I have had good results with antibiotics. I have had to take them twice now since having UC (for other things, phlegm from a cold and then a bacterial infection). Both times I felt that the antibiotic actually may have helped the UC a little bit. I did also take probiotics with the antibiotics to avoid getting a yeast infection from the antibiotics! Important to avoid if you are a woman taking antibiotics!!! ;)

If you have a sinus infection I highly recommend getting the antibiotics. Before developing UC I had a sinus infection that I let go for a couple weeks before getting antibiotics. It became very difficult to get rid of and became a chronic condition for several years. It took a year to really get rid of! During that time of chronic sinus infection I HAD to start sinus rinsing with a saline solution. I really recommend it! It is weird and a little icky at first, but it really helps to clear up a sinus infection, helps get rid of colds (it makes it where you can breath again!), and helps with allergies. You can find a nice sinus rinse in the cold section of your local pharmacy. And I am talking about the entire sinus rinse, not just a spray. ;) Just be sure to be gentle when you use it. Don't force it. You can use the neti pot or there is a sort of squeeze bottle that I prefer. When you are all stuffy it is soooooo nice to take a hot shower to loosen things up and then do the sinus rinse. Ahhhhhhhh Now, when you have an infection or cold do the rinse 3 to 4 times a day. After that you can do it once a day or as needed. :)

I hope the antibiotics help and I hope you give the sinus rinse a try. Let us know how you are doing. :)
Rachel

|'ve found antibiotics to be tricky. With me they can cause UC symptoms to get worse, and other times my UC doesn't react, too much. I had trouble with an antibiotic resistant bacteria last year that required several rounds of antibiotics. I was scared too, but eventually everything worked itself out. They never put me into a full-out flar, and after I was finished with them I took probiotics, and they seemed to work.

Best wishes, and I hope your experience is as good or better than mine.

Did your doc diagnose a sinus infection or do you think it's sinus infection? I have a lot of sinus issues but they!e not always an infection

Rmb, I'm going to call my doc today. I have never had my nose swell before, so I'm a little alarmed. My sense of smell and taste are pretty non existent as well because of the congestion. It would be great if I didn't have an infection, but we'll see what the doc says...

Thank you Rachel & Levi :)

Yeah, it's just hard to know sometimes. My allergies are so bad this season due to all the pollen and some mornings I can't even lift my head due to the sinus pressure behind my eyes and forehead. But I know it's just allergies, since I feel fine otherwise. My general rule of thumb for sinus stuff and chest/upper respiratory stuff is that if it doesn't improve or gets worse by end of week 2, I see a doc and figure out if it may be bacterial vs viral. I don't like taking antibiotics for lots of reasons so I just try to take them only as needed.

Salines spray and rinses kind of thin out the mucous and may reduce inflammation. I use them when things get really bad.