Swollen inflamed sinuses

Hey everyone,
I'm reaching out to this community in hopes of shedding some light on a bizarre post-procedure experience I had. Yesterday, after undergoing a colonoscopy at around 11 AM, I woke up to find my face severely swollen, filled with mucus, and my sinuses inflamed. My eyes were hemorrhaging, and I was coughing non-stop, needing to blow my nose repeatedly. Even my mom hardly recognized me due to the swelling.wheb I asked the doctor who performed the procedure he said I should look in to sleep apnea and then quickly left and before I knew it I was being wheeled out to the car
Just last week, I had an endoscopy with propofol and didn't have any adverse reactions, which makes this all the more puzzling.
Within two hours of leaving the clinic, I developed a fever and a sore throat, reminiscent of flu symptoms or past COVID experiences. I rushed to urgent care around 3 PM, where they tested me for COVID, flu, and strep – all tests came back negative, and I was sent home.
After taking 800mg of ibuprofen, I dozed off, and by 10 PM, the fever and sore throat had mostly subsided, but my face remained red with petechiae. Fast forward to today, both my eyes are hemorrhaged, and my skin looks like I've got a sunburn.
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this after a colonoscopy with propofol? If it was an allergic reaction, why was there no reaction during the endoscopy the week before? Could it be due to a different dosage? I stumbled upon some articles discussing an acute febrile reaction to propofol, but I'm still trying to piece everything together. As crazy as it sounds I believe I some how quit breathing
Any insights or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. I did ask ChatGPT lol and it said these symptoms could be caused if I stopped breathing

*for possible context, i have a branchial cleft cyst on the left side (slowly growing) with a heterogenous thyroid but have yet to see an ENT (in the process of recieving a referral, though). perhaps that has something to do with what's been happening,.*
as the title says, i've (19F, 220Ibs) had something akin to a cold for over two weeks. the first week of infection, i went to the doctors that monday to get tested for the flu (since i had been exposed a few days prior). test came back negative, but that tuesday i began feeling incredibly sick. i was basically bedridden, so i assumed i had a false negative/got tested too early. however, after my exam on wednesday, my condition worsened, thus kickstarting the odd neurological symptoms. the best way i can explain it is i forgot how to speak/type (roommate had witnessed this, paramedics witnessed some of it), my left arm/spine felt weirdly numb, and i had a tickle/heaviness in my chest. *to add, i wasn't really dehydrated, so i wouldn't attribute what happened to that.* i went to the hospital, had my blood taken, and got given haldol and benadryl simultaneously via IV (i had a bad reaction, became extremely paranoid/fearful. hospital staff did not care), and then got told everything was due to low magnesium/anxiety (i don't doubt it, just giving more details about my prognosis).
the following week, while my "cold" symptoms seemed to improve, AKA my throat wasn't as sore (forgot to add that the left side of my throat was/is swollen) and my ears didn't hurt as bad, my fatigue/lightheadedness/almost-fainting-thing worsened, so i went to an urgent care to get tested for COVID, the flu (again), and strep. everything came back negative, and after i told the urgent care provider what i was experiencing, they highly recommended i go back to the hospital. so i did. they gave me an EKG and another blood test, both coming back mostly normal. some of my levels fluctuated (not totally concerned since fluctuations are normal), but was then discharged and diagnosed with lightheadedness (my discharge papers say that's my diagnosis). i wasn't given any prescriptions or instructions on how to proceed with said diagnosis.
now, a week later, i still feel very week and lightheaded. i've always had feelings of fainting/tunnel vision/everything associated with losing consciousness, but it's been progessively bad. i feel like i have no stamina, and even felt exhausted from walking to the grocery store entrance from my car today. i also still have a lot of drainage/leaky sinuses (which isn't usually normal for me, even with allergies), and the left side of my throat is still swollen/tender on the outside (which could be from the cyst).
i'm unsure where to go from here. i made an appointment with my PCP the first time i went to the hospital this month, and the earliest appointment is the 27th. if nothing comes out of that, i won't know what to do. regardless, i just wanted to hear other's opinions/advice/etc.

