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Recurring Throat and Sinus problems.

I had my tonsils out a few years ago, and I have not had any problems until recently. A few months ago, I went to the doctor with a very sore throat and severe congestion. Strep test came back negative, and I have already had mono before. Assuming it was a sinus infection, they prescribed amoxicillin, and that took care of the symptoms in under a week. About two weeks after being off of the amoxicillin, the symptoms began to return. I went back to the doctor and the prescribed some different antibiotic, which again, worked fine. Yet again, a few weeks after being done with that antibiotic, the symptoms returned. I opted to not use antibiotics to see if it would go away on its own, and it did after nearly a month. This same cycle has occurred 5 times, and I am currently in the middle of the 5th. Three of these times I have been on antibiotics, which took care of the symptoms in under a week. I went to my doctor and told them of the issue, and they had me go in for a ct scan, which came back normal (minus a deviated septum, but that didn't seem relevant considering everyone in my family has a deviated septum). Now I simply have no idea what to do. The symptoms are the worst in the morning, which made me consider that most of it is due to post nasal drip, but I have taken every medication I could think of (benadryl, sudafed, allegra, nyquil, etc) to try to stop it.

I am on both allegra and singulair for allergies. I have been consistently taking ibuprofen, mucinex, sudafed, and acetaminophen as needed. Does anyone have any suggestions? I understand that there could be no "treating" this issue, but does anyone have any recommendations to ease the pain, specifically the throat? I am a singer, and it is detrimental to my academic success that my throat doesn't stop working every 2 to 3 weeks.

Thanks!
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Avatar universal
I just read an article that seems to perfectly address the situation that your talking about (at least in the middle part of the article).  Here is a link to it:
    
http://doctorstevenpark.com/when-your-cold-is-not-a-cold

I hope it helps you.  

Jason H.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I had the same problem, not for 5 cycles, but rather 5 years.  In some people, including myself (but not necessarily you, no guarantees) the antibiotics kill most of the bacteria, but not all, and it just keeps growing back.  The reason, according to the Mayo Clinic, is that sinus infections don't follow the usual model of tissue infection, say, like an earache.  The infection can lodge itself in the upper sinuses, give you post-nasal drip indefinitely, and keep your throat soar.  February is the worst month, for some reason.

Fortunately, in a desperate state like yours, I invented the Flip-Turn Sinus Flush.  If you've tried regular sinus irrigation, you know it doesn't work in the upper sinuses, due to gravity.  The flush defeats gravity.

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/2322

The Flip-Turn Sinus Flush is mildly risky, because you have to bend over to do it, preferably in a shower, but you can also do it outside on soft ground.

My journal will explain why the antibiotics sometimes don't work, according the the Mayo model.

I'd also recommend trying nettle leaf for your allergies.  The success rate seems to run about 50%.  I don't think it's herbal magic, but rather the magnesium that reduces allergic reactions.

Good luck, persistance rules.
Helpful - 0
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