What is chronic sinusitis?

Do I have chronic allergies, chronic sinusitis, or possibly some serious disease?

• I have had chronic condition for the past nine months. This condition has gradually become worse with headaches, fatigue, upper nasal cavity congestion, Eustachian tube problems, and breathing problems / asthma. Over this nine months I have been on nine antibiotics, two steroids, three nasal sprays, and two OTC allergy relief medicines. I am currently on immunotherapy and I have been taking it for five weeks. The problem is that this condition keeps getting worse at a slow gradual pace and I'm not sure my main ENT is correct to think it is chronic allergies. My mother told me I was allergic to mold and dust when I would speed-skate as a child because there was dust and mold in the ice-rink. I also had exercise induced asthma. I did have an inhaler when I would practice and compete for speed-skating. Since my childhood I never had any other problems with asthma or allergies until nine months ago. Although it is not diagnosed, I have very sensitive skin, which may be Dermographia. For example, if I shave, I will have red marks on my chin and face where I pressed the razor or shaver too hard. My main ENT has told me that all of my symptoms can be explained by chronic allergies. I am concerned because this "problem" has been a very slow gradual process in which no medication nor environment has made it better over the long-term. I have never had a severe reaction to mold or dust that I know of. I have never had a situation in which I had to use an epi-pen. I have been in Missouri for the majority of my time, Illinois while on vacation, and last summer I was in China. None of these changes in environment made a noticeable difference in my condition. I realize that the immunotherapy medication is putting allergens in my body so that I can build up an immunity to those allergens, but the symptoms seem to be getting worse at the same gradual pace. I feel as though I am dying slowly and I almost wish I would have an outbreak or a severe reaction to something so that I will know what is causing my problems. Thank you very much for reading and I would appreciate the answers or professionals or experts.

• Answer:

  Although I am not a professional or an expert, I do know that learning of allergies and figuring out what allergies you have can be a hard journey for you and anyone close to you, like parents. It is a long road to figure out what exactly is the problem and then to cope with it and eliminate that from your life. I have been there with my son who is allergic to Milk, eggs, peanuts and tree nuts. And that is just food, he also has environmental allergies that can get pretty bad as well. I think that you should speak with your allergist and tell him exactly what you just wrote. Explain to him how it feels like you are dying. It may be that this immunotherapy is not doing what it should and in-fact making you worse. I know people that have done immunotherapy and it made their allergies worse not better. So, I would not do it nor recommend it for anyone else. But, like I said, the best and first thing you should do is talk with your allergist and tell him what is going on. You can't have anyone help you if you don't tell them that you need the help. I hope you figure everything out. There are support groups and blogs that you can visit to make you feel better. Do some research. You will realize that you are not alone in this and that there are other people out there that may feel just like you or have in the past and can advise you.