Sinus Problems

[Cort]

I've always been a big milk drinker. I've never liked the thought going off dairy because I've always felt I needed it. But it would be interesting to know if it makes a difference to symptoms.

Gotta try it Rosie! For some people going off dairy is huge. Be prepared, though, for a rough couple of days at first.

 

[Rosie26]

Gotta try it Rosie! For some people going off dairy is huge. Be prepared, though, for a rough couple of days at first.

It will go on my list of 'to tries'. There is something else that I really have to quit first at the moment and I am having a really hard time with.

I could try one day off dairy and then one day back on. I'll see how I go.

 

[Rosie26]

Has anyone else here tried the neti pot and found that it made things worse. My sinusitis seems different to normal sinusitis.

Edit: I haven't watched the vid you put up yet @Cort but it just reminded me of the when I tried the neti pot.

 

[IrisRV]

I could try one day off dairy and then one day back on. I'll see how I go.

My doctor said you need at least 4 days and preferably more to clear something (allergens? antibodies?) from your system before you can even have a clue whether the food is affecting you. A week to a month dairy-free would be a better test.

What is the most difficult to give up? Could you use dairy-free substitutes during your trial period to make it easier? There's dairy-free milks that (imo) are not much like milk for drinking straight, but do fine in cooking and smoothies. There's dairy-free "butter", too.

 

[Who Me?]

I use almond milk and like it a lot. For me it's a better consistency then soy milk and I try not to eat soy.

I also use Earth Balance non dairy "butter". It's made from various oils. I like the tubs. They even make a soy free if that matters to you.

 

[Rosie26]

My doctor said you need at least 4 days and preferably more to clear something (allergens? antibodies?) from you system before you can even have a clue whether the food is affecting you. A week to a month dairy-free would be a better test.

What is the most difficult to give up? Could you use dairy-free substitutes during your trial period to make it easier? There's dairy-free milks that (imo) are not much like milk for drinking straight, but do fine in cooking and smoothies. There's dairy-free "butter", too.

I think milk would be the hardest for me. My sinuses are not as bad as they used to be, so not as urgent. But it would have been interesting to see what impact dairy has/had on my sinuses. It's something to think about trying.

 

[Rosie26]

I use almond milk and like it a lot. For me it's a better consistency then soy milk and I try not to eat soy.

I also use Earth Balance non dairy "butter". It's made from various oils. I like the tubs. They even make a soy free if that matters to you.

I forgot about almond milk, yum I must check that out in my supermarket.

 

[Who Me?]

I get unsweetened vanilla. It's the lowest calories.

 

[madie]

I could try one day off dairy and then one day back on. I'll see how I go.

Just FYI it took a few weeks before I noticed any changes. Good luck with all of your experiments.

 

[Kate]

"Rosie*, post: 14234, member: 3829"]Has anyone else here tried the neti pot and found that it made things worse. My sinusitis seems different to normal sinusitis. --written by Rosie[/I]

Rosie,My neti pot made things worse for four days then for a few days yellow gunk came out and now the situation is improved.

No one has yet mentioned the two herpes viruses that are often comorbid with CFS and which dwell in the sinuses and mouth, mainly cytomegalovirus and HHV-6. I have got to the point in my recovery (healed the gut, healed the trauma, working on the adrenals/thyroid currently) that I am now addressing the viruses. I have early antigen Epstein Barr detected and suspect something nasty, perhaps a herpes virus growing in my mouth and sinuses. Is this possible?

There is constant sinus drainage and I have chronically swollen lymph nodes in my throat.

 

[Rosie26]

@Kate are you able to separate out your words and mine from your post above? It looks like I wrote the last 2 paragraph. I wrote the first but the last 2 paragraphs is yours. Edit: Thanks.

I had dreadful sinuses in my severe years. They were really non-functioning as in not draining properly. They felt completely exhausted and there was toxic stuff inside them. And when I did manage to get the drainage going it was like diarrhoea, just awful. It took two years for them to improve to a better functioning level.

 

[Kate]

Here is an article by Dr Poesnecker of CFS fame. He suggests there is a soft spot in the back of the throat called the fossa of Rosenmuller or pharengela recesses.
http://www.healing.org/resources/library/you-and-your-sinuses/

Inspired by this article I sanitized my hand well and delicately pressure scooped some various areas of the soft palate. I did indeed get a rush of thick mucous out and a clearing of the throat which is still ensuing. The article suggests that the build up of mucous in these areas can clog the drainage generally and by clearing it your sinuses will be unobstructed in their drainage, promoting healing. I have no idea whether I scooped the right spot but I did indeed get the results he described.

 

[Forebearance]

I wonder about my sinus problems and ME/CFS. I don't have bad sinus problems. I don't have a lot of drip but it seems like from my nose upwards my head is clogged up and I wonder if a lot of my head pain - which is a significant problem - could be derived from them.