Cat, three years old, indoor only, up to date on vaccines,normal weight
Hello, my cat has recently been scratching his ear a lot. I noticed there is a little scratch in that bald area on their head where the ear starts. However, I have no idea what is causing this. His ears look completely normal inside. no wax, no discharge, no head tilting or shaking, no smell…. I have flea treatment for my cats as well (one other indoor only cat from the same litter), and I even took the flea comb out to see, but he doesn’t have anything on him.
He had an ear infection when I first got him from the shelter years ago, and he was constantly shaking his and there was black crud in his ear. However, that isnt happening this time.
Could it be the scratch itself is causing him to scratch? Sometimes the cats “play fight” and maybe he just got scratched then? The scratch is not inflammed/swollen or have anything super concerning other than it is there…

Hi guys, I’m a 23M that has been diagnosed with a probable virus after seemingly having tonsillitis. I’ve tested negative to everything - strep, STI’s, mono, influenza, covid etc. anything that can be swabbed or blood tested. All 4 doctors have no clue. I’ve been prescribed erythromycin (taking it for acne beforehand so doubled dose) for 6 days when there was white puss/infection coming from only right tonsil, then penicillin with erythromycin for 10 days after puss went away but still sore to swallow and swollen. Weird thing is halfway through the penicillin it flared up again, having around 5 tiny white dots appear predominantly on the inflamed right tonsil for a couple days. This was accompanied with swelling that made the tonsil protrude towards the uvula too. Whilst it’s settling down again after 4 days of dots, I still have swelling 3 weeks later. My main concern is the anatomy of my right tonsil because where the puss was coming from in the slit is healing so slowly and it’s like my tonsil has a little dangly thing/uvula of it’s own now lol. Could it be a stubborn tonsil stone or something causing the protrusion? Never had my tonsil look like this. I’ve poked around with a q-tip and it actually tucked in the dangly thing a little, with no clear stones or anything behind it or the tonsil flaps.
Current symptoms are barely any throat pain when swallowing, swelling and inflammation of right tonsil and moderate lymph nodes in neck, chronic fatigue, no fever, sporadic body aches and pains.
I’m lost because I’ve never been sick for this long for a respiratory issue and feel something’s not right.
Images: https://ibb.co/gVm74Zv https://ibb.co/C90CMd0

I have had mild toothache for months and now it’s got to the point where it’s agony if I chew on that side. Went to the dentist as an emergency appointment and she said there’s nothing wrong with my tooth , that I just have gum inflammation. The tooth has a filling in it already from years ago. The dentist refused to do xrays - saying my X-rays from a year ago don’t show anything and she can’t see anything. My gum feels totally normal and does not feel swollen or hurt when touched. Could an inflamed gum be causing so much pain I’m reduced to tears? , I felt like she didn’t believe how bad it was.

This is a long read so skip if you’re not in the mood. So basically ever since I was a little kid I’ve always been prone to Sever nausea attacks.For most of my life they would happen only when I eat too much or eat certain foods.They wouldn’t happen often though.But when they did it was BRUTAL.Most excruciating thing I’ve ever experienced.In 2018 or 2019 (I don’t remember)I had a bad flare up that lasted like a month or two.And since then I was doing pretty good (rare attacks here and there).Up until about a few months ago.I developed a bad diet due to my work schedule and I guess my poor diet finally caught up to me.I had a extremely bad nausea episode that made me want to go to the ER.Since then it’s just been miserable.I was staying home.Nauseous 24/7 and scared to eat,drink or do anything.I saw doctors and even went to the hospital.They all kept saying different things and giving me different medications that didn’t work much.One of them being two different PPIS.Nothing was changing up until I met with a specialist.They ran 3 tests on me. (Endoscopy, Gastric emptying, and a HIDA).The endoscopy wasn’t my first time doing one but this time they actually found something big.They found signs of gastritis.And diagnosed me with gerd.And on top of that my lower esophageal splinter was swollen and inflamed.They put me on a strong dose of famotidine and a small dose of amitryphiline.Since then (been about 2 weeks) I’ve seen somewhat of a improvement.Im able to go out again but I still get bad attacks here and there.I can handle the heartburn and chest pain but it’s the nausea that’s so unbearable.Hoping to continue healing and find a permanent solution. Do and of you have recommendations for nausea?

At the age of 20 I realised about mewing and over the next 2 years I researched into looksmsxxing fully and I went from literally like a 5.5 facially to 8 with great side profile, however that was when I was around 80kg.
Over the last year I have developed a sinus infection and other nasal issues that have stopped me being able to mew properly, I mean I'm still doing it with my tongue in position, chewing gum, facial exercises, but my entire face looks droopy now like I've had a stroke, when i breathe I have to like absolutely force the inhalation it's awful and my jawlines is gone.
My eyes also have become swollen and larger in a really scary looking fashion. I can only think it's because of the vacuum I need to breathe through my nose or something.
It's really painful to become ugly when you have experienced what it feels like to be handsome to the point of people telling you it constantly and I used to have so many people look at me on the street. Now I just feel invisible, and when I look in a mirror it makes me so sad.
I mean theoretically I did go from 80kg to 90kg but this kinda facial shit has to be caused by my breathing issue. I was 89kg before and had a jawline then so it's not the weight.
Sometimes it even feels like the facial exercises I'm doing makes it worse as well but I'm not sure. It's like no matter how much effort I put in, doing the exact same shit that make me good looking it doesn't help because I'm missing breathing.
I don't breathe through my mouth but I just barely breathe at all. I very recently discovered nasal strips allow me to breathe again but not equally through both nostrils.
It'd be better if I'd just never became good looking becaue now it's so much more painful to experience life like this.

