the weight comment and totally deleted the pregnancy comment all together as if he never said it. I made one more comment in my husband's presence.
I said
"When you make comments about my body and my weight, it really hurts my feelings."
My FIL then gave me the silent treatement and after I helped unload and put away his groceries (he can't do that himself either) he refused to give me a hug when we left like usual.
After we left my husband commented that he never says this stuff in his presence. I said to him
"Well papa said in the store you were right there talking about your back hurting to the guy next to him in line, and that is when he started telling him it was because I won't leave you alone in the morning and that whole thing leading into the buffalo thing".
My husband said he was getting mad now because he wasn't there at all and didn't hear him saying anything like that. I don't know what the truth is, IDC that much. Even if he heard him and didn't speak up I'm not going to get mad at him because I know what a scene his dad would make if he had. I let that slide too.
Let me be clear, my husband is willing to speak up and do whatever I would ask in this situation. He is the kind that will fight for you however you desire. His ex wife abused that love in him and would make him fight her battles and I just do not operate that way. If anything, I've already gotten him to go easier on his dad as well as other people in his family when they incite drama. They used to get in fights and not talk for a month at a time and I just don't think that is healthy either. My husband has gotten a lot better at how to deal with people in general because of me... and that includes the way he handles his dad and now his dad is angry with me. That can potentially bring a whole new set of problems into my life.
In my last marriage, my inlaws opted out entirely because I was catholic and not pentecostal evangelist like they were. So being rejected by inlaws isn't new to me and knowing how much that rejection can create problems and resentment in a relationship has me worried. This is his last living parent and the only relative he has that actually wants anything to do with my husband. His two grown boys are not in the picture because their mother expects them to hate us on her behalf and have nothing to do with their dad... and they aren't strong enough yet as young adults to tell her where to shove it. So he's got no contact with his boys right now. His brothers are all distant and with the lies his dad tells about us, they don't care for us all that much either.
I really need some advice on how to transition this man from his current situation to one that will be better for him as well as us. Yes I am talking about putting him in assisted living. I have offered to build an addition, a tiny home, get an RV or fifth wheel and put on my property for him to live in. It would for sure save us a ton of money taking him places as well as give him a clean and vermin free place to live. He refuses. He also needs more care lets face it, I think we all are on the same page by now with that. But how do I have this conversation with my husband? Or do I not have that conversation with him? He's already told me "My dad is going to die in that house, thats what he wants, thats his choice". But his dad's choice is costing us so much money, time and also is creating a ton of drama. His dad's needs also interfere in our ability to focus on any of our own projects or chores. We have to make my adult son who is special needs, take insurance funded transportation to some of his doctor appointments because my father in law refuses to switch to the right insurance plan for his age group so he can get transportation himself. He wouldn't use it if it was available to him anyway. He has a neighbor across the street willing to give him rides but it has to be my husband and only my husband. We legitimately rearrange our entire lives around caring for this man.
Let me be clear, I do not mind caring for this man. I just want it to be reasonable and it has long run past the boundary of reason. Nobody understands older people better than I do. I grew up in Florida and I spent a lot of time with all my older neighbors and friends. Lots of retirees with different problems wither its senile dementia setting in or just lonliness because their families have all moved on. I speak old people, okay. My FIL just is creating way too much stress for me and I really do not know how to remedy this situation. It's spiraled so far out of control now and the way he creates drama between my husband and his siblings prevents anyone from having any real talks about what to do with him.
To conclude... I need advice on what to do with my FIL. Do I force the assisted living conversation on my husband? Do I call adult protective services and report this anonymously? Do I turn the house in to the city or county? Do I try and reach out to the brothers who hate us due to the lies this man spins? That situation got so hostile one brother has us blocked and called the cops on us and we still aren't sure why. All because of the B.S. stories this man likes to tell. All he does is get on the phone and complain with made up stories to anyone who listens. Do I continue letting him run my life? All while being body shamed?
Being continuously fat, age and body shamed is a huge trigger not only for me but for my 13 year old daughter. We both at different times in our lives have struggled with eating disorders and have both fought very hard to start accepting ourselves and our bodies for how they are. We both struggle with anxiety as well and the way this man behaves is comparable to trying to make someone with a fear of dogs sit in a room full of pit bulls.
Please be kind. I won't respond to negative comments. I'm open to all ideas on how you would handle the situation. Thank you.

