Monday, January 10, 2011

Sinus Surgery


I went back to the ENT today to have a CT scan of my head.  It was seriously cool to see the images, 2 of which I'll share here.  (The dark spaces should essentially be symmetrical.) Basically, the "BAD" sections are swollen areas, and the openings to those sinuses are pretty well blocked so the junk can't drain.  Keep in mind, this my baseline after 4 rounds of antibiotics and steroids. 

So my options are:
  1. Do nothing.  Continue as it.  This is not going to kill me, but it's also not going to get better.
  2. Take even more antibiotics.  (not recommended)
  3. Have endoscopic sinus surgery.  They basically go through your nose to clear out the thickened/diseased tissue that blocks the sinus areas.
Sign me up for surgery!  Post op is not pretty or fun, but most of my friends have said they felt better in a week then SO MUCH better over time. My ENT was not worried about doing it urgently, so I'll probably wait until after busy season.


It's good to have a plan and HOPE for feeling better.

7 comments:

Kaycee said...

OMG! Lindsay, that's awful :(

Good luck with surgery. I'm sure you'll feel much better!

Anonymous said...

Oh wow! (and incredible images!) I wish you all of the best, and of course relief.

Kara said...

OMG! Glad you will have some relief soon. Those images were neat!

Anne said...

That is so cool! But sad that you are so blocked up. I bet DH is that bad, too. I'll come take care of you when you have the surgery :)

DesiDVM said...

Wow Lindsay those CT images are insane. I'm so glad they were done though so now you have actual proof of how bad your sinuses really are. I would be signing up for surgery too with sinuses like that!

Joanna said...

Dude, no fun. Are they going to go up your nose with a rubber hose in the process of fixing them? My dad has had that done.

I'm sorry that you are so blocked up, but from the people I know who have had this done, they also report a major improvement soon after the surgery. It's just a shame that you'll have to wait until after the busy season. I hate thinking that you'll be swamped while still not feeling good.

Libby said...

That is good news to at least know what it is and that it's probably fixable. And to think you've been running through it all. Don't let yourself suffer too long!