TL;DR: Noise sensitivity and other weird symptoms like popping/creeking and hearing my heartbeat. Possibly fluid in ears from sinus/allergies? Can fluid, or sinuses/mold, or a virus, cause these symptoms?
Hello everyone. Apologies in advance, I just found this community and this might be long but I just want to explain my symptoms so that someone might be able to ease my mind. Just for some background this is over the course of the last 13ish days. I have tinnitus but I don’t think it’s relevant because it is anxiety induced, or at least I don’t have any hearing loss as of last year.
Around the 24th/25th I started hearing an involuntary clicking/popping noise in my left ear. This was accompanied by a small tickling/pain sensation in the left ear. I thought I had tiny amount of ear drainage at nights but thought I could be making it up. Went to urgent care on 27th and doctor said there was no fluid behind my ear. Basically said there was no problem.
After the urgent care day I started to get sensitivity to noises in my left ear. I am a musician and it was enough to have me stop singing. It’s since been not as bad, I can wear headphones again, but still notice it a little bit in my left ear. I also proceeded to get post-nasal drip, like a swallowing mucus sensation, and just feeling slightly crummy in general. Now when I swallow I get the sound of releasing pressure in my ears like when you go on a plane or change altitudes. This is also a popping noise but it’s different from the involuntary one. The involuntary one is loud and has a long duration of back and forth.
I also started hearing my heartbeat in my right ear and feeling a slight fullness feeling, but it wasn’t enough to make me confident it was fluid. Thankfully the hearing my heart beat in my right ear is not as often and the involuntary popping in my left stopped for a few days (is now back sometimes but quieter). I still get them when in certain neck positions or straining during exercises, or when I get a high moment of stress and my heart beats a little harder, but I’m just thankful it’s not as often/periodic anymore.
On the 29th I went to the nurse practitioner at the actual hospital and she thinks it may be allergies. She didn’t see any fluid either. Started Sudafed and Flonase (as per her recommendation) and I had lots of ear drainage the same day. I think it was the Sudafed because apparently Flonase takes a few days to work. As a weird detail, the drainage smelled like the Flonase… just thought it was weird and should mention it.
Went back to the nurse on the 3rd and they looked in my nose this time. Said my left nostril was so swollen that they don’t know how I was breathing out of it. I felt no resistance or congestion, I felt fine as far as that went. They prescribed me the steroid dexamethasone 0.75 mg for 7 days twice a day. At first I thought it spiked my tinnitus but it actually started to help it a lot.
Since I’ve been done the steroid, I took one Zyrtec to help my post-nasal drip, and I got a huge spike in my T back. It could be coincidence, as it hasn’t gone back down much. I’ve had headaches, face swelling, feeling of pressure in my ears, lots of ear fluid one night, maybe even a low grade fever one night but my thermometer is not trustworthy.
When I wake up my ears feel like they have this pressure but I’m pretty sure it’s not affecting my hearing. It’s so weird that I’m getting different symptoms in different ears, and how I got the popping sounds before noticing any fluid. My doctor says this could be a virus, but I’m seeing the ENT for the first time tomorrow. I’m scared they’re not going to see anything and send me off.
The only two things I can think of that caused this was that I was riding in my friends car for a long time one night that week and the car had a mildew smell. Other thing is that I rode in a separate friends loud convertible that maybe the exhaust pipe noises caused these symptoms, but I don’t know how hearing damage can cause fluid and nasal inflammation.
Another thing I think about is that my grandpa hated loud noises… but I really hope this isn’t connected. He likely never wore ear protection and always worked around boat engines and engineering docks since a kid. My grandma said she has had similar situations as me in the past where she gets ear fluid and noise sensitivity from sinuses so I’m praying that it is temporary 🙏

