Suffering for 5 weeks now

[Sands99]

After getting a URI over a month ago I took Antibiotics and thought I kicked it but shortly after the course of Ab's was completed I continued to suffer from congestion, cough, increasing sinus pressure, sneezing (frequently in sets of a half dozen or more), scratchy throat, insanely clogged ears where I feel as if I'm hearing underwater and cannot pop-yawn my left ear for over 5 days now. I am taking Allegra OTC and pharm SudaFed and cough syrup and I'm still miserable and symptomatic all day/night. I rarely sleep because I can't breathe and when it becomes completely unbearable and I'm running a sleep deficit that precludes my being an effective mom/wife/employee I snort some Afrin and keel over from exhaustion. I need help to figure this out, I'm 44, female, seasonal allergies in the past decade but nothing major or prior.

I have the name of an allergist is that the route to go or should I revisit my GP first? Please help, I feel like I'm in hell :(

[Sands99]

Thank you Dr Rajput and Mimi - I was able to get an appt at a great Allergy and Asthma practice where they took amazing care of me staying after hours to set me up with steroids, AB's and Nasonex after 2 hrs of getting my history and start-up medicating me right there in the office. I'm 7 days into treatment and feeling alot better. Thank you for giving me the impetus to get treatment. Keep up the good work and support!

[Resilient_Mimi]

Either one should be able to help you.

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, from your history it suggests that infection is persistent and is associated with the allergy. Firstly the cause has to be found out and you are already on standard mode of treatment.

The common causes are-
-Discontinuation or resistant or ineffective antibiotic medications
-Acute viral upper respiratory tract infections
-Heavy exposure to allergens (change in place may help)
-Exposure to noxious inhalants (change in place may help)
-Worsening of inflammation secondary to bacterial infection or fungal colonization.
It is important to rule out mentioned causes and steps should be taken to avoid further exposure. Throat swab for organism isolation and antibiotic sensitivity may be helpful.

You should also be evaluated for presence of concomitant asthma for which medical therapy improves the outcome. I suggest you to consult ENT specialist for reanalysis of your case. Take care and regards.