I have been battling some of the same symptoms as you for the past year. I only went in because my ears started to ring non-stop, and my ears felt plugged. I was given a round of prednisone and Flonase nasal spray. I went back to the doctor two weeks later with not much of a change and my ears still bothering me. I was told I now had an ear infection. I took a round of antibiotics and the ear pain quit, but the ringing and fullness/pressure in my head persisted. I went again to my doctor to rule out another infection a few weeks later and she said my ears looked great and that I should try using a nasal rinse. This did seem to help for a while. As spring/summer approached I had convinced myself that I had allergies so I started to treat them myself with Nasacort, Zyrtec and Claritan daily. This seemed to diminish the pressure I would get in my head, but I still had the ringing in my ears. When summer ended I decided to give an ENT a chance at diagnosing me. I got an audiology test only to tell me that I had some hearing loss in my left ear - which I already knew. He thought I had a combination of things going on, including allergies, teeth grinding and poor posture - all causing my symptoms. The allergy blood test he ordered came back that my (EGL??) levels were elevated, indicating that I was allergic to something - but nothing that they tested for! Huh? I was also instructed to get a mouth guard from my dentist for teeth clenching - which I did and have been wearing nightly. He was also going to send me to a Physiatrist to work on my core strength, but after 8 weeks of waiting to get in, I gave up on that idea. My salvation came when I went in for my annual physical in November and a new young doctor suggested getting a CT scan to rule out sinusitis and Eustacian Tube Disfunction. I just got back my CT scan and it revealed I have Chronic Sphenoid Sinusitis. It is an uncommon sinus infection and often goes undiagnosed until a CT scan is performed. I am waiting to hear what my next step is. All I can say is be persistent when you know something is not right!
Jean
Hi,
Just curious if you have found any resolution to your CSS? I, too, have been diagnosed with chronic sphenoid sinusitis, almost 5 years ago. The ENT wanted to do surgery, but I have been reluctant because of the proximity of the sphenoid sinus to the brain.
In the last 3 years I have developed a sensitivity to light and must wear a hat at work or when going any place that has lights - even my own home. Whenever I drink warm/hot liquids I immediately feel as if some of the liquid has made its way up to my forehead. I know- very strange and almost unbelievable symptoms.
Whenever I am looking down to read I end up with blurry vision - thinking it must be sinus related. I also have many of the other symptoms described here by others - dizziness, tinnitus, nausea when I get the horrible headaches. And most recently, last week, I had pain when I touched the left side of my forehead, a headache for 4 days that I thought was a migraine and terrible neck pain. I ended up calling my GP when I awoke and saw my left eyelid drooping and my left nostril feeling clogged. He knows I have the CSS, so he prescribed antibiotics. This helped the headache, but I know, from past experience, that this will only last until the next infection.
In any case, I am almost to the point of having the surgery but am still quite terrified to go through with it.
Just curious if have found a resolution yet?
Many thanks
Undecided....
I have just been diagnosed with the same thing ( had ct scan which shows fluid in the sphenoid sinuses) and I looked up how does fluid get in there. I have never had a runny nose. I saw a link that mentioned fluid coming from a cerebral spinal fluid leakage but am now afraid to look at the article further as It terrifies me to think of this as a possibility. The ent said wait till January to see if it resolves as he thinks it's a virus , so that's what I am going to do. I have lost some sense of smell and taste. This all started 8 weeks ago after a visit to the dentist. I too have strange cracking noise in my neck but as I have constant neck pain due to a number of whip lashes, i put it down to that. I too have terrible fullness in ears. One thing that does seem to help is a humidifier . The only medication i am on is a steroid nasal spray. I have never had a sinuse problem in my life- now 64. I think some of this could be due to chronic regurg which I am on meds for. I understand sore throat and sinus problems can be a result of constant acid irritation. There is a thing called ' silent gerd' : people might think they don't have a regurg problem as they don't have heartburn, but with this silent type you don't. Let's hope we get well soon as I certainly do not want any sort of procedure as I fear it leafing to a chronic infection! My eye balls feel like they are being pulled from sister to side.
about 10 months ago i had the worst sinus infection of my life. i went to the er a few times with horrible headaches, they did a cat scan and said there was infection in the sphenoid. i saw an ent felt better after cipro. this year i keep getting sick, had asthma attach, mrsa twice and for 3 months now back pain and neck pain that is unbearable. i have chronic back problems and just got the results of an mri...bulging and deteriorating discs and sphenoid sinusitis... my eyes have been really puffy as well 2 weeks ago i went to a spinal dr she told me i was getting a med for my nerves and gave me an antidepressant...when she said it was for my nerves i thought she meant for pain. wound up in the hospital for 2 days with seritonin shock syndrome and now my thyroid is messed up i had it checkin in feb and it was fine but now it's low...so more meds i am so stressed im only 34 and a single mom andf i take care of my bedridden dad i need to stop reading about this and just go to the dr on monday!
