Frustrated with sinus problems

 My sinuses are driving me crazy! I have been having sinus infections-or symptoms of them for a long time now. Its really bothering me. I've been having imense pain in my head at the base of my skull and on my face. My nostrils feel intensly painful when I inhale through them, and gives me a headache that feels like an ice-cream headache. I had bloodwork done, x-rays, a CAAT scan, cameras put up my nose, had my allergies tested, and have been to an ENT doctor. Nothing shows up. I'm constanly fatigued, and now I feel feverish and cranky along with everything else. My doctor can't see signs of sinus problems. Does anyone else suffer from stuff like this?? Know what I can do about it??? Does this sound like sinus problems or something else??

Try a neti pot.  I had really bad sinus problems before I tried this.  The are almost all gone now.  It will feel a bit weird until you get use to it, but the results are amazing.

I appreciated your response. My problem is, though, sometimes the pain is so severe that inhaling anything causes me so much pain that I curl up in a ball and tears fill my eyes! Its brutal. I have a cortiosteroid that the doctor finally gave me, but it doesn't help, and when I try to take it on a day when my face and head already hurts, the pain cripples me. I even tried making a saline solution like the neti pot, but it was way to painful. It sent a shooting pain up my nostril, through my skull, right to the base of my skull, and felt like a cold, icy pain that lasted for hours. I swear, there is something not right about that! And the doctor is useless.

Sometimes migraines present as "sinus" problems rather than "classical" headaches.  Have you considered getting another opinion from a headache specialist?

Has something changed in your life recently that could be triggering migraines?  There is a thread on health and support that talks about different people's migraine triggers.  Good luck!

Have you had your eyes tested recently?...  Eyestrain can be mistaken for migraine.  And the solution my doctor always recommends to keep airways clear is the old 'head over a bowl of steamy water' tent.  Many homes these days are kept too dry with central heating and air-conditiong.  Increasing the humidity with humidifiers and/or steam tents and/or running a hot shower and sitting in the bathroom with the doors closed can sometimes help.

It could very well be a migrain...I never really thought of that one. That never used to happen to me before. Would a migrain be linked to pain breathing through your nostrils?? And I wear contacts/glasses so I don't think its eye strain. Good idea, though. Thanks so much for your responses. Maybe I'll invest in some migrain pills, and see if that works. Although there's nothing new in my diet, its quite possible. I'll monitor it more. Thanks again.

Original Post by gobbley:

And I wear contacts/glasses so I don't think its eye strain. Good idea, though.

 As a fellow glasses-wearer I'd suggest that you don't dismiss the suggestion.  Eyes can change over time and glasses can get bent out of shape.  I had a problem not so long ago where a brand new pair of glasses had had one lens inserted very, very slightly askew.  That gave me terrible headaches until I went back and had them checked. 

I don't ever get headaches very often though. Only about twice, or three times a month I get really severe head pain. I only got these glasses in January, and I've had no problems with them. I've had eye headaches like that in the past though, so I know what the pain is like. This is different, and predominatly in my nose when I breathe, which triggers pain in the base of my skull. I've had many sinus problems for two years now, regardless of whether or not the doctor can find anything, I can't ever breath through my nose, and have post-nasal drip. I'm just beside myself. I have to suffer because he doesn't believe me. When it gets really bad-like today (I know I have a bit of an infection) I feel like theres nothing I can do about it. I can't go to the doctor- he just throws anti-biotics at me and thats it. I don't want to be taking them all the time. I've been there 4 or 5 times this year already.