Advice Needed Been Unwell Now For 12 Months

[MB2013]

I haven’t done any diving for 12 months due to being unwell. I would appreciate some advice as the Medical Professionals that I have seen so far haven’t managed to treat my problem. Below is a list of points I have tried to stick to the facts,


1)My Symptoms started off as a pain in the right gland of my neck, the gland would become swollen/infected and it felt like the infection travelled up to my right ear. I would get a pain in the right lung and a blocked right nostril. I would also have a general feeling of being unwell(Headache and slight temperature)

2) Went to my GP after I returned back from South East Asia diving trip, told GP I thought I need some Antibiotics. GP wouldn’t give me any Antibiotics. After blood tests , told me I was deficient in Iron and told me to take Iron supplements for 3 months. I returned to GP after 6 weeks when I was still unwell. GP referred me to Hospital.

3) Hospital did more blood tests, chest X-Ray, Ultra Sound on gland in neck, MRI Scan on my brain. No problem found. At every stage I told all the Medical Professionals I have done a lot of diving and snorkelling in the last 2 years, don’t you think it would be a good idea to examine my ears.

4) Finally they book me in to ENT Clinic. I have to wait 2.5 months for the appointment. In that 2.5 months I get a bad chest infection , its the weekend so I go to A&E. Doctor prescribes me Amoxicillin 500mg Tablets (3 daily for 7 days)

5) 2 weeks after I finish the Antibiotics I feel the best I have felt since I got sick. I feel good for 2 weeks, the only problem is a slight sore throat and I get earache twice but only for a short period of time and it’s not that bad. I think I am on the way to recovery.

6) Then I get really bad sore throat and a very bad earache. The earache is the worst it’s been in the whole 12 month period.

7) Finally the ENT Appointment arrives. The doctor looked in my ear and said he couldn’t see an Infection and would give me a hearing test next time. This would show if there was damage to my right ear. He inserted a camera up my nose and checked out my throat. I was told I had a swollen tongue. Plan of action is I am booked in for another MRI Scan on my neck/throat area with a possibility of general anaesthetic and a sample taken of my swollen tongue/throat.

8) Advice appreciated.

 

[dlofting]

I'm no doctor, but it sounds to me like you're on the right track with the ENT Specialist. I had an infection once when I was much younger in a different part of the body that was very difficult to treat with antibiotics. The doctor said it was hard for the body to get the "medicine" into the area in a sufficient concentration to kill the infection. Over time and with multiple doses of different drugs, it eventually went away.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Concur with dlofting above. It's worth mentioning to the ENT that you felt a lot better after 2 weeks of amoxicillin - the solution could be as simple as a longer course of antibiotics.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[MB2013]

Thanks for the replies, its much appreciated. I did tell the doctor who prescribed me the Antibiotics that I had been sick for a long time and could I have a strong course of Antibiotics, but I was prescribed the lowest dosage of Amoxicillin for an adult.

I have got another MRI Scan with Contrast next week and then at a later appointment a pure tone audiogram and typanogram to see if I have got any problems with my middle ear. Hopefully it will get resolved soon. I will report back as the outcome might help someone else in the future.

 

[pinshootr]

did you call DAN after your return????

 

[MB2013]

Just a quick Update. Since my original post on the 17th March I have had another MRI Scan and my Ears tested. Both tests showed no problems. I thought my illness was diving related but it wasn't. I am 95% healthy again and back cycling and running and hoping to dive again in the next few months. Not in any rush to dive until I feel 100% healthy.
I put my health problem down to picking up a virus in South East Asia and then not giving my body time to recover, I should have reduced my workload to enable my body to recover. Also were I wasn't exercising due to feeling ill I put on weight which didn't help things. So the combination of having a virus, being overweight, working to hard and not exercising caused the illness to remain for a lot longer than it should have. The illness wasn't diving related but I posted this reply because it might help someone else in future, who comes back from a diving holiday feeling unwell and thinks its diving related when its not.

Reply to above post I emailed Dan after being home a while as my membership had expired and they didn't reply.