My symptoms are a little different. I started with what I call pressure that would come and go in the top left side of my head or the back of my head above my neck. It got worse and my left side of my face and teeth hurt. Went to ER got a ct scan and showed sinus infection mallory and sphenoid sinus, 8 weeks and 5 antibiotics and three steriods later. I had balloon sinuplasty done on the mallory, sphenoid and frontal sinues it has been 21 days and I still have not relief from the pressure on the back of the head or the teeth pain in my cheek. I had a root canal on a tooth on the left side of my face put still have teeth pain and pressure so I am thinking of getting it pulled and getting an implant. Going to a ENT specialist at Emory Monday and hoping he can help., Seems the Balloon Sinuplasty didn't work!?! Hoping I can get some answers? DId you ever get some relief?
I have had the worst headaches and neck pain that gets exhausting after feeling it for hours and even days. I found this website that tells how to use flonase and lay in the right position to end this. I tried it and it worked! I'm off my tramadol and only using flonase!
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Many of these Sinus infections are fungal in nature and antibiotics will not clear them. There are many very effective herbal treatments. Oregano leaf is a powerful antiviral/ antifungal and even kills bacteria as well. Drinking a mug of broth or water with a sprig of Oregano and shake of Cayenne (if tolerated) twice a day for a week can do wonders. Including Oregano in meals regularly can help keep infections at bay. If they are brought on by allergies eating Apples daily will also help fend them off. Best of Luck to all!
yeah, i have complete opacity of the left sphenoid sinus. going to see a nuero surgeon on monday. i have brain fog. arm jitters. neck pain.
anxiety. it really stinks. say a prayer. it does help.
i read your post. i have similar symptoms..... are you doing better? i have a sphenoid sinus issue.
john, NJ
Consult a chiropractor and indulge in several massage therapy appts. When this happened to me, both helped greatly and it all went away. I likened it to a traffic jam in my head and neck. Fluids and glands couldn't flow. Infection couldn't drain. Pressure built up. Massage therapist found a soft module in neck. They cannot treat that but loosening of muscles allowed it to go away on its own. My nose ran like crazy after massage. Strong antibiotics, massage, and chiropractor visits cured it.
Torque release
Craniosacral therapies
Yes, I have had chronic head pressure and weakness for many years with little or no discharge, thereby getting no attention from physicians. A few years back I was told I had a cyst in maxillary and sphenoid sinsuses, which basically are clinically insignificant. Following any surgery or sickness, I would get very weak as if I could not stand up (flu-like), I also get hot flashes/flushing with exertion and occipital headaches. My regular physician refuses to treat me anymore.... so last week I got another CT scan, and yesterday was told I have sphenoid sinusitis. The nasty post nasal drip and dizziness prompted the CT scan. I don't tolerate antibiotics due to stomach issues, so he suggested Levaquin. He will not culture the sphenoid probably due to location of this area, but I don't want to take the meds due to its black box. I swear it made me look older! It does in fact interfere with type I collagen production, and the last time I took Cipro, a drug in the same class, I noticed the change in my face after 3 days :(. Anyhow, I wish I could just find out which microorganism it is and why I've had this so long (also, why it was a cyst last time and an infection this time). So many inconsistent answers and mistrust of medicine.
Yes! Just diagnosed with chronic sphenoid sinusitis. Weak, wobbly, dizzy with movement and bending, headache, flushing in face worse with exertion. Scary. I'm given levaquin but afraid to take it because Of it's black box warning. Anyone here find relief? What did you take? Is it cured?
Did you ever get rid of the infection. Im currently having all the same symptoms am on antibiotics but the pain is still here so I know when I stop them I will be back to square one
What did you ever find out?