Question/Update for TE
TE, I've finally decided to give up on doctors locally. It's a lost cause. They keep trying to tell me my nose is fine. I finally found a regular MD that sees what I'm talking about in reference to my left nostril. He said my left nostril is not producing any mucus at all, or very little. He said he can understand why I feel so uncomfortable. He also believes that because I've been dealing with this so long and it's obvious nothing is going to get done locally that going to see Dr. Houser is my only option. I asked him why these local doctors keep saying everything is fine. He said because surgically they do not know of any way to correct it. In essence they don't know how to do what Dr. Houser can do. So now I'm trying to get a hold of someone in Dr. Houser's office to find out about insurance and how much the intial exam will be. I've called 216-778-4318 and left a message. They said they'd get back to me, but never did. Also TE can you recommend a good hotel to stay at when I go see Dr. Houser? I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to make the trip up there. I would like to go sometime this Summer. I'm going to have to get another neck operation the first part of June, so it'd probably be August before they'd let me on a plane. Have to get neck fusion again. First one didn't take completely. C5-6 fused, but C6-7 didn't. It's hell to have this neck issue going on the same time I'm trying to get this nose issue dealt with. I still can't believe that all this nose stuff is a result of a botched sinus surgery. I realize now that I should have only had a septoplasty done instead of sinus surgery. At the time I had surgery I thought fixing my deviated septum was sinus surgery. That's how stupid I was. Why I didn't look into this more is beyond me. I know you said in another post that you thought since I have all my turbinates that the MT would eventually compensate for where the uncinate process and ethmoid used to be. I just don't think I can wait for years for that to happen though. That MD I saw (that believes me) said that he thinks my mucus membranes were damaged on the left side and that's what's causing my problem. It's weird that my problem is mainly confined to the left side. Of course he said he couldn't really give an explanation for certain since he's not a ENT. As far as I'm concerned he's better than any of the ENT's i saw. At least he's honest and not trying to say I'm crazy or something. I would have respected those other Ent's much more if they'd have said I see that you have dryness issues on your left side, but I'm not sure what's causing and don't know of any way to fix it. Instead , they've acted like I'm making it up and just need to live with it. It's not a good feeling when you're made out to be a mental case in front of your mom. My mom is finally starting to come around though. It's taken a lot of explaining on my part to convince her that these ENTs around here don't know what they're talking about, and that I do have a problem from previous sinus surgery. Te, the basic point of this letter is to let youknow you were right about how most Ent's are not going to admit anything is wrong. I'd just like you help if possible on getting in contact with Dr. Houser's office to get this process going. Do I need to just keep calling the Metrohealth Clinic and Cleveland Nasal-Sinus and Sleep Center ? Thanks, Gary P.S. Am I the first person that you've come across that has had ENS type symptoms without having turbs touched? I can't find anyone else on this board that's had their uncinate process removed. Am I the only one?

I got a $160 a night hotel for $60 on priceline. I am less than 1 mile from the surgery center and about 3 miles from Dr. Houser's office.

Gary, It's certain that you have a problem in that nostril and that you are not mental. It's always a good idea to go to see Dr Houser about that and see if the cotton -*test*-('") help you. Post surgical nasal dryness is a very common symptom and any ENT who tells you otherwise is a liar. Please note that I'm relating to dryness only, not to ENS. In ENS there is another component and that is luck of airflow feedback and an annoying feeling of emptiness, which most feel as lack of adequate nasal resistance. Dryness in the nose after nose surgery, which is not atrophic rhinitis, is called - rhinitis sicca (Greek - for dry nose). For some reason your nose is not producing enough moisture. In cases were the turbinates were not resected this usually happens because of three possibilities: 1. chronic blood vessel constriction, which can happen because of many different causes. One of them I believe is too much direct airflow impact on the mucosa. 2. post surgical shock of the mucosa which can sometimes last a very long time. 3. scar tissue. There are also other causes which are systemic and to do with your general health, but the fact that this began immediately after your surgery and is confined to one nostril means that the surgery is a main cause. However, there was a reason you had surgery to begin with. You felt some obstruction. was this obstruction there all the time or did it begin or get worse shortly before the surgery? If the latter is the case it is quite possible that it was increasing levels of nasal dryness before the surgery that intensified the sensation of nasal blockage, and this factor is of course still there and by finding it and treating it you might be able to improve the moisture in your nostril without any surgery. In any-case, I would go to see Dr Houser, have him examine you thoroughly, do the cotton -*test*-('") and discuss possible causes for dryness and your options. Appointments are made through both clinics you mentioned. I'm sure they will help you out. I'm surprised that you are having trouble. Just try again. I cannot help you out about accommodation. You can search this site, as people have recommended several cheap places there which they liked. I stayed in the Day's Inn in Freedom. I do not recommend that place what so ever. Still chasing the flees of me...

Mailman can you tell me the name of the hotel
Mailman, What was the name of the hotel you stayed at? Sounds like a great location. Thanks, Gary

About the surgery I had
TE, The left side is the side that had the deviated septum. Both nostrils stay drier than before surgery. The right side though is certainly bareable and doesn't really bother me. The right side feels pretty normal and feels like I have resistance. The left nostril is the one that drives me crazy and keeps my nose on my mind. It stays much drier than the right side and just feels like I have no resistance at all on that side. Winter time or a very cold room really aggravate the empty feeling. Using the saline gel makes the left side feel pretty normal. However, I don't want to go on the rest of my life having to carry around saline with me whereever I go and constantly having to use it every coupleof hours. I want a more permanent solution if possible. I'm hoping an injection of restaylane and then more permanent cymetra may be the solution. I'm afraid an implant may be too much since the saline seems to make my nose feel normal. If that Dr. would have just fixed my deviated septum like I thought he was going to do none of this would be happening. Why in the world he didn't explain to me that he planned to take bone out of my nose (uninate process) is beyond me. I never would have agreed to have bone taken out. It just boils down to the fact I trusted him too much since he had done my tonsillectomy years previous and had treated me for sinus infections for years. I never will forget going back for the follow up visit and asking why in the world I was in so much pain from surgery. When he said he had taken bone out I just felt a wave of anxiety rush over my whole body. Little did I know at the time the problems it was going to cause me later. I was upset then. I'd say I'm furious about it now. His reasoning for taking out the uncinate process was so he could get to the sinus infections better and so sinuses would drain better. To sum up. My problem is dryness and emptiness on my left side. Also have constant drainage down the back of my throat. At least since I've been on this site i found out my allergy shots were the cause of my throat to staying sore and irritated. I'm in Houston Texas. In the paper today they had an article about one of the Houston Astros having breathing problems,severe allergies and sleeping problems due to a deviated septum. I was thinking to myself he better not go to the guy I did. I never had sleeping problems with my deviated septum, but I certainly had the allergies and breathing problems. Lots of upper respiratory infections before surgery. Why couldn't that doctor of mine just fix the problemand not created another problem. Don't know that I'll ever get over this. Hopefully Dr. Houser can fix my problem. Gary