TL;DR: Noise sensitivity and other weird symptoms like popping/creeking and hearing my heartbeat. Possibly fluid in ears from sinus/allergies? Can fluid, or sinuses/mold, or a virus, cause these symptoms?
Hello everyone. Apologies in advance, I just found this community and this might be long but I just want to explain my symptoms so that someone might be able to ease my mind. Just for some background this is over the course of the last 13ish days. I have tinnitus but I don’t think it’s relevant because it is anxiety induced, or at least I don’t have any hearing loss as of last year.
Around the 24th/25th I started hearing an involuntary clicking/popping noise in my left ear. This was accompanied by a small tickling/pain sensation in the left ear. I thought I had tiny amount of ear drainage at nights but thought I could be making it up. Went to urgent care on 27th and doctor said there was no fluid behind my ear. Basically said there was no problem.
After the urgent care day I started to get sensitivity to noises in my left ear. I am a musician and it was enough to have me stop singing. It’s since been not as bad, I can wear headphones again, but still notice it a little bit in my left ear. I also proceeded to get post-nasal drip, like a swallowing mucus sensation, and just feeling slightly crummy in general. Now when I swallow I get the sound of releasing pressure in my ears like when you go on a plane or change altitudes. This is also a popping noise but it’s different from the involuntary one. The involuntary one is loud and has a long duration of back and forth.
I also started hearing my heartbeat in my right ear and feeling a slight fullness feeling, but it wasn’t enough to make me confident it was fluid. Thankfully the hearing my heart beat in my right ear is not as often and the involuntary popping in my left stopped for a few days (is now back sometimes but quieter). I still get them when in certain neck positions or straining during exercises, or when I get a high moment of stress and my heart beats a little harder, but I’m just thankful it’s not as often/periodic anymore.
On the 29th I went to the nurse practitioner at the actual hospital and she thinks it may be allergies. She didn’t see any fluid either. Started Sudafed and Flonase (as per her recommendation) and I had lots of ear drainage the same day. I think it was the Sudafed because apparently Flonase takes a few days to work. As a weird detail, the drainage smelled like the Flonase… just thought it was weird and should mention it.
Went back to the nurse on the 3rd and they looked in my nose this time. Said my left nostril was so swollen that they don’t know how I was breathing out of it. I felt no resistance or congestion, I felt fine as far as that went. They prescribed me the steroid dexamethasone 0.75 mg for 7 days twice a day. At first I thought it spiked my tinnitus but it actually started to help it a lot.
Since I’ve been done the steroid, I took one Zyrtec to help my post-nasal drip, and I got a huge spike in my T back. It could be coincidence, as it hasn’t gone back down much. I’ve had headaches, face swelling, feeling of pressure in my ears, lots of ear fluid one night, maybe even a low grade fever one night but my thermometer is not trustworthy.
When I wake up my ears feel like they have this pressure but I’m pretty sure it’s not affecting my hearing. It’s so weird that I’m getting different symptoms in different ears, and how I got the popping sounds before noticing any fluid. My doctor says this could be a virus, but I’m seeing the ENT for the first time tomorrow. I’m scared they’re not going to see anything and send me off.
The only two things I can think of that caused this was that I was riding in my friends car for a long time one night that week and the car had a mildew smell. Other thing is that I rode in a separate friends loud convertible that maybe the exhaust pipe noises caused these symptoms, but I don’t know how hearing damage can cause fluid and nasal inflammation.
Another thing I think about is that my grandpa hated loud noises… but I really hope this isn’t connected. He likely never wore ear protection and always worked around boat engines and engineering docks since a kid. My grandma said she has had similar situations as me in the past where she gets ear fluid and noise sensitivity from sinuses so I’m praying that it is temporary 🙏

I have been dealing with chronic, migrating joint pain for the past 6 years. Within the past 12 months, it has ramped up and moved down into my lower back and SI joints. I took 10 weeks of medical leave last November from my corporate job to try and sort it out because I was in alot of pain which was causing massive anxiety. Unfortunately, during my leave, doctors ran basic tests and said I was fine and put me on anxiety meds.
I've been back at work since February and things continued to deteriorate with my back. I have been sucking it up and pushing through the pain because I fear losing my job. Unfortunately, this weekend, I woke up in a level 9/10 pain, passed out from it, and could not support my upper body weight. Despite this, I still waddled my way into work yesterday and had to take breaks where I had to lie down flat in the bathroom and stretch my SI joints. Its pathetic and embarrassing.
I saw my doctor yesterday, and she is finally taking it seriously and is concerned that something is wrong with my SI joints causing them to be extremely inflamed. My lower back is swollen as well. She gave me a steroid shot (did nothing at all) and has now ordered imaging and autoimmune testing. She has also referred me to an orthopedic surgeon and rheumatologist.
I am happy things are being taken seriously, but at this point - my boss has lost all sympathy and understanding for my health problems and he freaks out anytime I need to leave work early for appointments or if I need to work from home because of pain.
I get his frustration, I will admit that at least once a week, I need to either leave early for apts or wfh due to pain. However, I have never missed a deadline and continue to provide amazing work. I also push through more than I dont and he doesnt see that. I've never once been reprimanded for work-related issues - only the needing to wfh or the appointments, citing that "Others start to get jealous that I'm able to leave early and wfh but they can't". He retaliates by giving me attitude, interrupting me in meetings, and not giving me work or work that is way below my skill level.
I have been trying to find a new job, but the insurance here is good and I need it to resolve these issues hopefully. I am also a single mom, so just up and quitting isn't an option. I'm not sure how to protect my job or if it's even possible to do so. I'm not trying to freak out, but it's becoming harder and harder to take care of myself and I don't have anyone to lean on or help me. I cannot afford for these issues to get to a point where I am unable to be independent.
I am curious if anyone else here has experienced discrimination at work due to chronic pain, or has lost a job because of it. What happened and how did you handle it?
I do have FMLA, but that only covers me for 12 weeks and I've already wasted 10 on medical leave, leaving me with two weeks of FMLA left until November 2024. I'm not sure what my options are moving forward...Do I talk to HR? (I know they are there to protect themselves not me) Is there anything else I can do to protect myself and my job?
I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I've reached the limit where I can no longer push through the pain. I also have to get this imaging and further testing done ASAP, but the places that do the imagine are only open during the same times I work and I live 45 min away from where my job is located - going there on lunch breaks isn't an option.
When dealing with chronic pain, how do you put yourself and your health first when you have a kid to support and are doing it all alone?
Looking for any advice, personal anecdotes, words of encouragement, success stories - anything. I keep feeling so guilty like I am letting people down by being in pain, but it’s obvious now that the pain is real and it's gotten to a really bad point.

