I’ve complained and whined and complained some more about an ear issue that’s been bugging me for a LOOOONG time. My left ear, for over a year now, has felt like it has fluid stuck inside. I’ve had it checked countless times, had blood tests, CT scans, x-rays, all to show… nothing. Every test comes back perfectly normal.
I’ve tried everything, and I mean everything for this stupid thing. I took a dietary supplement for three months that’s supposed to help regulate inner ear circulation, with no astonishing results. Antihistamines did nothing. For the last two months, I’ve been attempting dairy free, to see if that might help alleviate some of the mucus going on in my head. It’s helped a bit with head pressure and some dizziness that comes with it all, so that’s a start. But the ear thing remains.
Last week, I returned to the ENT, at the direction of my doctor, who is scratching her head at all this. I was hesitant, as I’d gone to the ENT last year for the same problem and felt that I wasn’t really listened to. He checked it quickly, handed me a pamphlet about some jaw disorder, and basically rushed me out of the office. I wasn’t eager to return, but my doctor felt that it might be time for an endoscope, and sent me back.
I think I caught the ENT on a bad day last year, as this visit was completely different. He sat down, looked me straight in the eye, and listened to all my symptoms and problems. Drew was there with me, so he backed me up and offered a few things that I forgot (sometimes he really does know me better than myself.) There was no need for an endoscope (phew). He heard all the symptoms and immediately called it, “Eustachian tube dysfunction.” It was a relief to hear a name put to it, in all honesty. At least I know what it is now. Apparently it’s pretty common.
His options were:
- Wait it out. It will usually clear up on it’s own. I told him I felt like I had given it enough time, and he agreed.
- Try a steroid. This can often help “regulate” the pressure or something. I don’t really know exactly what it does, but I’m willing to try anything.
- If steroids don’t help, I can have tubes put in. Oh joy.
I mentioned the dairy free thing I had been trying, and he agreed that was a good plan of action. He said that it was likely that this might have been caused by an allergy. He said it would be good for me to try gluten free as well. I’ll share about that in the next post.
So I’m on steroids now, hoping and praying that they’ll do something for this. They warned me that prednisone might make me a bit moody, and that I’d probably want to eat the side of a house. Sure enough, three days in, I woke up with what felt like extreme PMS. Poor Drew asked if he had done something. I hugged him and told him I was blaming the drugs. I really felt like I could rip someone’s face off yesterday. Scary.
And yes, I have wanted to eat the side of a house. Which is frustrating, being on strict dietary restrictions. I want to tear the pantry apart, but I can’t eat half of what’s in there. And I’ve been really thirsty. I think I filled my Nalgene up four times yesterday.
My sister’s dog has been taking prednisone for a couple years now, and I totally have sympathy for her. She never was a beggar. Now, on prednisone, she’s always hanging out in the kitchen, waiting for handouts, or standing by her bowl, trying to convince someone she hasn’t been fed yet. I feel ya, Lacey, I feel ya.
So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this stupid drug will actually do some good.