Well, for Dr. Conley, who I had the distinct pleasure of meeting this morning, chronic sinusitis is every bit as exciting as a Rolling Stones concert.
I've never seen anyone get so revved up from discussing various forms of snot.
I told Dr. Conley that I've had this chronic sinus problem for as long as I can remember. That I've been on rounds and rounds of high-dosage antibiotics multiple times over the past few years, and it has done squat for my nasal cavities.
He nodded excitedly as I spoke, with a huge grin on his face.
He asked me if I had a neti pot, and I was like, "Duh, who doesn't?" ... and that's when his eyes lit up and he slapped his pen down on his desk in a fit of excitement.
Neti pot make doctor very happy. Indeed.
He then took out a long, snake-like object and stuffed it into my left nostril. The snake thing had a mini camera on the end of it, and I was able to see the inside of my nasal passages. It was darn cool. I then realized why this man was so worked up. Sinuses are neat! He even showed me my vocal cords (The vocal cords only became visible when nearly 10 inches of the snake had been thrust into my head. The thought made me a bit queasy, but it was still cool to see.)
We discovered that my passages are all inflamed. He suggested we do a quick CT-scan to get a better idea of what was going on with my sinuses.
When the results of the CT-scan appeared on the screen, I thought Dr. C was about to pass out from sheer joy. He was all, "You see? THIS is why we do these CT-scans! Look at that! Just LOOK at that!!!"
And so I looked. It looked like blobs, much like when I had the sonogram done in my fifth month of pregnancy.
He looked at me as if I were from Mars. "Don't you see all that gray matter in your sinus cavities?" he continued. I told him, Yes! I can see it now! He went on to explain that all that gunk was not supposed to be there. In fact, it was very bad that it was there. He also pointed out that my septum is shaped like a lollipop instead of a nice even straight line. He also showed me that my passages to my nasal cavities on the left side are incredibly screwed up. He used those very words.
His suggestion? Opening all the passages up surgically and filing down my septum so that it's closer to the normal shape. This way, my sinus cavities will be able to clear themselves of the infection (right now, whatever is causing my problems is trapped in there).
And then he noticed my right eardrum.
I was like, "Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you that I don't have one of those."
He said the hole in the membrane wasn't looking too good and that my inner ear is beginning to look like it's suffering from not having an eardrum to protect it.
SO ... I now have an appointment with an ear specialist who may be able to repair my eardrum during the same surgery. Two birds with one stone.
OH GOODY!
I think I'll probably have a black-and-blue face for a while afterward (since they're filing part of my nose bone off). At least it's not a serious procedure like heart or kidney surgery, but it's still invasive surgery. I'm a little nervous.
Oh! An update: La's dentist said that they may be able to give her a mild oral sedative that will make her a little "loopy" and more relaxed for her tooth pulling, but won't knock her out. I wonder if it's the same stuff David's dentist gave him.
Could be quite interesting.
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