edited to add: Have you had a cold in the past month or so? Does it hurt more if you lean forward like you're trying to touch your toes? If the answer to either of these is yes, there is a chance you have a sinus infection, for which you will need to take antibiotics.

I've tried ibuprofen with no success. Drixoral makes my heart race and I feel slightly less pressure, but nothing significant.

The pain on the right side of my face is intolerable. I've tried hot showers, I bought a "facial spa" thingy to inhale steam....no dice.

My right eye is tearing up again and I have the temperament of a grizzly bear. I do have some congestion in my right nostril, but I guess I don't pay too much attention since I can breathe through the other side and since the rest of my face hurts so much.

Hopefully this will get cleared up soon. Decongestants make me really anxious and my heart races, plus they don't take all the pressure away.

He suggested nasal irrigation to prevent further infection but I can't seem to get the liquid to run out of the opposite nostril! Is there are trick to this? I'm using Hydra Sense Nasal Care and it says to tilt head forward and to the left while spraying into the right nostril and the liquid should just go through your nasal passage and out the left nostril. It just came right on back out the right side. Any suggestions?

Glad to hear you've seen a doctor. Had I noticed this thread earlier, I'd have advised it right away. I had an awful, agonizing sinus infection a few years back that I though I could cure myself with Tylenol Sinus and similar. Turned out that it spread, infecting my entire maximal sinus cavities (under the eyes) and face. My doctor told me (no joke) that such rampant infections can damage eyesight by putting so much pressure on your optical nerves and brain. Yikes!

Thanks all for your help!

Edited to say, if your tounge turns black, that's normal at least that's what the ent told me. Use a tounge scraper if it's really bothering ya.

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Originally posted by Bureinato:
Edited to say, if your tounge turns black, that's normal at least that's what the ent told me. Use a tounge scraper if it's really bothering ya.

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:
I totally forgot about it till now, but J also drinks "Traditional Medicinals Breathe Easy Tea" to help his sinus congestion. Sometimes they sell it at the grocery store and sometimes you need to go to a health food store. I can't stand the taste of licorice so I've never tried it, but he says it "helps and makes him feel silly too."

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The classic symptoms of chronic sinusitis include:
Head and nasal congestion
Headaches
Runny nose and/or postnasal drip
Halitosis
Increased irritability

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edited to add that where my glasses fit on my nose only adds to the pressure and pain. blah.

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Originally posted by bekkaboo (in another thread):
I'm pretty sure this was also mentioned in the sinus oain thread, but I have nasty horrible terrible sinus pain (esp. when the weather changes) - I thought it was allergies, took allergy meds, sinus meds, headache meds to no avail. Anyway, someone recommended SinuFix, I've been taking it regularly and so far haven't had any sinus pain at all. I dunno if yours is that serious, but if it keeps up it might be worth a try.

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Re: nasal sprays -- I can't stand spraying anything up my nose, but sometimes nasal spray is the only thing that helps when I'm solidly congested. I notice I get terrible congestion at night around springtime every year, and use nasal spray pretty consistently - it feels like I need it, but once fun congestion time is over, I really don't use it at all.