One of the recovery stories features someone who recovered from ME/CFS by getting rid of her sinus problems. I've heard of others who have.

http://www.cortjohnson.org/forums/threads/sinus-surgery-does-the-trick.39/

That seems like a pipe dream but still I've had upper head congestion since I got ME/CFS. I imagine this is another case of central nervous system sensitization but I think it's worth a try to clear it up.....Any ideas?

I highly recommend Dr. Brewer's protocol for everyone with ME/CFS.
There is a thread about it on PR. I wish there were a thread about it here!
I didn't even have many sinus problems before starting the protocol. Now I have a lot of head congestion if I take too much Nystatin.
It is definitely doing something for me and my ME/CFS symptoms.
I had been spraying XClear and colloidal silver up my nose for years before trying this.

Also I recommend a Himialyan salt inhaler. It's a non-medical invtervention that doesn't conflict with anything else you might be doing or taking.

 

[Who Me?]

@Forebearance Some of us here are banned from PR so we can't look at anything there.

Why don't you start a thread with Brewer's protocol here?

 

[Who Me?]

@Cort. When I had my 4th sinus infection last year my NP RX'd me a compounded nasal spray that Teitlebaum used. I can't remember what was in it but it was not BEG spray. It was $60 and completely worthless.

I ended up having to take abx which finally cleared it up and I haven't had one since.

 

[IrisRV]

I just remembered something else that had a substantial effect on my sinus/ear congestion and other upper respiratory problems -- Equilibrant. I didn't take it for that, so I didn't realize it was the thing that was helping. Then I went off the Equilibrant and soon the sinus/ear issues came back. Went back on and they went away again. This happens cosistently. I'm convinced.

I never took more than two Equilibrant (1/3 standard dose) daily, and often only one. In the summer I can go off completely as long as I stay away from dairy, too. When I start getting congestion or sinus trouble again, I go back on Equilibrant.

So for me it takes both dairy-free and Equilibrant to keep myself completely free of sinus problems and ear congestion. Either one alone helps, but it takes both to get rid of them entirely.

 

[Empty]

Hot steam with couple drops of tea tree oil helps me.

Also using orgasmatron (happys head trip in usa but need different lengths of wire which this does not have).,.. some vigorous massage techniques can sometimes clear the sinuses.

 

[Cort]

Another potential sinus aid

As for sinuses, buy Alkalol from your local pharmacy. Poor into cup of hand and add 50% hot water. Inhale through both nostrils at the same time. Let it sit, then blow nose into sink. Repeat til sinuses are completely clear. Nettie pots and NeilMed carry bacteria from one sinus to the other, which is why just breathing it up straight like that is the way to go.

 

[Wayne]

Hi Cort,

I'm convinced a lot of sinus problems have structural origins. Many have reported better breathing through their sinuses after having gotten a treatment called atlas profilax--which repositions the atlas. I wrote this on PR a few years ago...

One man shared with me how he had such difficulty breathing, that he had to sleep sitting upright. Upon getting the AP, he was able to actually lay down and breath normally, and was able to sleep that night laying down in bed, something he had not been able to do for years.

In the past year, my brother has had such difficulty breathing through his nose, that it would wake him up at night. He tried Serrapeptase, which helped some, but not a lot. More recently, he began applying DMSO to his skin regularly, and completely unexpectedly, began to experience much improved sinus function. My own best guess for his improvement is that DMSO is such a powerful anti-inflammatory.

You also might want to consider a treatment called "nasal specific" (has other names as well). This is where a balloon is inserted into the sinuses, and then expanded. It can not only significantly expand the sinuses and open up blockages, but it can exert enough pressure on locked cranials to get them "breathing" again.

I've had good success with all three of these therapies.

I might also add that I've gotten into the habit of doing various energetic exercises, one of which clears my sinuses every time I do it (couple times a day or so). Simply lay on your side(s), and massage along your spine the best you can. When I mentioned this to my Osteopathic doctor, he figured it was likely the result of major lymph areas along the spine releasing congested lymph fluid.

 

[Wayne]

I've been continuing to do a bit of research on sinuses after I watched a PBS fund-raising video on pressure point therapy. One of the exercises was how to use medium pressure on sinus points to relieve congestion, and both my wife and I noticed a difference after stimulating only one of several sinus points.

One you-tube video that caught my attention, was one that described how we all daily go through several "nasal cycles", where one side of the sinuses somewhat shuts down, while the other side opens up, and then vice versa.

Not only did I find this interesting, but was even more intrigued when it was mentioned that this nasal cycling is governed by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). So it appears that if someone has an ANS dysfunction (anybody here on the forum?), then it could easily affect our sinus function (and vice versa). I also had the thought that this might explain why so many of us have MCS. Perhaps toxins or other irritants stimulating an already dysfunctional ANS.

Here's a link to this 4-minute video:

I watched several other videos which described a variety of ways to naturally unblock sinuses, ranging from stimulating a number of pressure points, to using things like apple cider vinegar and onions to relieve congestion. -- I'm breathing pretty clearly at the moment!