Almost 2 weeks ago today (Saturday, April 14) I woke up with a clogged left ear. It felt like lots of pressure in my ear and I needed to pop it but couldn’t. No pain, no dizziness, no tinnitus, etc. The day before, my hearing was perfectly normal however when I went to bed, I noticed it sounded like there was some kind of yoyo in my ear when I went to put my phone down. If I moved my head, there was a slight buzzing noise.
Monday, April 16 I went to my PCP. No ear wax, fluid, or infection. She told me to try Flonase. The next day I called back and asked if she could prescribe a steroid because Flonase wasn’t helping. She prescribed 20mg of prednisone for 4 days.
In the mean time, I scheduled an apt with my ENT for Friday. My ear was about the same by this time. He did a hearing test and “the left ear was a type A tymp which means no fluid, no perforation, but there is a never hearing change on the left at 4K, a difference of about 20 dB compared to the right side.” ENT put me on a tapering dose of methylprednisolone because he said prednisone was no strong enough, however the highest dose I was on was 24 mg. He said it was Eustachian tube dysfunction. He told me that should fix it but to come back if it didn’t.
By Monday, April 22 the pressure was still horrible and I called back but he had no apts. I saw another ENT who thankfully took me very seriously. She’s not convinced it’s ETD but said we will call it that for now without any further testing. She wanted to act fast and said no one put me on high enough steroids, but was hesitant to put me on 60mg since I have already been on a low dose for a week.
She put me on more prednisone which I am taking now. I started at 40mg for 3 days and this made almost all the pressure go away, but then I hear a constant low whooping sound in my ear. Now I’m on 30mg for 3 days and the pressure is back again.
The pressure and ringing are always separated, it’s one or the other. My ear is either full of pressure with no ringing, or it’s no pressure and it’s ringing. With the ringing, it doesn’t change my I press on my neck veins, however I can shake my head and it’ll go on and off. My hearing in my left is still there, it just feels like a lot of pressure.
She said if this round of steroids doesn’t work, I need blood work done for auto immune diseases and an MRI. I have a follow up apt on May 8.
I also noticed on the days it got better, my jaw under my ear with tingly. Not like pins and needles, but more like lightening. She said I could have TMJ which makes it worse. I do already use a mouth guard.
Other notes are: - it always is the most pressure / worst when I wake up in the morning. Then it seems within an hour or two of taking the steroid, the pressure is better and the ringing starts. - I can “pop” my ears but the pressure still stays - yesterday it started that when I pop my ears, it sounds like it’s clicking too
I messaged my ENT today (Saturday, April 27) since the pressure is getting worse after I taper but she’s not in again until Monday. I’m getting really anxious that it keeps coming and going, and some people on this sub say it’s an emergency and to go to the ER, but my doc didn’t say that. I’m most nervous that it is a tumor or I’m going to lose my hearing forever. But I do still have my hearing and the loss seems to be mild? It’s just the pressure really. I’m not sure what to do.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? Any stories/advice appreciated. Thank you!!
Update: I’m going to go to the ER. Better to be safe than sorry with hearing loss.
Update 2: ER doc didn’t do much and said they couldn’t do an MRI or CAT scan. They upped my prednisone dose to 60mg for 5 or 6 days and said it is SSHL.

So about 4 months ago I got hit in the nose because a barbell fell while on my last rep. I didn’t bleed nor was it extremely bad of an injury, all I remember was there was clear fluid coming out and it being swollen. It was inflamed for a while and that really affected my sleep because my turbinates would swell whenever I would lie down. Sometime in early January I bought nasal decongestant and without knowing it can be bad for your nose I used the proper dosage as said in the label like once or twice. After a few days something felt odd about my nose as both nostrils felt more open than before. My nasal resistance when breathing changed and it gave me so much anxiety. I was afraid I got ENS and I wanted to end my life. The symptoms then got worse and one day my sensation of air completely went away in my left nostril. After a few days the sensation of air went away in my right nostril. The long wait till my ENT appointment was absolute hell. The uncertainty and sense of dread that my nose will permanently be like this took over. When I went to the ENT she said that my front turbinates are still intact and that my nose is in fact “not empty”. She gave me a Flonase and an azelastine hydrochloride nasal spray that allowed me to sleep much better but I still maintain the lack of air sensation and resistance to this day. I don’t know if my nerves are damaged or if I really do have something like atrophic rhinitis but according to research atrophic rhinitis causes frequent nose bleeds and green crusts which I did not have at all yet. If it’s nerve damage then it would give me hope that it will get better someday and I am still praying that my nose situation will get better. Only thing that works in my nose right now is my short weakened sense of smell and mucus. It just feels like the inside of both my nostrils is an abyss that has nothing working inside. I’ve been to the same ENT twice now and she keeps saying the issue is congestion yet my nose feels more open than congested with little sense of airflow. My reason for writing this is that I don’t know the right steps moving forward from this situation as I feel completely hopeless and was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation as me and has recovered from it. As weeks go by the thought of recovery starts to fade more and more because I see little to no improvement from my symptoms.

