Hi Nibbles,
You have certainly had a very rough time. I am so glad you posted here because this is what can happen when an infected tooth remains in the mouth. Other infections can crop up anyplace in or on the body as the immune system becomes burdened. Infected teeth in the upper arch of the mouth can cause sinus infections. It is NOT uncommon for people to be misdiagnosed and repeatedly treated with antibiotics for sinus infections when the tooth or teeth are what is causing the sinuses to be infected. As long as the infected tooth is present the other areas of infection will not get better until the infected tooth is removed.
We have alot of little membranes in our sinus cavity. Chances are that this tooth has infected the area of the sinus around the tooth root. Once the tooth is removed, the area of infection will be visible to the surgeon and he can clean it out and repair the membrane. Keep in mind that this is done all of the time, it's nothing new. Hopefully, he will have the access he needs to do that through the oral cavity. Sometimes (rarely) the person requires additional sinus surgery to remove the infection. Did he talk to you about that at all? I'm sure he will do everything he can to try to avoid any additional surgeries. You do have a complicated situation but rest assured that the surgeon deals with this situation all of the time and he is prepared to deal with yours.
You will feel SO much better when that tooth is gone and your body has an opportunity to heal that area. Your immune system will be SO happy!!!
Please follow his instructions and make sure you eat nutritiously and drink lots and lots of water post operatively!!
The time you have reserved from work should be adequate. It really all depends on how extensive the infection is in the sinus. If you stay healthy post operatively, your healing time will be quicker. You will be on antibiotics for awhile. If you are not supplementing with a probiotic, it would be very wise to do so. Antibiotics destroy all of the good bacteria in the intestines which can lead to long term intestinal issues and actually slow down the healing process. In our office we recommend a probiotic called Culturelle. You can buy it online at culturelle.com or in a large drug store. It is best to start taking it now and then continue for at least a few months post operatively. For optimal health, it is best to supplement with a probiotic daily for life so the intestinal bacteria has a large abundance of good bacteria for times of stress and so forth.
Please keep us informed of how you are doing ~'.'~
Bryanna
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nibbles
Thank you so much for your reply Bryanna 
I've been having severe headaches for about three years (which is around about the time that I had an extremely bad cavity filled- the dentist at the time wanted to avoid doing a root canal, even though the cavity was very deep. I was happy to save the money so I didn't object  )
I started noticing a rotting smell, and I was getting dizzy spells a few months after. I went to the Dr who suggested a sinus infection and gave me antibiotics. It cleared up for a while, then same thing, same diagnosis.
Long story short, it all started getting worse about 6 months ago- I was so run down and sick, infections were cropping up all over- I had a lump the size of a fist on the back of my head under my hair, and several infected lumps on my legs and face. I was getting reoccuring strep infections. The tooth was so painful and headaches so severe that I was waking up in agony every night.
Since the tooth hurt I thought I'd go back to the dentist and get the root canal in the hope that it would solve some of these issues. The dentist that I saw was the head of the practice, he took an exray and insisted that it was a really bad sinus infection, nothing to do with the tooth.
I went back to the dr. He gave me more antibiotics and ran some blood tests, and I asked him to please refer me to a specialist for the sinus problems. Came back that I had glandular fever, a severe iron deficency.
When I went to the sinus specialist, he sent me for the CT, and referred me to the dental surgon. It looks like (from the scan) well over half the sinus is bad  And you can see the tooth in the sinus.
The dental surgon seems really good, and he does quite a few of these. I think I'm just freaking out a bit- I feel like I've been sick forever. This has really knocked me flat and is driving me crazy- I can't keep things straight in my head most days because I have such a headache/spacey/tired feeling.. I cannot wait to get this fixed.
Thank you again. I really appreciate all the advice, I'll pick up some arnica before next week, and I've let hubby know he is my slave for the recovery time *evilgrin*
What is the average recovery time for something like this? I've taken 4 days off work, and then have another 2 days over the weekend- do you think that is too much, or too little, or appropriate? |