Sinusitis worse when fatigued

[Hip]

The thing that's weird about it all is that it is markedly worse the more fatigued I am. It doesn't preempt the fatigue - I start feeling tired and then these symptoms get worse.

The virus I caught (detailed on my website here), which is likely a Coxsackie B virus, not only triggered my ME/CFS but also triggered chronic nasal and sinus congestion and post-nasal drip in a large number of people who caught the same virus. When I say chronic nasal and sinus congestion, I am mean chronic: I am talking about a condition that persists indefinitely for years.

I think coxsackievirus B may be behind many cases of chronic nasal congestion or sinusitis with no apparent cause (ie, when there is no bacterial or fungal infection found).


One of the symptoms this virus induced in me was severe generalized anxiety disorder. I noticed that on days when my anxiety levels were more severe, my nasal and sinus congestion / inflammation was worse.

It's always hard to determine whether there is a causal relationship between two such associated symptoms, but in this case, I found that any treatments that helped clear my nasal and sinus cavities of congestion / inflammation would also immediately reduce my anxiety levels by a noticeable amount.

For example, if I used a face steamer to help clear my nasal and sinus congestion, within 10 ot 20 minutes this would also reduce anxiety.

Other supplements and drugs that I used to reduce this congestion / inflammation also noticeably reduced my anxiety levels. So that suggests that this nasal and sinus congestion / inflammation does play a causal role in creating anxiety symptoms.


If you are interested, I posted a list of supplements that I found clear my nasal and sinus congestion / inflammation in this post.

In particular, I found the supplement N-acetyl-glucosamine (NAG) orally, at a dose of around 700 to 1400 mg daily, clears the sinuses well if you take it daily on an empty stomach.


Are you aware of the vagus nerve infection hypothesis of ME/CFS? This posits that infection / inflammation in or around the vagus nerve can cause ME/CFS symptoms by what's known as the sickness behavior response.

Well, the trigeminal nerve in the nasal and sinuses cavities also can trigger the sickness behavior response in the brain when this nerve detects inflammation, so this may be how inflammation in the nose and sinuses can cause fatigue

For treatment of sinus infection, the best thing I've found are ozone injections. My doctor injects ozone into my gums above my canines, and it works great.

I used a transdermal ozone application technique, applied to the whole body (detailed here), which you can do yourself easily at home, I and found that this has a significant nasal/sinus cavity clearing effect. My nose and sinuses would be much clearer after ozone.

My doctor now has me on a 100% dairy free diet to see if possibly I have a food intolerance that is causing at least some of my sinus issues as I also have allergies that four allergy tests later all come back negative.

I few years ago when I was suffering from severe anxiety, and as explained above I noticed a connection between my sinus and nasal congestion and my anxiety, so I decided to go dairy-free, and I found this helped both my congestion / inflammation and my anxiety.

 

[Mary]

I am one of the many of us who have this problem.
Have found that sinus problems are mostly always present, but occasionally when not crashing, I can keep things under control. What helps with this is: while sleeping, stay warm... I don't sleep under an open window as this invariably kicks my symptoms up. Since I have a constant low-grade sore throat, this tends to make ears vulnerable to infection. When this problem starts, I have a small squeeze-bottle of triple antibiotic(by Bausch & Lomb) that is always handy. Can't let those ears get out of control, so I make sure this medicine is always available & don't run out. It's Rx.

@5150 - I had a chronic low grade sore throat for several years, both prior to and after the onset of CFS/ME and finally discovered it was related, in part at least, to a pantothenic acid deficiency. I got this information from "Let's Eat right to Keep Fit" by Adele Davis, it also gave me the very interesting bit of info that pantothenic acid deficiency also can cause burning feet sensation. I never went to my doctor because I could not bring myself to tell him that whenever I had this sore throat, my feet would hurt ... I rarely get sore throats any more. Pantothenic acid as you probably know is one of the Bs and is crucial for adrenal health.