Last summer I went on antibiotics for an inflamed gum next to by 1st molar, and was told by an oral surgeon who does implants and perio that the xray showed resorption. After some deep cleaning, using my water pik, and regular rinses with coq10, the issue calmed down and there is no pain.
I scheduled a while back to get the tooth extracted later this month. How common is it to get a resorption tooth extracted even when there are no symptoms and no inflamed gum. Obviously, don't want to wait till I need an emergency extraction, but can't I just do xrays every year, and see if the resorption is increasing or not? I was told that I'll need to do a bone graft and sinus lift during the tooth extraction in order to place an implant 4-5 months afterwards.

I’ve been sick for 3 weeks on and off and it’s really starting to take a toll on my mental health. Any suggestions welcome.
Week 1 - high fever, 102 feeling overall crummy chills, super sore neck, ears popping etc
Week 2 - felt ok but ears still popping, very tired and stiff neck still
Week 3 - ears popping, 99 fever on and off, terrible sore throat, swollen grands, stiff neck, runny nose
What doctors have said Week 1 I didn’t see a doctor bc fever went away
End of week 2 doctor said maybe sinus infection but just take ibuprofen
Now at week 3 I am on my second day of a Z Pack but just still feel terrible, no energy
What could it be

I need the otolaryngology medical community’s help, as many physicians have been stumped by my situation. Admins, please read before deciding to delete. I am not a medical professional, but I possess a unique situation that cannot seem to be resolved by the medical professionals available to me. I am not sure how to phrase this without breaking the subreddit’s only rule, so I will try to express it in a manner oriented to my obsessive curiosity to understand my (undiagnosed) condition.
 
For starters, I have no credentials to confidently say anything I am about to; some of it may even be jargon or irrelevant, but I will try my best.
 
Eight years ago, I weighed around 285 lbs. I began an exercise routine that caused me to lose about 20 lbs within a short amount of time. During this period, I developed persistent discomfort in my left ear. I noticed the discomfort after visiting my aunt, where there was a 500’ elevation difference. When I came back home, my ear would not pop. Over the course of a week or so, the ear pressure eventually equalized, but everything sounded muffled.
 
This led me to my first ENT visit. The ENT didn’t really give me much time, and paired me with an audiologist who determined my hearing was perfect. After hearing the unfortunate news of no diagnosis, I asked why I have to pop my ears to hear consistently. I was brushed off and told to see a TMJ specialist. The TMJ specialist told me I’m fine.
 
This is where my independent research began. I determined that my “popping” was actually me forcibly equalizing the pressure in my Eustachian tube by repeatedly moving my jaw. I went to an in-network ENT. This ENT took offense to my self-diagnosis of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction (ETD) and told me my issues were allergy-related. I was referred to their allergy department and put on immunotherapy shots. After completing my treatment and reaching maintenance, my issue persisted.
 
Frustrated, I looked online for the highest-rated ENT in my state. This doctor did not accept my insurance, so I decided to pay out of pocket to get the issue resolved. This doctor’s niche was rhinoplasty, and he was the first (and so far last) to give me the time of day. He performed a nasal endoscopy and a CT scan of my sinuses. Both tests revealed nothing of use. He noted I have a slightly deviated septum, but not nearly enough to cause any of my symptoms. However, he did note the sinuses on the side where I’m experiencing discomfort were inflamed. His diagnosis was chronic sinusitis. I was prescribed Azelastine 0.1% (137 mcg) nasal spray (an antihistamine). I used this medication for about a year in conjunction with Flonase, but nothing changed.
 