TLDR - Had T for a month, blistering loud over anything I'd try to drown it out with. It seems like its TMJ, doing exercises for this has reduced my T to very low levels, even silence at times. ENT may know nothing, but they helped get me in what seems to be the right direction.
A month ago I woke up with this EEEE in my right ear. No concerts, no headsets, no loud bangs or noises the day before. At first I thought it was just allergies but then after the first week it suddenly started in my left ear as well. I could not sleep, I'd wake up to what sounded louder than my phone alarms. I could not be social, I could hardly work. I had the fullness in ears, what felt like water was stuck in them, some pain, ETC. ETC.
The second week with it I went to outpatient before it got even worse, no answers other than "allergies." I was not really expecting much else but wanted some sort of guidance other than Reddit and Google. I got set up with an ENT and given Flonase and Zyrtec which helped with some of the fullness I was getting, but no T reduction, by the third week it was mostly static, even had moments where it went away. TBH this was worse for me. The on an off and changing between three pitches I could not get used to it. The static was fine but the ringing and EEE was too distracting.
By the third week I was mostly accepting my new reality till the 4th week when it got twice as loud. Over fans, over background noise, nothing would drown it out. I started to even contemplate ending it rather than enduring it, but I had a few days till my ENT. Got there, did hearing tests which was A+, and talked with them. Honestly, despite them knowing fuck all the relief of my hearing made so much stress just go away. It's one of my fears to lose hearing, so I always tried to take care of it so this was causing me so much distress. Talking with the DR there they mentioned its most likely stress, as well as what could be TMJ. My next step is to get in touch with a dentist.
That said, its still there, but very low. I was even able to sleep on my left side again and I don't think I even heard it in my left ear, just in my right faintly. It's very come and go, but that's better than 24/7. I'm going to work and it's so weird to not have this background noise anymore (I guess I did get a little used to it). While I read about TMJ I was worried about my other symptoms I did not even consider it. I've been doing jaw exercises which causes a lot of crackles and pops, I realized I hold my chin up a lot after the ENT mentioned it, working on my posture, and my health worries have gone down making my stress chill out aside from my other life problems which probably helped to start this all off. I'm already seeing a 90% improvement over a few days and will still reach out to a dentist to make sure and kick anything I can in the butt.
I just wanted to share cause I see a lot of sad stories, and no one seems to post at all when it gets better. It's not gone for me yet either, but I can stand being in a silent room for more than 2 minutes that's a major improvement for what I was experiencing. If you just got T please consider all options. ENT's may not know what to do about it but hopefully they can give guidance, in my case I was so worked up over other symptoms I ruled out other potential causes. I still need a real diagnosis, but I have been doing TMJ exercises and feel so much better now. In a way I hope it is that so I know what is causing it and can look to fully cure it if possible. If not... at least I can keep my sanity for a bit longer like this. It's probably going to take a bit to get an appointment set up, but after so I will see about giving an update.

24F 125lbs history of fibromyalgia, POTS, asthma, and severe anxiety. Taking Flovent, Flonase, and albuterol.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been having a bit of a mental breakdown. I went to the ER last night after not sleeping for 36 hours. They gave me 25mg of hydroxyzine at 2am and that did nothing. Then they gave me 1mg of Ativan around 3:30am but that also did nothing. So, they decided they were going to send me home with Zyprexa 15mg. I got my prescription and went home. I decided to take a half pill (7.5 mg) at 9:30am just to see how I felt. I slept until 5:30pm (thank god) but woke up really dizzy, blurry vision, and slurring my words. I got up and moving too quickly and was tachycardic (155bpm standing) for a few hours. These symptoms resolved, but now I’m noticing that my pupils are almost pinpoints. My heart rate is still a bit high, but better than before and my pupils ARE reacting to light, they’re just getting even smaller. Side note: it is now 9:05pm. Poison control said that this isn’t normal but wasn’t sure if it was dangerous. PLEASE HELP I’m really anxious already

Female 41 5'8 140 non-smoker Omeprezol, as needed
I went on a cruise a month ago. Cruise was fine. Mild seas, big boat. No issues. Felt a little rocking toward end, but treated with dramamine.
