My ENT wants to put me on antibiotics for two months..

[redmom3]

He did a CT scan yesterday and says I have nasal polyps and a chronic sinus infection. I have felt bad for a LONG time. I told him I wanted to avoid surgery if at all possible and he said we will try Biaxin for two months and then do another probe:( and maybe CT.
I googled this RX and found a site when alot of people were saying what awful side effects they had-kindof scary.

I have never heard of taking antibiotics for so long. Anybody had to do this?
Lorie

[sdWTMer]

My son has had chronic sinus infections and was on monthlong courses of antibiotics. I'm just surprised that he said 2 months of the same antibiotic. Another thing that you might want to try is nasal washes or a neti pot (that you can get at your local health food store).

Hth.

[kalanamak]

The nose business was making them have poor sleep, have chronic pain/stuffiness, and they felt socially odd being so stuffed up and having halitosis (infected sinuses can give wicked bad breath). In the several dozen people I've treated with this, I've had to change meds once.
The source I use says to do normal saline nasal lavage at the same time, but I think only about half or less of my patients have. At least use Ocean nasal spray. Many people stopped with the lavage because they were grossed out with what they saw. It would me make MORE likely to do it if I saw such crude come out of me.
Good luck!!

[HappyGrace]

two months of Augmentin and I STILL ended up with the surgery. I would try the neti pot-I've had great success with it, as has dh. Maybe you could try the Augmentin-it's strong but has a good reputation. You may be able to take it for a shorter time since it's stronger? Ck with your dr. on it anyway. BTW, if you do end up with the surgery, it's not that bad, and I've felt much better in the ten years since I had it done. Make sure you have a reputable ENT-ask around. I went 45 minutes away to get a REALLY good ENT.

[sdWTMer]

Is this the same as a surgery for a deviated septum? Just curious because I need one.

[strider]

I am one who embraces natural remedies and happily use a system similar to a NetiPot. I also embrace traditional medicine--it's NOT evil, it's just overused. There are very appropriate applications for traditional medicine, and I am very thankful to have such a variety of options.

Having said that, I know for a fact that sinus infections are very, very difficult to heal, particularly the more chronic they are. I would definitely take two months of antibiotics in the hope of avoiding surgery. I would ALSO supplement with a NetiPot or sinus rinse of some sort, or at the very least use an OTC saline nasal spray to clean out those nasal cavities several times a day.

[justme]

I would be very careful with 2 months of a strong antibiotic. That in itself could lead to a host of other health problems. Recent studies have shown antibiotics to be largely ineffective for sinus infections and therefore to just cause more resistance in the bacteria. I would definitely give that a try at least before the antibiotics. If you do go the antibiotic route, you will have to invest in some very good pro-biotics to prevent 'clear-cutting' of your intestinal flora. Here is a site that explains Neti pot use pretty thoroughly:

http://www.jalanetipot.com/index.html

[Karen sn]

I agree with the netti pot. I actually just snort warm salt water from a bowl. I find it works every time.

[HappyGrace]

endoscopic sinus surgery, but she did correct my deviated septum while she was in there too. So I actually had two procedures in one.

I second the recommendation for probiotics while on ANY antibiotics-I forgot to mention it because it's such a given in our house to do so!

[Shelly in IL]

My son had chronic ear infections. 9 in a 6 month period, 2 winters in a row. ENT had the surgery scheduled for tubes. I was very reluctant. Dh and I decided to try our chiropractor (who is also internal medicine/holistics guy). He put my son on several different things for about 6 weeks. He has only had one ear infection in 5 or 6 years now.

I remember one thing was acidopholus cultures (a special kind, one you took before eating, the other after), another was a psuedo (chinese medicine) anti-biotic that wasn't an antibiotic, called Monolaurin. He had him avoid dairy for that length of time, also.

Are you anywhere near IL? It would be worth the trip to this guy, he is awesome! Anyway ds is hardly sick anymore. It has been wonderful for us. (he hasn't been on any supplements for years):)