I just got out of the hospital yesterday, after doing six days on the inside. What malady landed me on the acute medical unit? A rogue sinus infection. Or, as the doctor put it, a sinus infection gone wild. I had a sinus cold a few weeks ago, and took the usual over-the-counter cold relief medicines. I felt better for about five or six days. Then, on Thursday (January 25th) I started feeling some cold symptoms again. I broke out the sinus medicine and started taking it again. By Sunday, the 27th, I was fairly miserable. I couldn’t even stand to have my denture in. Which really stank, since it was my 7 year wedding anniversary. Rather than celebrating the day with Hubs, I took myself to the Take-Care-Clinic at Walgreens.
After waiting for what felt like ever, I received a diagnosis of sinusitis and prescriptions for Augmentin (antibiotic) and Flonase (nasal steroid) and was told to take Tylenol and Sudafed to help with the sinus congestion and pain.
I didn’t feel any better on Monday, but I didn’t really expect to. I mean, I’d only been on the antibiotics for a day. KWIM?
On Tuesday morning, I woke up with my right cheek being a little puffy and it had a red area on it. I called the doctor to schedule an appointment. The earliest he could get me in was 1:45 pm. I called Hubs and asked him to come home early from work, so I didn’t have to take the kidlets with me.
When the doctor came in to see me, he took one look at my face and told me to go straight to the emergency room. Yay!
Hours later, I’d had a CT scan which confirmed severe sinusitis and bought me a bed on the acute medical unit.
The photo above shows the progression of swelling from Tuesday morning at around 8 am until Tuesday evening at around 8 pm.
Yah, it hurt. Unfortunately, that was not the worst of it!
Yowzer. Sign me up for pain meds, please!
I spent my birthday, January 31st, in the hospital. Because it was such a special day, or because I hadn’t shown any improvement after a ton of IV antibiotics, I got the special treat of going to the operating room for a sinus culture under local anesthetic. Do you know how they administer local anesthetic to the sinus?
With a spinal needle up the nostril. More pain meds, please!
Finally, after six nights and 21 doses of IV antibiotics, I got to come home yesterday. I can’t tell you how happy I was to see my husband and my kids!
I’m on two oral antibiotics, and a boat load of other medications, for another week. The doctors said it could take 2-3 weeks to get my energy level back to normal. I can’t wait!
While I was in the hospital, my kids were home sick with the flu and Hubs had to take off of work to take care of them. Since they had the flu, he was only able to come visit me in the hospital once, for about two hours, on my birthday.
On a brighter note, I have to say I have an awesome husband. When I got home from the hospital, my house was clean. Dishes washed, counters cleaned, floors swept/mopped, laundry done AND put away. The kids rooms were clean, their beds were made. And the bathrooms were clean. He’d disinfected the whole house, too.
Coming home and realizing I didn’t have to catch up on a weeks worth of housework made me realize I am one lucky gal.
Shop with Me Mama says
ouch! looks so painful! nice to come home to a clean house though! yay for hubs!!
Virginia says
Yah, the clean house was definitely points for him!
Robin Wilson says
OMG – I never even knew that a sinus infection could run like that! I have SLE (Lupus) so I have zero immune system at the moment and I am always afraid that I am going to catch something, but I am going to be even more careful now. The flu season isn’t over here! Hope that you are up and running again! Prayers for ya!
Anonymous says
Ugh…reading this now and sounds like me! That and I have other sinus problems. I see my doctor tomorrow!