ETD & Chronic Otitis Media w/Effusion
Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2019 5:49 am
As the title suggests, I was diagnosed with Eustacion Tube Dysfunction due to a Deviated Septum injury I sustained as a kid playing football. I was diagnosed after I went to an ENT for Chronic Otitis Media w/Effusion. The doctor put me on antibiotics on 2 separate occasions (but consecutively). Note that he had not yet discovered my deviated septum. So I took the antibiotics for the full round, both times, and afterwards, within a week, all the OTITIS AND EFFUSION RETURNED. He then looked up my nose, diagnosed me with ETD , said I needed health insurance and to stop smoking. He told me nothing about treatment and pretty much shooed me out of his office. I had to do my own research on my chronic condition and determined I would probably need surgery to correct my ETD. $10,000 - $20,000 out of pocket. I never got health insurance, as I could not afford it.
Fast forward 6 years (about a year ago from present). I began to noticed stomach discomforts, acute pains in what I thought was my gallblader, or possibly liver. loss of appetite (ate one meal in 2 days), vomitting, nausea, fever. They became progressively worse and worse to where i was afraid that my gallbladder was failing (another +$10,000-$20,000+ procedure). I bit the bullet and went to a gastroenterologist (this was now about 4 days ago from present time of writing this.) Told him all my symtoms with my stomach, and TRIED to segway (as a hail mary, lets get every little thing I can checked, even though he's a gastro doc) into asking about my ETD and Otitis. He didn't shut me down when I asked if they might be related, but he also didnt respond. He neither confirmed nor denied. Just kind of looked at me. Well then he suggests that its gastritis thats causing my stomach discomfort and prescribes Pantaprozole. I was kinda pissed of at him. I was like "I can feel my gallbladder hurting! How could it just be GERD?!!!!!" I went home pretty disappointed that I had gotten a script for a $500 reflux drug (thankfully the pharmacy tech at the walmart i went to somehow applied a ridiculous discount to it and i got a generic for $17!!!!!! Out of pocket with no insurance!)
So i go home, take my first pill, and then the miracle starts to happen. that evening probably 4-5 hours after taking my first dose, i noticed i wasnt having any stomach pain, but there was something else. first i thought i was having side effects of the medication. my sinuses felt like they had balloons being blown up in them. i had popping in my ears. i had sinus draining. again, no acute pains in my stomach and no nausea. fell asleep.
When i awoke in the morning, i kid you not, amost all my EAR AND STOMACH DISCOMFORT WAS GONE. the scales on the outside of my ears, from flaking infected skin was almost gone. no acute pain in my ears. no feelings of boils in my ears (a common occurance i endured for these 6 years prior with NO RELIEF) No more leaking effusion. No more itchiness (or at least much less) THIS WAS AFTER ONLY 1 DOSE!. of course i gladly took the next pill that morning, and proceeded to comb the internet for information.
when i had first got the perscription the day prior, i was worried about the side effects so i glanced at some info. I had taken note (not really purposefully) that Pantaprozole has a semi-offlabel use to kill some bacteria i never heard of. Some pylori thing....
The first thing i did when i got on the internet was confirm what bacteria Pantaprozole is effective against. Thus started this crazy rabbit hole to explore of the terrible world of H. Pylori. to my shock, studies linking otitis media and H. Pylori are readily available, and suggest a relationship. what i read was that the reflux can colonize the middle ear with H. Pylori, an infection that would not be treated from antibiotic regiments alone.
I also discovered that my girlfriends symptoms of "allergies" and ear infection, were probably due to our infection with H. pylori, as well as symptoms of our 2 kids. one developed a sensitivity to corn and an aversion to eating meat. the other a sensitivity to milk. the first has also displayed developmental issues, which got me thinking about the "brain fog" i have been dealing with for 6 years that seems to be completely gone (3 days on pantaprozole alone). it also made me look at H. pylori and autism and ADHD. something that seems suspiciously related but not well understood.
I had my girlfriend take one of my pills, and several of her ailments seem to be responding quickly and dramatically as well. Im going to talk to my doctor tommorow about an Elimination Therapy for me, and our family, and then we will go from there. I feel like I have been given a miracle cure! I cannot express how happy i am.
Fast forward 6 years (about a year ago from present). I began to noticed stomach discomforts, acute pains in what I thought was my gallblader, or possibly liver. loss of appetite (ate one meal in 2 days), vomitting, nausea, fever. They became progressively worse and worse to where i was afraid that my gallbladder was failing (another +$10,000-$20,000+ procedure). I bit the bullet and went to a gastroenterologist (this was now about 4 days ago from present time of writing this.) Told him all my symtoms with my stomach, and TRIED to segway (as a hail mary, lets get every little thing I can checked, even though he's a gastro doc) into asking about my ETD and Otitis. He didn't shut me down when I asked if they might be related, but he also didnt respond. He neither confirmed nor denied. Just kind of looked at me. Well then he suggests that its gastritis thats causing my stomach discomfort and prescribes Pantaprozole. I was kinda pissed of at him. I was like "I can feel my gallbladder hurting! How could it just be GERD?!!!!!" I went home pretty disappointed that I had gotten a script for a $500 reflux drug (thankfully the pharmacy tech at the walmart i went to somehow applied a ridiculous discount to it and i got a generic for $17!!!!!! Out of pocket with no insurance!)
So i go home, take my first pill, and then the miracle starts to happen. that evening probably 4-5 hours after taking my first dose, i noticed i wasnt having any stomach pain, but there was something else. first i thought i was having side effects of the medication. my sinuses felt like they had balloons being blown up in them. i had popping in my ears. i had sinus draining. again, no acute pains in my stomach and no nausea. fell asleep.
When i awoke in the morning, i kid you not, amost all my EAR AND STOMACH DISCOMFORT WAS GONE. the scales on the outside of my ears, from flaking infected skin was almost gone. no acute pain in my ears. no feelings of boils in my ears (a common occurance i endured for these 6 years prior with NO RELIEF) No more leaking effusion. No more itchiness (or at least much less) THIS WAS AFTER ONLY 1 DOSE!. of course i gladly took the next pill that morning, and proceeded to comb the internet for information.
when i had first got the perscription the day prior, i was worried about the side effects so i glanced at some info. I had taken note (not really purposefully) that Pantaprozole has a semi-offlabel use to kill some bacteria i never heard of. Some pylori thing....
The first thing i did when i got on the internet was confirm what bacteria Pantaprozole is effective against. Thus started this crazy rabbit hole to explore of the terrible world of H. Pylori. to my shock, studies linking otitis media and H. Pylori are readily available, and suggest a relationship. what i read was that the reflux can colonize the middle ear with H. Pylori, an infection that would not be treated from antibiotic regiments alone.
I also discovered that my girlfriends symptoms of "allergies" and ear infection, were probably due to our infection with H. pylori, as well as symptoms of our 2 kids. one developed a sensitivity to corn and an aversion to eating meat. the other a sensitivity to milk. the first has also displayed developmental issues, which got me thinking about the "brain fog" i have been dealing with for 6 years that seems to be completely gone (3 days on pantaprozole alone). it also made me look at H. pylori and autism and ADHD. something that seems suspiciously related but not well understood.
I had my girlfriend take one of my pills, and several of her ailments seem to be responding quickly and dramatically as well. Im going to talk to my doctor tommorow about an Elimination Therapy for me, and our family, and then we will go from there. I feel like I have been given a miracle cure! I cannot express how happy i am.