I am so sick of being sick!
Since the beginning of the school year I have missed four days of work due to illness: debilitating migraines onset by sinus infections. I thought I was over my last infection but woke up Friday with a “hit by a truck” feeling. I attributed it to Thursday’s derby practice when I took a really hard hit (incidentally, by a teammate named Chevy). I went to work anyway but left early with a fever, chills, nausea, and dizziness. A visit to acute care confirmed my suspicions: The sinus infection was back!
I am dutifully taking (yet another) round of antibiotics, pain relievers, and nasal spray. But isn’t the definition of insanity trying the same thing over and over expecting different results?
I have enjoyed natural remedies that are great for relieving pain: Steam, a hot pad, and good hot soup. But to avoid antibiotics I have to avoid getting the infections in the first place.
A CT scan has ruled out physical obstructions which means surgery will not help me. That leaves allergies as the likely culprit. My own research overwhelmingly supports the elimination of wheat, dairy, and refined sugars from my diet. Instead of waiting around to see what an allergist says I am going to just give it a try.
But it will be really difficult! The one meal my husband cooks for me is grilled cheese sandwiches with cream of tomato soup. Our favorite date-night in is Happy Joe’s pizza. My mom is the greatest baker ever! I can’t imagine visiting home without enjoying her sweets.
I really need some words of encouragement! What natural sinus remedies can you offer? What success have you had eliminating (or reducing) wheat, sugar, and dairy?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Daily nostril cleans, like the neti pots. Pure saline sprays. Continue even when you feel better,which I hope is soon.
Don’t have any amazing suggestions for you but I do want you to know that skipping sugar, wheat and dairy is not the panacea that a lot of people would have you believe. My stepmom just went that route for the last four months. She was raving about no headaches then suddenly she sicker than she’s ever been. She’s been doctoring since mid-December and is still in misery. The meds (prednisone among others) made a bad situation worse. She finally ate some sugar, wheat and dairy during Christmas. She said the stuff tasted so good and had no effect on her situation. I personally don’t think it’s worth it to give up food in the hopes that it will help. I think missing your favorite foods just makes you more miserable. Good luck. Wish I could offer you some great solution but if I had one I’d probably be rich.
hi ya
i have similar issue since i started teaching two yrs ago. ive seen specialists as well as trying acupuncture and osteopath, but so far, what works for me is daily sinus rinse. ive tried elimination diet for two weeks as suggested by osteopath, it only seemed to work during the weekends when im off work, then sinus infection was back as soon as i got to work.
The daily sinus washes with saline are great. I prefer the bottle that shoots the solution into the nasal passages rather than the neti pots. There’s a recipe for the saline (canning salt, baking soda) mix on the net so you dont have to buy the packets. A non-natural, over the counter product is Affrin. I take it when I start to feel plugged up. Beware, follow the directions – take for no more than 3 days – it can be habit-forming.
My mom had lots of sinus problems including infections until she went to a naturopath and found out that she is intolerant to eggs and gluten. All sinus problems went away by eliminating those things. My son had terrible ulcerative colitis and was on the verge of surgery until he eliminated his intolerances (gluten, eggs, dairy and peanuts) now he is doing well again. Just focus on what you can eat. We love mexican food and it works well with his diet. It’s hard to make changes but when the results give you good health it’s worth it! If you can afford it the food intolerance test is really worth it as it will show you exactly what to eliminate.
Chart your migraine occurrences. If you notice that they seem to appear consistently before your period they may be triggered by a rise in estrogen rather than sinuses. If that’s the case, the good news is that they will subside as your estrogen level declines. Some poor women START getting migraines as they’re level declines. As a fellow sufferer, I can’t imagine being old AND having migraine pain. Good luck.