Fungus balls are not my friends

My sinuses have been a nightmare for a year now. Plugged, dripping and constantly feel like I have a cold. I went to the ENT late last year for a surgery eval, he said they are open, surgery is not necessary, not yet. Well, this spring and summer along with wonderful allergies finally tipped me over the edge.

I knew there was no way I wanted to go on our upcoming trip feeling like this. I was coughing non stop from post nasal drip and blowing all kinds of nastiness from my little nose. I went to clinic for a new ENT referral. Instead I got slapped into the hospital, right then and there. Sinus CT and visual exams revealed I had 'fungus balls' growing in my sinuses. Ewwwwwwww, the visual picture in my mind of what a fungus ball looks like, is not pretty! The only way for them to escape is sinus surgery.



So the plan was to load me up full of ABX to prepare both my lungs and to rid some of the sinus infection, inpatient, with surgery to follow in 5 days. That was quick! It felt weird being hospitalized, just waiting for surgery, but I understood the reasoning.

Surgery was 7-30-08 at 1:00 pm, which went just fine. I was surprised that I only needed pain meds once, that evening. My biggest problems and discomfort followed within the next 3 days.

The surgeon used a gel/glue substance instead of 100 yards of gauze to 'pack' the sinuses after surgery. It supposedly cuts the bleeding and promotes healing. Well, I have to tell you, that as that gel, dissolved and melted, it went right down my throat. It caused me three sleepless nights, I mean NO SLEEP, because it drained in chunks. I couldn't breathe out my nose, because it's packed, and my mouth breathing became unbearable with severe cotton mouth from the gel. It finally cleared enough after 3 days that I could squeak out a little air from my nose, giving me some relief and much needed sleep. The docs also told me not to blow my nose for a week, which was torture.

But now, alittle over 3 weeks out, I'm feeling much better. I can actually feel air going way up into places that have been clogged for years.

I guess I've been very fortunate to have dodged the sinus bullet this long. I had severe allergies as a kid, and 5 sinus surgeries in my teen years pre-CF DX. And then, like magic as I entered my 20s the sinus problems disappeared. Like clockwork, the sinus problems reappeared as I turned 50.

I have my own theories, thinking with me, that hormones play a big part. The first time were the puberty years and now the menopausal years. Hmmmmmm, a connection perhaps? I've mentioned it to my Doc, but hey, there are not very many CF cases like me in their 50s to compare to. So who knows?

I just hope that this sinus surgery will be the last for awhile. I sure wouldn't want it to create a flurry of subsequent surgeries like before.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying just to breathe again.