I was fine the first few days after I got home, but 3 days later I woke up with debilitating vertigo. Could not sit or stand, was horrible. It improved, but was still difficult to do daily tasks and I could/did not drive. Somewhere near 2 week mark I went to ER. Labs normal, little bilateral fluid in ears, gave me bonine. I also took Claritin and used Flonase for a few days and it finally completely resolved after nearly 3 weeks.
Last night I woke up with that same spinning feeling. My vision was like a ceiling fan. When I woke up this morning, I was still dizzy and off-balance, but better than earlier. I took Claritin and did the whole Flonase thing again, but still have that spin sensation. It's definitely movement related and is worse when I move or turn my head to the left. That sounds ear related, right? Like, something is still swooshing around in there? Allergies? I don't feel any pressure or pain in either ear, and I have long-term tinnitus, so that's not new. It's so weird to have been perfectly normal for a week, then it show up again. I'll just dry it up with an antihistamine and Flonase? I can't take bonine again. The spins are bad, sure, but that gives me crazy blurred vision which makes me actually insane.
*I did not swim at all while on cruise. And had two alcoholic drinks over the course of the 5 days. Had mostly watecoffee.
**I did have MRI imaging for unrelated stuff a while ago and from the tip of my brain to the the end of my spine, I'm neurologically sound. Zero issues there.

I thought I would make a post here as it's a great resource for motivation and optimism as well as ideas for things to try to help. I really freaked myself out when long covid hit me and my symptoms were at their worst on my reddit/internet deep dives.
I got sick in July '23 (my first time ever testing positive and I had let my vaccination lapse because I guess I thought I might be immune lol). I took paxlovid and started testing negative after about 6 days and I had a trip planned so I went.... for a day of tubing and drinking. I ended up basically getting sick again for another week.
I tried to get back into my activities and workout routine but couldn't get even close and was feeling really worn down. I had a lot of stuff going on and some stressful work events and I kind of crashed for a few days. Got back out there, then crashed again after an hour bike ride and cleaning my bathroom and a stressful family event. I was in the push crash cycle for August/SeptembeOctober. Also daily headache, increased migraines, some autonomic stuff like high heart rate and blood pooling, dizziness. Doing less each time and triggering worse PEM. Also a TON of grief and anxiety and frustration.
In mid October I gave up on all activity except work and taking care of myself. I gave myself permission to REST aggressively/radically. I was very lucky to have a supportive boyfriend who helped me with things like changing sheets, doing dishes, bringing me some meal prepped food. I didn't clean my apartment for 3 months, I started doing grocery pickup. I also sprained my neck doing a stretch which was a whole additional layer- after a basic blood work and being told by my doc there was nothing they could really do except wait and see, I focused further medical efforts on dealing with my neck injury/coathanger pain/constant headaches. I was also diagnosed with occipital neuralgia.
I have been on an upward trajectory SO SLOWLY since December. I thought I'd list out all the things I did that I feel helped. I have a general theory that our bodies/nervous systems are both physically inflamed and also in fight/flight/freeze from the physical and mental stress. Anything you can do to support the body and mind's natural healthy processes to heal/detox/relax is going to help, even if it only moves the needle .0000001%. Then it's up to time and of course your own unique health situation.
I'm able to walk for like half an hour right now, more if I can take breaks/go slow. I'm doing PT/light body weight exercises a couple times a week, hitting the pool sometimes and swimming about 12 minutes right now. I can easily grocery shop most of the time, I can socialize and drink (though hangovers are worse haha). It feels like huge relief to be back in the world and not SCARED of what will happen. I may have new limits or needs moving forward and that feels ok to me- I've always had anxiety, ADHD, fatigue, burnout issues. I'm optimistic that I'll continue to improve and that life is a journey. There will be low time and high times forever. My challenge now is continuing to stay motivated to support myself so I don't start picking up bad patterns again!
