After Surgery Complication: Faitigue nose ear and throat problems

@nicoleen1973 I think your respiratory symptoms could be allergy related to something in your environment. Are there any issues with water leaks in your home or work place? If there has been a roof leak that caused spots on a wall or ceiling, there could be mold growth and mold spores cause a lot of allergies and headaches and phlegm buildup in the lungs. Make sure your living environment is free of dust. If there is enough phlegm, it can raise your heart rate because it's in the way of oxygen exchange so your heart has to speed up to compensate, and it sets up conditions in the lungs for that to turn into a bacterial infection if the phlegm is not expelled. I have taken myself to the emergency room with my resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute because of an infection. They prescribed antibiotics which resolved it within days. Ear pain, post nasal drip causing a sore throat and tooth pain are symptoms that can be associated with sinus congestion. A sinus infection can later move that problem into the lungs. Tooth pain should also be evaluated with a dentist because you wouldn't want to mistakenly assume it is sinus related because of overlapping symptoms.

I have had issues with too much phlegm in my lungs that caused a repeating pattern of chest infections and I know that is coming on when my heart rate goes up just walking or using the stairs in my house. I have thoracic outlet syndrome which has physically affected the expansion of my rib cage on one side, and the infections would start on that side because of trapped phlegm. I am also a Mayo surgical patient, and as a precaution before surgery a few years ago, I was advised to use an antibiotic ointment, Bactroban (mupiroicin generic) inside my nostrils to prevent a staff infection. I tried this when I had a chest infection and was able to cure it, and my primary care doctor gave me a prescription. I also use a saline rinse for my sinuses, but that doesn't do much if it's totally blocked. The other health issue that was contributing to my excess phlegm in my lungs was that I had old dental work with root canals that were failing and I had an abscess in my jaw bone and the cadmium from the gutta percha material inside leaches out of the root along with bacteria from the tooth. I recently had the affected teeth removed for dental implants, and immediately, the baseline excess phlegm cleared up and I stopped getting repeating lung infections. I didn't expect that, and I shared that information with my doctors.

You may want to see an environmental medicine doctor or functional medicine specialist. I have asthma and have undergone allergy testing and get customized allergy shots. Allergy shots and antihistamines help, but if you are exposed to excessive amounts of allergans, they only go so far, so it is very important to look for and address any issues in your living environment. Mucinex (or generic) will thin mucous so it's easier to expel and drink plenty of water. I saw a pulmonologist too thinking my phlegm issues could be a MAC infection. There is a discussion group for that here on Connect that you may want to read as those are lung infections that are hard to cure. These links are for a provider search for AAEM, and a page about health issues related to mold exposure from the Environment Health Center in Dallas that describes the symptoms.
https://www.aaemonline.org/find.php
https://www.ehcd.com/mold-and-health

@lehman Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support. In order to connect you with members like you, may I ask what brings you to Connect?

I have been diagnosed with Eagles Syndrome, Chronic Venous Insufficiency, asthma or COPD (my PCP, my pulmonologist and a radiologist cannot agree on which it is) and Mixed Connective Tissue disease. I am in pain every day but the pain is not always in the same place. I feel ill. I am exhausted. I am having a lot of trouble thinking so I have a great deal of trouble communicating with health care providers. I do know that my symptoms are not being managed with the treatments I am on now. I have been diagnosed and treated for chronic depression and anxiety since I was 13. I’m almost 60 now and I have never had such a difficult time.

@lorianz Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support.

You are having multiple medical issues and the treatments you are receiving is not working.

You may find the lung health and chronic pain group helpful and I have linked it below.
- Lung Health https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/lung-conditions/
- Chronic Pain https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/pain/

It can be extremely difficult to treat multiple ailments at one time. I'm wondering if you've considered getting a second opinion and/or going to a hospital system that specializes in coordinating care?

I really am sorry for my late reply. The most debilitating symptom I have had is just not being able to think. Communicating with all of my doctors is very difficult. I have started writing down the problems I am experiencing and then, before each visit, I dissect my notes so I only share the information for each ailment with the relevant doctor. 5 doctors and all but 2 belong to the same network. Of course that leads to insurance issues. My PCP has to send a “Prior authorization” for each “visit” to the pulmonologist, rheumatologist and now to whoever I find to help my with my Eagles syndrome. Just navigating through all of this has really made dealing with my depression/anxiety and worse of all, the social anxiety I experience, overwhelming.
So, how can I fix this? You suggested a hospital system. I am very interested in Mayo. I have a niece who is a NP with Mayo in Rochester. I have not told my family about my illnesses. If I contacted my niece the cat would be out of the bag. My Social anxiety is that bad. I can’t even talk to my family anymore without panic attacks.
Can you help me? I need a push in the right direction as to how I can access a diagnostic team and become a patient at Mayo. I am not sure about insurance. I don’t want to go anywhere that won’t take my insurance so I suppose that would be the first hurdle. I am so grateful for you and all the Mayo Connect participants. I’ve learned more here than at my doctor appointments.

@lorianz If you would like to schedule at Mayo Clinic. I have linked the Mayo Clinic site below.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/appointments
I do not have access to the answers that you seek regarding insurance but the link I provided is where you can start your journey at Mayo Clinic, if you so choose to do so.

Regarding your niece, due to HIPPA your niece does not have access to your chart, unless you give her access.

So sorry darling. I am not help but am here in spirit.

In reading the OP initial posting, I immediately thought of when I kept saying I was sure I had a sinus infection but kept getting told that I didn’t have one. It waxed and waned for months, literally - fall until spring. Of course it was never bad by the time my appointment to see someone occurred...
Until it sort of turned downhill and got very bad. I ended up in hospital, CT scan show sinus abscess. Had IV antibiotics, steroids and emergency surgery to clear the abscess.
One of my constant symptoms was drainage (eventually was bloody) and extreme fatigue.

lorianz, I can't help with you medical issues persay. What I can help you and many of us with keeping track of all of our doctors and medicines.
Go on line to "JournalsUnlimited.com! I have used their journals for many years. The newest one I've found is, "Health, A Medical Journal". In it it has pages for Prescribed Diagnostic Tests on one page, the corresponding page has Your dates and times and what you saw them for so you can record and not forget! Incredable Jouranl!
I'm not trying to circumvent copy write rules, but on the opening page is has a whole paragraph which starts of with, "You are your own best advocate!" Goes on more about taking control of you health and well being!
If anyone has any questions about it, please let me know!
From The Land of Enchantment!
Sundance(RB)

Thank you Erika. I went to the address you gave me and I am now scheduled for a telephone interview. That was so easy! Thank you again!