Once again, I sought out a different ENT. This ENT also took offense to my description of symptoms because I used medical phrasing (ETD). After a brief consultation, I was told once again that my symptoms were allergy-related. I went back on allergy shots, reached maintenance, and once again the issue persisted.
 
At this point, I gave up and didn’t bother refilling my prescriptions or finishing my shot treatment. Over the course of a year or two, I developed a severe sinus infection that went several months untreated. It came to the point where I was unable to breathe out of my nose at all, affecting me to the point my family members became concerned, as now there were comorbidities (such as sleep apnea). I eventually saw a pulmonologist who made it clear I needed to see an ENT and get my sinus issues fixed.
 
Thinking that maybe if I stuck with the same ENT and followed the trial and error process, I went back to the last ENT I saw. I was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed medication. For the first time in months, I was able to breathe again after excreting from my nose what looked like petrified mucus. With this small victory, I returned to the same ENT and expressed my frustrations. I passionately described the location of my discomfort and explained that I believe the Eustachian tube problems I’m having are not the issue but a symptom of something else. I explained that I feel a mass or some sort of inflammation in my throat and mentioned the inflammation found by the previous ENT who performed a nasal endoscopy.
 
That was a mistake. After expressing my frustrations, I was diagnosed with "globus hystericus." Initially excited to finally have an explanation and a treatment plan, I was disheartened when I was told he could no longer assist me and suggested involving different medical professionals. When I got home and googled my new diagnosis, I realized he was referring me to a psychologist. Needless to say, I didn’t return.
 
Unable to accept my new reality, I resorted to more independent research. Before I even say this, I want to strongly express how much this improved my symptoms. Mewing, changing my tongue posture, and stopping mouth breathing drastically improved my Eustachian tube pressure over the course of a year. Using a jaw exercisegum daily also significantly reduced my ear pressure issues. Although the discomfort was reduced, it was not fully resolved. Sometimes I’d use a massage gun on my jaw, chin, bridge of my nose, head, and neck, which helped with mucus and provided temporary relief, especially lower in my neck near my chests, this seems to what felt like drain mucus/fluid. I am 120% able to the breath better after, but the “mass” still felt present.
 
After a while, my circumstances relocated me to a different state, giving me a new opportunity to finally resolve this. I saw a new ENT, and I gave the full rundown of my symptoms and history. I mentioned every medical ailment, bad habit, and quirk I have ever experienced. I mentioned my frequent regurgitation from overeating, how sometimes ground beef or rice seems to get stuck somewhere in the back of my throat, how I sleep on the side where I’m having discomfort, and how I pick my nose in the morning. I also mentioned that I can feel when my ears are producing wax and can remove hot wax with a Q-tip in real-time. I mentioned having tubes as a kid (as I mentioned to every ENT). This ENT diagnosed my issue as being caused by the acid in my regurgitation irritating my sinuses. I was prescribed Omeprazole 40 mg. I took this for a while but realized it was a bandaid on a bigger issue. I needed to prioritize my weight and eating habits.
 
I eventually started measuring my portions and eating slowechewing my food better, which fully resolved the regurgitation issue. However, I still occasionally get food stuck somewhere in my throat and definitely stuck in my soft palate. I have had my tonsils and adenoids removed when I was a toddler, but I can’t help but wonder if something grew back and is trapping food (I assume this would show in a CT scan).
 
As of recently, my latest symptom is hairs coming from the back of my mouth. Initially, I thought they were beard hairs, but after the fifth or sixth time, I became fully certain that single strands of hair are coming from the side of my mouth where I’m experiencing discomfort. I can replicate this over a long period of repeatedly opening my jaw (like I have Tourette’s) in an effort to equalize the pressure in my ear. I did some research, and it sounds like it could be a million different things. So once again, I have an ENT appointment coming up.
 
Now we’re caught up. I started to about a year ago still use the nasal spray and Flonase daily, and I even have a tablespoon of raw local honey. I have ZERO allergies. My ear pressure has progressively gotten worse over the past month, with the frequency of hairs increasing due to my constant need to open and close my mouth for pressure relief. I am not sure what to even tell this new ENT. I need experts to help me navigate the landscape of this condition.

This is my first rodeo at 36 years old with no other known health problems. I have very bad hypochondriasis/health anxiety, and I’m not handling the diagnosis well. I was also going through a pretty bad mental health episode when it hit.
At first, I thought I was getting sick because I had a swollen lymph node and felt the pain on top of my head, around my ear, and behind my eye, like with a sinus infection. But the sensation in my scalp was the worst, which is unusual, and it was the left side only.
The doctor confirmed that the way the pain manifested is almost certainly shingles. Based on where the pain is the worst and where there might be little bumps creeping up, it looks like it’s going to be centered on my scalp. But the top of my forehead burns too.
I got on antivirals, and the doctor said it’s possible that this might even prevent the blisters from coming at all since we got it this early. But he said to watch out for it getting close to my eye or ear.
I’m honestly kind of petrified. If that happens, what can the ophthalmologist actually do? Are they just going to confirm that there are blisters on my cornea and say be careful?
Anything else is appreciated. I’m just panicking right now. From what I was reading, it sounds like above the neck is one of the worst places to get this.