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#1 MOVEMENT/PACING- After letting myself rest hard for about 6 weeks (still working hybrid model but did have some vacation and sick time) I started by just walking down the block and back. After a week, add another block. Get up to 5 min, then 10 min, then 2x 10 min. I found that frequent rests are key. As someone with ADHD I always want to finish a task completely because I believe I will get distracted if I stop. But you can wash half the dishes and sit down. If you can't walk 12 min at once, maybe you can walk 6 in the morning and 6 in the evening. And you really have to understand your body's cues- it's ok for example to make your symptoms 2 points worse on a 10 point scale but any further and you need to stop immediately. This is not graded exercise therapy. And 2 points worked for me it might be 1 or 3 for you. You don't want to trigger a massive crash but if you're tired, or need to lie down, that's ok. Expanding capacity happens so slowly.
1b. Lymphatic drainage via movement- I did several lymphatic drainage techniques from youtube including Perrin technique and all triggered PEM/crash. I think getting your lymph moving is key but doing it yourself is risky and your body is in a weak sensitive state. This is where the importance of movement comes in again- to get your lymph/fascia/blood/digestion all moving. Yin or gentle yoga, physical therapy, "floor time" as I called it just to get out of the laying down position. Going on a walk, doing a little self massage. A gentle scrub in the shower with a washcloth (I'm sorry if you can't shower- my daily shower is the main thing keeping me going lol).
#2 Zoloft- Yes another one on the antidepressants. Initially it was because I was struggling with my mental health in the face of all these issues, but it does help with anxiety and may be good for inflammation too.
#3 ELECTROLYTES (and to an extent, minerals generally)- I do not crave plain water but even a pinch of sea salt will make it gulpable for me. I used to think they were too expensive to use regularly- but health is wealth. I drink electrolyte mixes daily and it does wonders for my energy and well being. I like Redmond Relyte the best and it's cheap if you go per serving. Also love gatorlyte, nuun is good. Lots of magnesium!!!
#4 Mindset/Relaxation- Tried some meditations, some yoga nidras, really allowing myself to acknowledge and feel rather than avoid or suppress. I used exercise for this previously so I really had to carve out quiet brain time deliberately. Honorable mention here to reducing screens, circadian rhythm, sunlight, good sleep hygiene type stuff. My partner helped me a lot with realizing that my worth is not tied to my productivity or what I can do for others. It was a real breakthrough that allowed me to rest and take care of myself and be NICER to myself. Also, I kept any entertainment I consumed light and familiar, and felt very supported by listening to all the Harry Potters and rereading all the Anne of Green Gables books. Young adult content is great for fighting the good fight, dealing with grief and loss, finding your identity, and learning right/wrong. There are so many options for brain retraining/support- I just did whatever I felt called to.
#5 Other vitamins- Fish oil, b complex (this is helping nerve damage from 3 years ago so I think I must have been really lacking), D, lysine (taking for cold sores but also antiviral effects and it's cheap), Vit C, probiotics, occasional melatonin. Nothing too groundbreaking here. Just added a multi, and I don't take all these every day. I still have quercetin and monolaurin on the shelf untried- I've taken a very slow pace to trying new supplements.
#6 Diet/Whole Foods- Focus on eating a shit ton of protein and eat until full. I was eating a lot of diet foods and tracking calories and I dropped all that- not worth it. Why stress your body further. I increased my veggies, full fat dairy, whole grains, legumes, spices, teas. As much color and variety as possible. Food is medicine- big shout out to coconut oil. cooking with coconut oil always makes me feel better (antiviral/antimicrobial) but I had stopped due to high cholesterol. Also bought myself a juicer so I can get big doses on things I don't eat as much (beets, ginger, citrus, pineapple, fruits in general). Plus fermented food (booch, yogurt, kraut)
#7 Physical therapy and Blair Technique Chiro - PT is usually great but I was not improving on my neck issues after a month so they recommended adding Blair Chiro- specifically a neck focused "no crack" technique. Those adjustments made a HUGE difference in my headaches/neck pain healing progression. I legit could not hold my own head up all day starting out. I include these because I think neck/spine/body dysfunction can be part of the package, and my PT also does a lot of training on breathing properly- another big issue people have these days. And they got me moving too!
