Fibromyalgia and Sinusitis

Welcome back to the next issue of the Fibro Alongside series, as you can see today I am talking about Fibromyalgia and Sinusitis. If you have missed the two previous post, you can catch up with them in the Fibromyalgia alongside category. Sinusitis, for me, comes under the category of conditions that I had before being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, much like the IBS. In contrast to the Hyperhidrosis that occurred at the same time as the Fibro. During this post, I am going to concentrate on the experience of dealing with Fibro and Sinusitis at the same time.

Regular Sinus Problems

I’ve regularly talked about Fibromyalgia, but I don’t think I have mentioned Sinusitis before. If by any chance you are unfamiliar with this condition you can get more information from Patient info. I come under the category of people who have repeated bouts of acute sinusitis, on their website, so I thought I would talk about how that feels.

Your head with Fibromyalgia and Sinusitis

I don’t need to have a cold to get Sinusitis, but if I do catch a cold, it is a given that Sinusitis will follow it. To make matters worse, if I get a sinus infection that triggers a Fibro flare-up. Let me put that into context for you. Imagine you catch a cold and within a day or so of the symptoms appearing; you are not only dealing with the cold virus but, also there is such ridiculous pressure behind your cheekbones and eyebrows that it feels like your head could explode. Simultaneously the Fibro starts causing headaches that feel like a band is pulling so tight around your head, just above your eyebrows that it feels like your head could implode.

The effects on the rest of your body

We have covered the torture going on in your head, but it doesn’t stop there. Fibro flare-ups don’t just affect one area of your body, in general, they can run rampage throughout.  So not only is your head in chronic pain but your joints are more painful than usual, and your energy level is none existent. I hope you are starting to get the idea.

So take some medication?

I am sure you are thinking at this point that surely medication will help? Well, yes, there are things I can take. Regarding painkillers, there is not an awful lot I can do because I am on a prescription strength dose of Cocodomol every day as standard just to help deal with the Fibromyalgia, I can take a limited amount of Ibuprofen though as long as I haven’t used any Ibuprofen Gel on my joints. I can’t remember when I last used any though since I prefer to use Pernaton as I talked about in this post. I also have to be careful with Ibuprofen because it can cause me gastric problems although I am taking Lansoprazole each day to help prevent this.  I do take Sudafed though, and this can provide some relief.

Treatments that help Sinusitis

Essential Oils

One of the first things I turn to is my Essential Oil Atomiser, I have read posts by other people belittling the use of these and saying they don’t do anything. I can only speak from personal experience to say they very much help but you need to make sure you are using 100% pure Essential Oils, using, for instance, a standard room fragrance is, I agree, going to be no benefit to health at all. I have always bought my Essential Oils from Espee Naturals on eBay, and I have never had a problem. I will go as far as saying that on some agonising days using the Essential Oil Atomiser is the only thing that makes life bearable.

Sinus Rinse

The Neilmed Sinus Rinse from Amazon is another life saver. It is not always an enjoyable experience using it, I’ll be honest, but it can be very beneficial if you have a build up of gunk. I was a bit of a wuss about using it initially because I didn’t want to drown myself (a little bit dramatic I know) but after I saw this YouTube Video of a five-year-old girl using it I got over myself quite quickly. To be thorough if you are able to snook it up a bit, it gets further into the Sinus cavities, but I wouldn’t recommend trying this until you have got used to using a rinse. I do find after I have completed it that I sometimes have to lie on the bed with my head hanging over the edge for the last of the water to drain out, this helps relieve the pressure though.

Recovery Time

When you live with a Chronic Health Condition, like Fibromyalgia, one thing you need to be aware of is viruses like Sinusitis have a much longer to recover time. Before I lived with the Fibro, I used to get over a Sinus Infection in two or three days. Because the Sinus problems trigger a Fibro flare-up, it can take a good two to three weeks before you start to gather spoons again. This additional recovery time from other illnesses is one of the most significant problems for a Spoonie to stay in work.

My Experience of Fibromyalgia and Sinusitis

In my previous role, I worked for an organisation that allowed eight sick days a year; I was given an extra two-day allowance for my Fibromyalgia. During my later year there it is fair to say that I breached this, but when we examined the stats, I only had two days in the year that were for anything other than Fibromyalgia related absence. So had I not had a chronic illness my absence levels would have been acceptable. My employer was as helpful as possible, but in the end, I hated letting people down and managing the stress of ringing in sick and decided to leave. You can read to story behind my request for dismissal in this post.

Creating a Network

As you will know if you are a regular reader. It is my intention on this blog to build a point of reference for people who suffer from overlapping conditions. So you don’t have to take my word for it! Also, you can make links with more people who know what you are going through because after all are we not here to support each other? Do you live with Fibromyalgia and Sinus problems? Do you have a blog or a social media account where you talk about the struggles, and you would be happy to message and support others who are struggling with managing the conditions together? If so just drop me a message via email or one of my social media accounts and I would be happy to feature you with Beverley below. There is strength in numbers too, the more of us who have overlapping conditions, the more evidence it provides to the medical profession.

Join the Community

Thank you, everyone, who has taken the time to read the post, I cannot state how much I appreciate it, please remember to drop a comment below if you have found this useful. Is there an overlapping condition you have which I have not mentioned at all, get in touch because I don’t have to experience something myself to feature it on my blog. I am happy to either invite a guest blogger to write it or I will reach out and do the research myself. This may be my blog, but it is our community.

Until next time,
Gentle Hugs,
Susan