 

[Aerose91]

I just spent a couple months in florida and the humidity spurred on a sinus infection which tanked my immune system. Ive been steaming some water and adding oil of oregano which seems to have helped the infection slightly but it has moved into my lungs as well.
Humidity seems to be my worst enemy now even post sinus infection. Im assuming this is because of a lower oxygen level but even though I've left the humid environment the damage remains. Has anyone had any experience with this? Or know any ways to counter it?

 

[PNR2008]

I wonder if sinus congestion can cause vertigo? I have this new devastating symptom 3 times in the last year. The first time I fell into an arm of a chair and broke my sternum. The last time, one week ago, I vomited so hard that bile was coming up but here's the thing, before that just mucus came up. Gross I know but not as bad as going through these episodes.

My forehead hurt so I used Flonase and Mucsinex that brought it up. I ended up in hospital for an unrelated thing but had to elevate my head and regularly use the above meds. Couldn't stay vertical so no neti pot. Got vertigo the first night home and had to keep still, use a walker and pray my head cleared.

Anyone out there with vertigo and sinus problems?

 

[Aerose91]

I wonder if sinus congestion can cause vertigo? I have this new devastating symptom 3 times in the last year. The first time I fell into an arm of a chair and broke my sternum. The last time, one week ago, I vomited so hard that bile was coming up but here's the thing, before that just mucus came up. Gross I know but not as bad as going through these episodes.

My forehead hurt so I used Flonase and Mucsinex that brought it up. I ended up in hospital for an unrelated thing but had to elevate my head and regularly use the above meds. Couldn't stay vertical so no neti pot. Got vertigo the first night home and had to keep still, use a walker and pray my head cleared.

Anyone out there with vertigo and sinus problems?

I do, my vertigo is caused by ear problems. Since i was a kid i got frequent ear infections and sometimes they would move to my sinuses. I currently have had an ear infection for about 3 years but since the humidity tanked my immune system and caused a sinus infection my ear infection has gotten worse and brought vertigo with it

 

[PNR2008]

@Aerose91 Thanks that answers a lot of questions, many times my ears drum to my heartbeat or even the sound of tub water running or when I used to sing. I also have a deviated septum and polyps in my nose that some drs have tried to get rid of over the years. No matter what I must keep the sinuses clear because this vertigo is very dangerous.

 

[purrsian]

Well I've had my CT scans and turns out that I don't have sinusitis. In fact, my sinuses look perfect, my nasal passages are clear and perfectly even, everything is great. You know, aside from how it actually feels! I have no nasal issues but still have dizziness, feeling of liquid in back of my nose/mouth (if I lean over too far, I get that stinging like water went up my nose), I hear popping/squelching in my ears at times and I get feelings of pressure in my head.

I'm going for a tilt table test soon to figure out if I have pots. I hope I do and that the head issues are related. At least that will be some kind of explanation. I'll update here when I find out more

 

[rosie26]

Well I've had my CT scans and turns out that I don't have sinusitis. In fact, my sinuses look perfect, my nasal passages are clear and perfectly even, everything is great. You know, aside from how it actually feels! I have no nasal issues but still have dizziness, feeling of liquid in back of my nose/mouth (if I lean over too far, I get that stinging like water went up my nose), I hear popping/squelching in my ears at times and I get feelings of pressure in my head.

I'm going for a tilt table test soon to figure out if I have pots. I hope I do and that the head issues are related. At least that will be some kind of explanation. I'll update here when I find out more

I was thinking the other day and don't know if this makes much sense, but I wonder if vasoconstriction is causing the problems with the sinuses. I always feel even worse in winter and the cold air would cause vasoconstriction - would this tie in with POTS. I can never remember. Do we have too much vasoconstriction or dilation with POTS? I do so much better in the warmer weather perhaps because of vessel dilation which might be helping the sinuses to function better.

