Members who feel they have recovered from ENS
I thought it might be useful to have a thread where the members that have received the injections could share their ideas on what worked the best.Also where to stay in Cleveland for a visit to Dr.Houser.Places to eat.It seems that the alloderm or cymetra injections are the way to recover from this.I searched the forums and found bits and pieces of info.But I'm thinking a thread dedicated to this would be helpful.I just want all the members of this forum back to their normal lives,as much as possible.We have all sacrifised enough time,Energy,and sanity over what,recovering from a bad medical proceedure.So lets get healed,mentally and physically,and leave this ENS in the past.I'm not one to beat a dead horse.I've done nearly everything to get over this.Even suggested the injections Dr.Housers now does but my doctor said they wouldn't work.I guess I'm trying to show some progress,something positive from this board.I hope no one took this wrong.I know you all have worked really hard on this board.At first thier was nothing for ENS,now you have a direction to move toward.I believe if I was 75% better I could cope with this ENS,most people have something wrong with them,and God bless the ones who are in perfect health.What a beatiful thing that would be. Thank you all. Billy.

What happens is when people start feeling better (after implants) they start spending less time one here. What we need really is a report of more of the sucesses.

Hi Billy and JR, I think this is an excellent idea. It would make it much better for the rest of us, to learn and know what to expect. Anything that makes things positive is good.

I am a month out from implants, and both Dr Houser and I are pretty sure that implants are not a total cure. A month later, I still have all the same problems I did before, but maybe more manageable -- and I am hoping improvement will continue in that direction. Now I am experimenting differently with treatments - maybe less irrigation at night will help me fall asleep; maybe less allergy medicine will help me be less dry? I also need to wear breathe right strips now because the one implant on septum side is still too big for a normal airway, which stinks. I might have to reduce it if it does not on its own (with Dr Houser of course).

Erika, I think you are making a grave mistake taking al those allergy medicines. Plus, I recall you saying that you use regular saline which is also a mistake in your condition. All these will increase your dryness and feeling of congestion. You should try going without any allergy meds for like six months at least and cut down the irrigations (which you began way too soon after the implant surgery) to twice aday only - morning and half an hour before bed time (preferably with Dr Grossan's Ringer Lactate based solution and not just regular saline like Neil Med). What I suggest you use for the rest of the day, and especially before you go to sleep (after you finished irrigating and let it all draine out) is sesame oil. This will never dry you, no matter how much you use it and offers superior and long lasting protection to your mucosa. It will trap all your irritants and soften the crusts and when you do the irrigations it will allow better cleaning of the nose. This was found in studies to be superior to saline, and it is recommended by the Mayo clinic. The brand I use, which I know can be easily ordered on the net and is perhaps also available in pharmacies in the US, is - "Nozoil". Also, you sound like you think that it is too much activity of your mucosa (allergies) that is causing you a feeling of congestion, while in essence I think you are wrong - it's the ENS and stress involved plus the allergy drugs that are reducing the blood flow to your nose. It's not that your mucosa is over active - it is that it is UNDER active and you need to improve your blood supply. WHen is the blood supply restricted: - Stress: depression and anxiety - a major contributer. - Lack of sleep: catch 22 - you don't sleep well because of the dryness and than you are more dry which further worsens your sleep etc'. - Lack of REGULAR physical exercise (a grown up who doesn't work in physical labour needs at least one hour of swet exercise a day) - high levels of Cholestrol. Other factors which you must rule out that are major dryness contributers: - Under active thyroid gland. - Birth control pills can upset yuor normal regular hormonal rhythms. - Upsetting the natural circadian rhythm of light and dark. - Some psychiatric medications.

Thanks TE, so so much. I can't tell you how much it means to me to get your feedback right now. I am in tears at 3 am after not being able to fall asleep for the millionth night in a row. I don't even fall asleep with sleeping pills because I am either too dry or too wet or too congested or too swollen from the septum implant side. I stopped the allergy meds yesterday, which I really only feel a strong need for in fall with certain plants and sometimes in spring pollen time. Not now, though my allergist had me convinced I should try them for dust/mites/mold. I don't see much of a difference, not yet. It is so hard to experiment and understand. I just had to buy a second bed so I can sleep apart from my fiance, because I keep him up otherwise for so long. Quite emotional for me, though it is best. I think birth control pills might help...I was off them but I know pregnancy (bc mimics it, in case you did not know as a guy!!) makes you congested, so they might be good, in that backwards way? I don't know if they cause dryness, just swelling...? I might go back on them - just the low dose kind. I have hypothyroidism, but I take synthroid to balance it. I am not on any other medication but the doryx - low dose antibiotic for this facial rash like eczema - and flonase, mucinex and multivitamins. Flonase will be the next to stop, in my ongoing experiment. I could not breathe at night without it to save my life over the past five years. Maybe with the implants now that will be different. I have Ponaris, which used to feel sticky and make me feel more congested. Unfortunately Nozoil is only online and orderable from the UK and Australia, but I think ponaris is very much like it. I tried it again tonight by putting it in my nightly saline. I usually try to irrigate only two - three times a day. It would be two, but sometimes I am so congested after getting home I have to - before I do the flonase. And after using Flonase, I have to rinse again because all the mucus it knocks out just gets stuck back there and I can't blow it out or suck it back... Somehow using Ayr, Rhinaris, Ocean, Simply Saline (all packaged saline mists) do NOT rinse out the gook or moisturize completely like irrigation. I will seriously try adding Ponaris to irrigation, but it gets expensive. I have good cholesterol. I need to exercise more, but I'm on the low sleep, low exercise, all work, all stress train right now. When even ambien doesn't work, you know you're messed up!! I will follow what you said and let you know. The worst part for me is the irrigating before bed. If I do it too far ahead, I feel too dry in bed, and now I have to wear a breathe right strip or the implant on the septum side totally blocks one nostril. I hope that changes or I'll get it reduced once it is set in 6 months. God let 6 months fly by!!!!!!!! If I irrigate (not with the Grossan, but the Neil med squeezy bottle) too close to bed, I am drowning in Saline. I already have so many medical expenses, I don't want to do more damage and pay for the Grossan Saline. Can I make the Lactate Saline at home? I will look into it. I can add Ponaris, although that is pricy as well. Catch 22. Trying to reduce the dryness is my best bet... I hope I can stop both the xyzal and the flonase, but for the latter I have little hope of being able to quit. I wonder if anyone else has become so dependent on flonase as I? If stopping doryx for more moisture means having hideous skin? Maybe I will try a lower dose since I just discovered it is drying. I don't know if I can deal with that, because this facial rash scars if I do not treat it. Then I will be crying nonstop because I am female and having oozing scabs on your face, and scars, is pure hell. I take really great care of my skin, but nothing stops the perioral dermatitis rash but that medicine - there is no cream. I have had it since 16. Sorry so longwinded and upset. Your help means so much to me!!!! I just have to keep trying different things, as we all do, and I hope others will learn something from this, perhaps. It is a good lesson to learn to weigh side effects of other related and unrelated medications. Oh, nice Arabic TE! I am super impressed! Thank you so much, Erika