I seem to keep the ear fullness, ringing, and awake early morning hours with a sinus headache also the sinus taste in mouth, off balance at times feel like a vertigo is on the way. These are my main symptoms but I don't see others posting on this.
Is this part of lyme or something different? The doc says a sinus infection but the x-rays are clear.. He said if I would get rid of the sinus problems I would be fine ok. This is the ENT..
One more week till I hear from the lyme doc with the phone consult.
Posted by Nicole2011 (Member # 30672) on :
I'm going threw the same thing. I just was told i had a sinus infection before i found out i had lyme. So its possible you can have a sinus infection plus lyme... or it could just be the lyme.. This disease comes with alot of symptoms
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
Yup, I get/have the same thing.
Went to my ENT, he took a look at my sinuses and said no infection but an obvious allergic reaction in my sinuses.
I have bad indoor allergies and had stopped all my allergy meds. Began waking with under the water feeling in my ears, all congested and bad sinus headaches.
Started back on my allergy meds and the ears, nose and head feel much better - though not perfect. I also started back up on the saline nasal rinsing.
If I get away from my allergies for a few days I feel like a brand new person, so for me I think for the most part it is allergy induced non-infected sinusitis. Astepro nasal spray is a life saver!
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
Oh, I know Nicole. I hate this "stuff"... I have been bothered with these symptoms for years . In fact mine all started with a vertigo attack.
How are you doing on your meds? I couldn't take Zithromax then tried the Doxy and thought I would go through the roof with anxiety. But I am going to try clindamycin again.. If it is a sinus infection then it should help. I have to take small amounts.
Keep me updated.
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
Desert, the ENT said bacterial infection and gave me clindamycin. If and when I ever get this cleared up I do feel like a different person.
What is Astepro nasal spray .. I have used Dristian and Guaifenesin which helps a lot but can't use the decongestant often and I certainly can't use the one like in sudafed. I was tested for allergies but all negative except I wasn't tested for food allergies.. Well the lyme doc ordered food allergy testing but not sure if the tech got enough blood as I was stuck 12 times and he still didn't get all he needed.
What allergy meds do you take? I tried the neti-pot saline rinse and it made my ears worse. I do use saline spary with a drop of Grapefruit Extract added to it.
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
phyl6648; Astepro is a nasal antihistamine spray. I take that because I have horrid indoor allergies. It clears me up within 15 minutes - literally. But if you don't have allergies then it probably will not help you.
I too do the grapefruit extract spray.
In addition to the Astepro I also take Zyrtec before bed and that really helps with my ear issues.
I also use a Collidal Silver nose spray to help reduce the chance of yeast over growth in the nose from all the abx. use.
I hope you feel better soon!
Posted by PenelopePitstop (Member # 31005) on :
my first positive western blot was around 1997.
i've been on again off again symptomatically, but i have had ear/sinus congestion/pain/fullness, etc for the last 8 years. Saw ENT, nothing wrong. Saw allergist, no allergies. They even sent me to a neurologist. Nothing wrong there. Ruled out fungal infection with anti-fungal treatments that also did not help.
I believe it's an inflammatory issue because no one can find any other causative factor. That would fit in with lyme.
Using a neti pot helps. Nothing else touches it. Good luck.
Posted by phyl6648 (Member # 28522) on :
Penelope, this has been my problem for 11 years.. Still no answers. Do you ever have vertigo with yours. Vertigo was my first symptom of whatever this is.
What or how do you treat your problem? My Ent says sinus infection and gives me antibiotics that I never finish, could be my problem.. Then one ENT says no infection, x-rays were clear.. Inflammations sounds reasonable, not how to treat or what to do for inflammation. I have heard gluten free helps with inflammation..
I do use the neti pot but then I have ear problems and off balance. Guess you answered my question as that is how you treat yours.
So miserable and no answers..
Posted by PenelopePitstop (Member # 31005) on :
Yes, I definitely get vertigo, sometimes just walking, and i'll go off balance.
dairy is highly inflammatory according to my doc gluten too
so reducing those things in your diet should help
the neti helps with the ears too via the eustachian tubes. sometimes the sinuses will get so inflamed that the eustachian tubes get blocked and/or are also inflamed
i notice a lot of times after i neti that my ears will pop, so i know it's helping them too.
i think diet is key ... but i have no real solution. this comes and goes ... so i avoid dairy, and do low gluten, and neti, and keep my fingers crossed
it's freaky when that vertigo hits, and the headaches are god-awful.
hope you find some relief. if i find anything that seems to help, i'll post back.
Posted by Jen117 (Member # 28156) on :
About 2 weeks after starting IV Rocephin, my ears and jaw felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. This sensation was due to swollen lymph nodes in face, neck and behind my ears. As I got better, the sensation lessened. Throat problems can sometimes be felt in the ear...as can Lyme infections due to the cranial nerve involvement. Speak with your doctor about it to make sure it's not a reaction to medication or other problem that should be treated. Good luck!
Posted by H8NLyme (Member # 29487) on :
Re: Allergies and underwater feeling in ears. I never had spring allergies while my wife suffered from them each year. This year they hit me as well. Perhaps the Lyme or, I think more likely, all of the antibiotics has left me sensitized.
The underwater feeling in the ears was a symptom of the Lyme itself. Mine cleared quickly with doxycycline but revealed a constant ringing in one ear. Permanent hearing damage.
"Sinus taste in mouth" Sounds like maybe yeast? After multiple weeks on antibiotics I started getting a bitter taste in my mouth and felt generally out of it but these were somewhat different symptoms than the original Lyme. Nystatin seemed to get it under control. Each night I have also been doing a system re-set, taking a probiotic with about 12 oz of active culture yogurt, timed not to interfere with the meds, 10 PM - 4 AM. This really seemed to help my system tolerate the antibiotics, maybe helped kill the yeast? I dont know. Before that I felt like $#!* for 2 hours after each dose of abx and it was worse each day. Nobody advised me on the yogurt reset so this may be hogwash but it seems to help.