Honorable mentions to compression socks, my neck heating pad, my theracane and foam roller, hot showers with lavender essential oil, decaf green tea, advil, aleve, biofreeze, dr bronners magic balm, hugs, grocery pickup, sex (eyoooh), and countless other little things that improve general quality of life and probably actually target whatever is going on with long covid.
Some things that didn't do much or were bad-
Vestibular PT - had a work up and they couldn't diagnose me with much other than general vertigo. Not BPPD or neuritis or anything. I have a sneaky suspicion a number of things were contributing to my dizziness that are all wearing off- neuroinflammation, neck dysfunction, anxiety, cold/hats triggering my occipital neuralgia (winter is over!) and possibly CBD
CBD- I love CBD and I started taking it more during all this. Recently stopped as I've been doing better and I feel my dizziness has improved a lot so maybe there's a connection there. Still think it's helpful though!
Antihistamines- I went on zyrtec (normally was just taking the occasional claritin) and turns out it gave me INSANE sinus pain after awhile which also triggered migraines (and a lot of tears). Took me a month or so to figure that out.
Flonase- doctor told me to take this for my extreme sinus pain and it roided me out. I barely slept for like 2 nights after taking one double dose. I felt great like a week later, so much extra energy. But not worth it and not what it's for anyway. I switched to a hypertonic saline solution spray and it works great.
Ubiquinol gave me heart palpitations so bad.
Olly stress gummies- these worked so good but I'm so nervous about messing with GABA
FL-41 glasses - I think the tint helps a lot with light sensitivity/migraine but maybe the frames I got sucked because these make me so much worse if I wear them for more than an hour.
Red light therapy- I got this off amazon it's the one that's like a flashlight for cold sores but I used it on my neck/head/sinuses. No idea if it helped long term but it felt nice in the moment. Maybe a panel would be better.
Accupressure mat. IDK I prefer a foam rolleexercises or just relaxing. It didn't really do anything for me except if I'm having a migraine it can be nice to distract from the pain and boost pain fighting endorphins.
I would really like to try somatic exercises, massage therapy, craniosacral therapy, sound baths, infrared sauna, see a functional medicine doctor (but am mistrustful of "trends" here). I'm curious about grounding mats and some other kind of wackadoodle stuff too so feel free to send me feedback on this kind of stuff.
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TLDR- pacing, time, healthy habits and mindset. Nothing new under the sun. I deeply apologize for going on for so long.
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Better day!
Switching from Zyrtec to Flonase seems to have mitigated the sinus involvement.
Sound is a 6…lower than last few days…and not bothering me much.
Sleep scores are consistently great, which helps. BP is terrific, so loving that.
Not NEARLY as irritable - wife told doctors the same;”I got my old husband back, most of the time”.
Happy. Grateful. Hopeful.
More tomorrow!

Still having sinus issues…switched from Zyrtec to Flonase.
Had some interesting spikes and sounds yesterday, and finally got fairly quiet around 11:30.
Today, slight headache from sinuses. Sound is fairly loud. Not WORSE than before Lenire, but not a 5 at all.
Hope to get over head issues so I can get back down.
Not a BAD day…working and doing things…just spoiled to the days when it was a LOT better. 🧐

I started the patch, thinking it'd be the most consistent option, but it's pissing me off for so many reasons! I'm tired of

• Spraying myself with Flonase so my skin doesn't erupt in a painful, itchy rash.
• Planning hot baths around the patch schedule, instead of taking one whenever I want.
• Feeling like one side absorbs way better than the other, so dealing with fluctuations every few days.
• Having the damn thing shift over somehow, so I have this weird line of adhesive with no patch stuck to it, and the patch itself with an edge no longer stuck to my skin.

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So, I want to try another transdermal option. Here are my questions.
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Does anyone have experience with both Evamist and Estrogel, or Divigel? Which did you prefer?
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If you use a gel or spray, did you ever have problems with feeling your estrogen drop off in the evenings? If so, what did you do to fix it?
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My GP knows next to nothing about HRT and won't even give me vaginal estrogen let alone experiment with anything other than the patch (or a pill that I don't want), so I'm going to either go with an online provider, or try and navigate the minefield of finding a pro-HRT gyno. I'm seeing Evernow offers Evamist but not a gel. I can't find out if any of the others offer patch alternatives. Anybody know?