Hi all, and apologies if this isn’t the right place for this, I wasn’t sure where to post and I can’t seem to find anyone with a similar situation. I work outside and about 3 weeks ago now I was at work and could feel I was going to get a pimple at the corner of my lip where it meets the skin line (I often get whiteheads and blackheads here and usually can feel them get irritated/inflamed). Unfortunately that same day I was moving some branches back and let go and one of them snapped and hit my lip in the exact same spot I felt the pimple forming. It stung like hell the rest of the day and I could feel a welt forming.
So when the pimple finally surfaces it’s like the worst pimple I’ve seen in my life, and appears to maybe have two white heads and still the huge welt underneath, I thought due to the trauma on my lip, but after a comment or two I started to worry it might be a cold sore. I’ve never had one in my life and was/am super worried. My dad thought different though and was convinced it was a pimple, I wore an overnight pimple patch and when it decided to burst it did appear to burst like a normal whitehead/pustule with the usual whitehead/pustule gunk, and I put some neosporin on it and it started to heal.
Like two days into healing, it’s finally looking SO much better and I’ve decided it was a traumatized pimple, and I go over to my parents for dinner and my mom decides to wipe the corner of her grown daughter’s mouth, right where this spot is healing, and manages to dig in with her (very sharp nail) in such a painful way that I immediately feel it start to welt up again. Three days later it’s blown up again and looks really funky, still no more painful than a typical pimple but clearly swollen underneath and at this point does resemble a more mild cold sore because it’s no longer a perfect circle/more like an oval, but maybe that’s from repeated trauma cause it can’t catch a break? Once again not sure what to do and am freaking out.
This time I’m outside for 5 days with wind and dust and debris before I can fully deal with it, so I once again clean and don a pimple patch in which the usual gunk comes out, but so does a small amount of watery/bloody discharge at the end. It never looked blister-y and I’m not sure how cold sores behave typically. It never seemed to crust over when initially healing and did seem to be healing like a pimple, albeit a complicated one? But at this point it looks kind of weird and I’m wondering if it’s an infected pimple? Or it is a cold sore and it was incredibly bad timing for a first one? Can they even refill like that and would the fluid be so identical to pimple pus (ugh gross) in the first place?
I’m going to make a doctors appointment tomorrow, but they’re very far out and I’m not sure what I should be doing in the mean time. I’m now on week 3 of this one spot wrecking havoc on my face and tbh I’m kind of sick of my lip/lip line being swollen. I did all the things that helped it heal and they seem to be working more slowly after this new trauma. Has anyone else dealt with something similar?
Thanks for any help/ suggestions and taking the time to read all of this. I didn’t want to post a pic in the main post, but if it’s helpful I can add one. Honestly not sure it would help, it’s been through so much 😂

I’m out here in the Midwest existing as a zombie with allergies for the first time in my life. I have super dark under eyes and assumed it was something else, then the doctor said my sinuses are so inflamed and stuffed up in to my forehead (they did a scan due to extreme migraines). The Flonase has helped with the stuffy nose and headaches, but for the overall allergies and sinuses, I’m not able to take any antihistamine without CRIPPLING fatigue! I’ve tried them all, even the non drowsy. I can’t even stay awake it’s so bad. What other options have worked?

I have been suffering chronic bacterial sinusitis for five months. Both maxillary sinuses are impacted. I have noticed that one cheek now looks and feels more swollen than the other. Is this consistent with chronic sinusitis or is it more likely to be something else? Is it possible that the infection is now expanding beyond the confines of the sinus cavity?

Hi everyone. I (23f) was told I had fibromyalgia when I was 16. I have been struggling with this and other chronic health issues since. I am at my breaking point and I need to know if anyone else struggles with these things and what I can do to alleviate my pain. I was recently diagnosed with IBS I also have transient tic disorder, Lymes disease, and other food allergies that have come on later in life. (I’m totally not trying to throw myself a pity party this is just my reality and I’m really struggling) Other than the lymes everything has been attributed to PTSD, I just don’t see how that can lead to all of this. My entire left side is stiff and I struggle with movement. Last week I felt a lump on my head and thought it was a swollen lymph node, I went to my doctor today and he thinks my skull is inflamed. I am in so much pain from this lump. It is bone hard and radiates pain all through the left side of my head, face, and jaw. What can I do to alleviate my pain. I’m taking ibuprofen and applying ice but it’s not helping. This just seems to be the straw that broke the camels back and I am so exhausted from feeling so broken. What do others do to motivate themselves through their pain? What do others do to alleviate their pain? Does anyone else have a laundry list of problems that started with fibromyalgia or sound similar to my situation? I feel so alone and no one else understands how much I’m struggling with my pain. Thank you in advance.

