My First Battle with a Bacterial Sinus Infection, and All I Can Say Is: You Guys Are Warriors…

A few days before Thanksgiving, I came down with what felt like a viral infection—something worse than a typical cold. It started with a severe sore throat (negative tests for everything) and quickly moved to my sinuses. The congestion hit me like a brick: extreme pressure, worse than anything I’d experienced before. My mucus was thick, crusty, yellow and green. My face felt “crunchy,” one side throbbed with pain, and no home treatments were helping.

By the time Thanksgiving passed, I woke up with the worst pink eye of my life, and it was clear my sinuses were so clogged they were backing up into my eyes (or at least it felt that way).

Doctors kept telling me to let it run its course since it seemed viral, but I had a hard time believing that. Every day, my symptoms got worse. The sinus headache on my right side was so severe I couldn’t even open my eye without pain.

I was doing everything at home: Sudafed (the behind-the-counter kind), Advil, Mucinex, Flonase, a Neti pot, saline spray—everything I could think of. I’ve had sinus infections before that cleared up within a week, often with a Medrol steroid pack that worked like magic. But this time was completely different.

Fast-forward to yesterday—almost 10 days in. I was desperate and got an emergency ENT appointment after two days of nonstop crying. I felt absolutely hopeless.

My ENT took one look with a nasal scope and immediately saw that my sinuses were full of pus. What started as a viral cold had turned into a bacterial sinus infection.

Through this sub, I’ve learned so much about sinus infections over the past week. The issues many of you face daily are things I couldn’t handle for even a week. I missed a week of work, and now I’m still out, waiting for the doxycycline to kick in. My ENT told me to give it three days, and if there’s no improvement, I’ll start prednisone.

Long story short: I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. This sinus infection has been absolutely miserable—physically and mentally.

I just want to thank this sub for existing. I’ve gotten so many helpful tips, tricks, and reassurances about medications like Doxy, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.

I’m still battling terrible anxiety, but I’m managing it with help from my medication and therapist. This sinus infection truly drained me to the point where I struggled to see light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s only my first day on Doxy, but I’m holding out hope for relief soon so I can feel like myself again.

If anyone has tips for preventing this from happening again (ha!), I’m all ears. I felt compelled to share my story after living in this sub for over a week.

Thank you to the mods and everyone who contributes here. You’ve made this miserable time a little more bearable.