 |
| Nose spray--deliberate glare |
The ENT was a very nice man, very capable, I am sure. However, I went to the doctor with an earache and pain in forehead and under eyes and across the bridge of my nose. Okay, the glasses might cause the pain. I told him the names of all the meds I had taken in the last month, two antibiotics and prednisone, sudafed and Claritin (both generic), Hall's Mentholyptus, chicken broth. He did not ask. Oh, had an elevated temp but no one took it.
I still had the information I was filling out in my hand, so he came into the room not knowing anything about me. I had a temp, but no one checked.
I told/volunteered to him all the things I have been allergic/sensitive to all my life--heat, going from cool to heat, contact dermatitis, animal allergens, food, pollens, any kind of dust (road, yard, powder, pepper, flour, etc) that sends me into sneezing fits and causes allergic reactions. He smiled.
He did not ask me what I had been doing for myself or about any meds prescribed, but I thought he would want to know. I told him. He smiled indulgently while I reeled it off quickly. Most doctors want to know. Oh, I forgot to tell him about the elevated temp! Oh well. He did not seem curious about my past, just the miserable soul in front of him.
After I had an xray of my sinuses, he informed me I had nothing wrong with my sinuses...no evidence of anything in them...no congestion or infection at all. Plus, he looked at the ear that is hurting so much and listened to how at the worst, my face near the ear was swollen, how eating wasabi in an overabundance made my nose run and all the ear pain went away. There is nothing wrong with the middle ear, no congestion, fluid--nothing to cause discomfort!...according to him.
HUH!
Apparently, I have no allergy, sinus, or ear problems. He said the inside of my nose is going crazy with sensitivity to things that get in my nose. He never used the word rhinitis or any rhin thing. lol I thought was he described WAS an allergy. Okay, isn't this seasonal/perennial allergic rhinitis? (rhetorical)
Ear pain-must is musculoskeletal. He said I have no swollen glands just swelling where glands are! ???
I have spray stuff up my nose to "calm down my nose reaction." HUH? He never addressed allergies to food or what is in the air. He did say to avoid foods and anything that caused a reaction, keep nose (inside) moist, and something else that I already do.
Now, you know why air conditioning is important to my health. Now, you know why an overheated house or wood heat must be avoided. Now, you know why I cannot sleep in a warm room. A little warmth in the room for adult fun time is okay (almost mandatory), but then the heat must go off. Okay, adult time has not happened in a while, so that is a moot point here...lolol.
He never used "allergy." I am so confused.
Obviously, I cannot use the sprayer since no mist comes out, just a stream that ran right out of my nostrils last night!
Oh, he cleaned out my nose! I thought it was clean. As he looked in my nose, I informed him that I had a hole in the septum. He smiled and said he wondered if I knew it and asked how it happened. He got lots of earwax from the ear that was not hurting. Maybe I can hear out of it better now. Naaah! It'll never happen. Then, later last night, the hugeist ball of wax? was in my ear he cleaned.
I feel all clean inside. Just kidding. I don't even remember my mother ever cleaning out my nose. Since she had two more within three years, I suppose I cleaned my own nose. Now, if I could just get someone to clean my nails on my left nails and toes that are almost unreachable because of the left knee and back problems. Well, I can dream, can't I? I digress. Back to the ears.
One of my eardrums burst when I was an infant, so that is probably the problem with the hearing. Yes, my mother had me at the doctor two times that week, and had just taken me to the doctor in the afternoon before the eardrum burst. See, this has been a lifelong problem. I inherited this from my father. Mama said when she met Daddy's family they were "the snorting-est, snotting-est people [she] had ever been around". Aren't you enjoying all the snot talk?
So, I have not been ill for a month? I really feel depressed and want to cry. I don't want to be ill, but this is just too much to internalize right now with pain in my ear and over my eyes, under my eyes, still. Sigh.
Not gross enough for you? Go over to Barb's Backyard for pictures of scat yesterday morning. Wait a minute. Finish my post.
Mind you, I do not doubt his diagnosis. I am just flabbergasted. I have a sample of the spray, deliberately masked by flash, I thought, and a prescription if the sample works......
Your turn
Have you ever been given nose spray when you have pain in ears and sinuses and told you that the reason the ears and sinus areas hurt are musculoskeletal? Had your problem minimized to "excitable nose?" I am capable of understanding the big words. Have you ever had a diagnosis or pain for so long and then one health professional tell you that you are all wrong, and apparently so have health officials for the last 64 years? Hey, for my friend who father is an ENT, if you have any other thoughts, you can write where we talked online after our phone discussion.
Ear aches can sometimes be triggered by falls and in some cases, a chiropractor can fix an ear ache. My daughter had chronic ear pain so I read everything about the topic I coud find. In her case, it came down to food sensitivities.
ReplyDeleteDo you have good teeth? Any impacted wisdom teeth? That always gives me ear pain.
He's right- it can be musculoskeletal. But is it in your case for sure?
Those sprays work real well for my kids allergies. I hope it works for you.
I never had wisdom teeth on the bottom. Top wisdom teeth are long gone. I am still working on possiblities. He told me to keep taking the Claritin and Pseudophed, so how do I know what is helping what?
ReplyDeleteOh, I did not doubt he could be right. But, like you say, is that my problem? We will see. I wish the fever would go away so I could attend to things in my life.
Fever means infection of some kind usually. Your visit doesn't surprise me because thats how all of my doctor visits go, which is very frustrating when you want definite answers. I hope you get better soon and get answers too.
ReplyDeleteAre your symptoms constant, or are they triggered by temperature changes? I was recently diagnosed with allergies when a cough I developed didn't go away. I was asked if there was asthma in the family. Not really, but my cough was always worse in the chill of the morning or at night.
ReplyDeleteGP put me on an inhaler and the cough has disappeared. I never would have thought that was the issue, I've never had asthma in my life. GP said with the constant rain this year however, it's probably brought up a bunch of pollen from plants that don't normally flower with this much water around. He said he's had quite a few people develop something similar this year.
I hope that's all it is.
Wonder if it is your lower wisdom teeth though? When mine came through - and I've never had them taken out, the sides of my face swelled and the headaches were unbearable. I didn't see a dentist at the time because I was a teenager who had recently left home - yeah, thought I was indestructable, LOL.
But having wisdom teeth come through does the weirdest things to your head. Temperatures were common too. Not saying that's what you've got, but it could be another player.
Chris, No wisdom teeth were ever on the bottom. The top wisdom teeth were nubs with no root to speak of, but they were pulled.
ReplyDeleteI still think it is allergies. I do run temps with allergies, despite what the doctors say. My daughter knows she and her son run a temperature with allergies...sooooo...
Last year, I had a cough for six months. It was so bad that I coughed until I threw up several times. Once, I coughed so hard until I emptied my bladder in the grocery store. YUK! Finally, the doctor gave me an inhaler when I relayed these things. That seemed to be the end of it.
Chris, I have had allergies all my life. Allergic reactions come and go constantly. How is that for an answer? This time, temperature changes were not a trigger. The constant heat always bothers me. But, this is different from anything I have ever experienced.
ReplyDeleteLindaM, Thanks. I am thinking about trying to figure out what kind of doctor to go to for this latest development.
ReplyDelete