2 months after an extreme food sickness in Southeast Asia in 2015 I woke up EXTREMELY fatigued, blood shot heavy eyes, miserable. Fast forward 9 years later and thats how i wake up nearly everyday. The extreme fatigue is the absolute worst.
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I chronically have VERY swollen turbinates where I can barely get air through. For 3 years I just lived like that. It was extremely depressing. I have seen every single speciality of doctor, done every test you could think of, scans, allergy tests, 2 sinus surgeries with no relief at all.
In 2018 I started exercising more, doing lawn work, etc (basically being way more active). I realized my congestion would reduce when I was active and I wasn't as fatigued. I would then walk back inside sit down and within minutes my nose was congested to the point i couldn't get air through again so I'd be mouth breathing. Breathing like this and not getting oxygen to my brain of course makes me anxious, fatigued, depressed, etc.
The only things I've found that help me are being very active but of course I still have to work, sleep, drive, etc where I feel miserable because I can't breathe at all.
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What does everyone do, take for supplements, etc to get them some relief?

For ten years I was struggling with mysterious symptoms all over my body until I found out that my atlas vertebrae was mislocated and I got it back to its place.
I felt amazing for few days after I got it fixed until EATING PEANUTS brought me back to dizziness and brainfog. I had second and third therapy of atlas vertebrae fixation which did not fix my brainfog and other symptoms. However back, neck, head pains are gone which were straight symptom of misaligne vertebrae.
Having vagus nerve and blood vessels supressed for 10 years made the impact to my body and now I need rehabiliation but need to find out what exactly happening.
I now think its Candida:

1. Dizziness
2. Blurry vision, if I have additional inflamation like fever or nose run, sinuses vision goes even worse but doctors dont see anything bad in my eyes.
3. I cant tolerate gluten, sugar, caffeine, very sensitive stomach.
4. I have chronic gastritis.
5. My nose is always stuffy and MRT shows bad things in sinuses but LOR will not do me surgery because he sees my nose is still affected by something and I need to figure out whats happening.
6. Sour taste in mouth
7. Whiteish tongue
8. Chronic fatigue
9. Cant tolerate sports
10. Bad short and long memory.
11. Random acne appearing and dissapearing all round scalp

Many of these symptoms I had elevated after I fixed my atlas and before eating peanuts.
Anyone else have similar symptoms?

I’m sick of being sick. Not a week goes by that I don’t have something wrong with me.
Its either: - Hashimotos flare up - Inflamed Lymph Nodes (Kikuchi Fujimkto Disease) (new thing found) - Neck and back pain - TMJ pain - Allergies/Sinus/Asthma - Stomach/bloating - Some form of injury (wrist ATM) - Some cold I’ve picked up from someone - PMDD/hormones/mood changes - Anxiety
The smaller things I notice are: - Always cold - Hair loss - Nails Breaking - Dry skin/cracked heels
The added component of IVF just tips me over the edge and I just am sick of it. I live on pills and supplements and I try my best to stay away from sick people. But it’s a losing battle.
My antibodies are all under control as they’ve been doing multiple blood tests during IVF to check. I eat healthy and I’m gluten and dairy free. Plus all the other restrictions with IVF (caffeine, deli meats etc).
How do you all get through it daily? Feel free to have a big whinge like I have.
😩😩😩😩😩😩 (literally me right now).

1st outbreak in years
I got herpes like 20 years ago. My 1st outbreak was so bad. I thought I had strep and had 1 bump on my vagina. My throat hurt so bad. I have been very fortunate and only had like 3 outbreaks in my life. I have been under an enormous amount of stress during to ongoing GI issues for like 4 months which has really spiked my anxiety. I noticed like 4 or 5 days ago I had a bump in my vagina. No surprise. The last few days I noticed how sore my throat was which I thought was from acid reflux. On Friday I started having ringing in 1 ear and vertigo. I went to Minute Clinic and said ibhad some fluid but no infection gave me 5 days of steroids for the inflammation because my throat and glands are swollen. I have no other sinus congestion. Is it possible or has anyone else had an outbreak after so many years be really bad and affect them like the 1st? I have no fever either. Also is it too late now since it's been like 5 days to take acyclovir or valtrex and I have to just ride it out? I don't have any since I never get them. Just wondering if anyone else has had this issue or anything similar. I asked my GI Dr too if they thought it could be from the reflux and they said no. They said it wouldn't go up that for to affect my tonsils and ears and this sounds like allergies. I have post nasal drip too.