I had the all clear with my two ENT exams as well despite the chronic condition of my sinuses. How could that be.

 

[purrsian]

I was thinking the other day and don't know if this makes much sense, but I wonder if vasoconstriction is causing the problems with the sinuses. I always feel even worse in winter and the cold air would cause vasoconstriction - would this tie in with POTS. I can never remember. Do we have too much vasoconstriction or dilation with POTS? I do so much better in the warmer weather perhaps because of vessel dilation which might be helping the sinuses to function better.

I had the all clear with my two ENT exams as well despite the chronic condition of my sinuses. How could that be.

I definitely think it can be connected to circulation. I can never remember if it's vasoconstriction or vasodilation and my googling skills are apparently quite poor right now lol I do feel like my dizziness is similar to the kind of pressure I get in my head when I stand up which is circulation related.

My doctor wants to explore anxiety and depression as a cause of my fatigue and head issues, along with investigating POTS. But I've experienced both in the past, probably still have a bit (who wouldn't dealing with CFS) and this is different. Plus there are the liquid type feelings in the back of the nose/throat and deep in the ears. Do you suppose those can be caused by some circulation problem? I thought the CT would've picked that up, but perhaps it only picks up the more solid soft tissue inflammation of sinusitis. So many questions that I always forget to ask the doctor!

 

[rosie26]

I definitely think it can be connected to circulation. I can never remember if it's vasoconstriction or vasodilation and my googling skills are apparently quite poor right now lol I do feel like my dizziness is similar to the kind of pressure I get in my head when I stand up which is circulation related.

My doctor wants to explore anxiety and depression as a cause of my fatigue and head issues, along with investigating POTS. But I've experienced both in the past, probably still have a bit (who wouldn't dealing with CFS) and this is different. Plus there are the liquid type feelings in the back of the nose/throat and deep in the ears. Do you suppose those can be caused by some circulation problem? I thought the CT would've picked that up, but perhaps it only picks up the more solid soft tissue inflammation of sinusitis. So many questions that I always forget to ask the doctor!

I accidently gave myself a tilt table test in my first severe year while trying to ease my sinus pressure. I leant my head backwards over the side of the bed but I did it too quickly and dramatically. I was violently sick a few minutes later. My pots was so bad in those years I needed someone to walk beside me for balance. It took two years for it to ease up some. Thought I was never going to come out of that severe state. Very slow improvement.

Regarding the anxiety, I found the illness does kick up an unusual anxiety in the body, quite apart from one's own thoughts causing it. Also stress and anxiety makes my ME flare up. So you can get it both ways and it can be a vicious circle. I had depression quite severe at times in my earlier years because everything was so hard.

definitely think it can be connected to circulation. I can never remember if it's vasoconstriction or vasodilation and my googling skills are apparently quite poor right now lol I do feel like my dizziness is similar to the kind of pressure I get in my head when I stand up which is circulation related.

Something is slowing things down. It's taken me over a hour to reply you. I might come back to this another time. Let us know how you get on.

 

[purrsian]

I accidently gave myself a tilt table test in my first severe year while trying to ease my sinus pressure. I leant my head backwards over the side of the bed but I did it too quickly and dramatically.

This is actually how I discovered how much liquid is in my nose/throat passage - was just leaning over looking for a cat and bam instant water-up-nose stinging feeling.

Something is slowing things down. It's taken me over a hour to reply you. I might come back to this another time. Let us know how you get on.

It's funny you say that as my last reply took about the same time for me to write. I'm not sure if it's too much or too little blood circulating, but I definitely feel like it's the circulation for me and it muddles up my brain. Which probably makes more sense than if it were sinusitis, as of course your brain function will be affected if blood isn't circulating to it correctly. On the up side, tilt table test for me on the 19th, hoping for a positive result! That would sound crazy to the rest of the world, but I know everyone here understands how being sick with constant negative results feels!