- First up this morning, if you would like to say goodbye
to nasal sprays, medications,
and those annoying nose strips, then listen up.
It's of course allergy season,
I probably don't have to tell you that.
So today, we're going to tell you
about ways to treat sinus infections and chronic congestion.
- Dr. Madan Kandula is a board certified
sleep and sinus surgeon with ADVENT,
and he joins us along with one of his patients, Mike,
who has suffered with chronic sinus and breathing issues.
And I think he's a lot happier now.
Good morning, gentlemen. - Hey, guys.
- Good morning, good morning.
- Thanks for joining us this morning.
You know, I think a lot of people,
we'll start with you, Mike, because I think a lot of people,
you know, when they have an allergy problem,
they just sort of live with it.
They're doing the sprays, they're doing the medications.
When did you know that your sinuses were truly a problem
you needed to seek help for?
- Oh, I think I first realized that I had issues
back in college.
You know, when I was getting run down through athletics,
through academics, through social life of college.
The first thing that I would notice
was that I was getting sinus infections.
And through that, I just thought it was just kind of
how my body was reacting.
And it wasn't 'til later that I found the option
of having my sinuses opened up, expanded, and worked on.
And I would've said that I wasn't an allergy sufferer.
So I think there are a lot of people out there that think,
"Oh, I don't have allergies,"
and they just don't realize that that is what's happening.
- Yeah, Mike, I'm a big fan of neti pots.
Did you use one of those?
Did you get any relief from that?
'Cause a lot people try things like that over the counter.
Yeah, trust me, I've gone through all the nasal sprays,
the neti pot, the breathing strips.
I think one of the problems I had with that
is you're always trying to react to what you think
is coming on, as opposed to being proactive.
It was more of, if I felt either that I was congested
or if I thought I was starting to get a scratching,
a sore throat, and a sinus infection,
then I started to try to treat it.
But it always felt like I was treating it after the fact.
- That's such a good point, because don't you think,
Dr. Kandula, I'll bring you right in.
I mean, that's what I think most people do, is we react.
That's such a good point.
We're kind of treating the symptoms
instead of getting ahead of it and stopping it.
Is that a pretty common thing you hear from patients?
- Yeah.
You know, it's in your head,
and so you don't know what to do about,
which, you know, it's a really weird dynamic.
And so you know something's wrong,
you try to reach out to the tools that you have available.
Unfortunately, a lot of folks never really understand
what it's like to have a nose that's working,
or sinuses that are working until after we get things open.
If anybody's got a nose issue or a sinus issue,
they've got one of two issues.
Either the lining is irritated,
which allergies would be a really common example of that,
or the anatomy is too tight,
which is the passageways are too narrow.
And so Mike's like a lot of our patients,
most of our patients, who suffer from anatomy issues
and the lining issues.
And medications cannot treat the anatomy.
Medications can maybe put a Band-Aid on the lining,
but really, if you want to get to the root of things,
we really need to understand what's going on,
and we really need to come at it with a proactive approach.
- And I know you speak from personal experience too, Doctor.
A lot of people know that you had nasal issues,
and had them treated.
So you know what it's like to have a nose
that's not working.
So Mike, let me turn to you again, then,
to you were an elite athlete in college.
You're now an endurance athlete.
You had a lot of different medical procedures, right,
to try to fix the problems, the sinus problems
that you were having?
- Well, I've had a lot of medical procedures
across the board.
Just going through being a college ball player
and having surgeries, and then after college,
just living an adventurous life led to a lot of injuries
and surgeries.
But I'll tell you, having my sinuses fixed
was a game changer.
And it was the best thing that I could've done.
And from a procedure standpoint,
I was more anxious about coming here today to do this
than I was actually about going
and having the procedure done.
It's a lot like going to the dentist.
And it's, you know,
it's something we do twice a year.
We all are very comfortable doing it.
So to break down the fear of going in
and having it checked out, looked at,
boy, I would recommend it.
- I love hearing that.
It speaks to the fact of just how good you feel now
and the difference that you feel after trying
so many different things, and then going to ADVENT
and having success with the procedure.
You know, for you guys, Dr. Kandula,
you've been treating sinuses as a specialty at ADVENT
for a very long time, right?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, that's all that we do, at this point.
So we call it the breathing triangle,
which is the nose and the throat, and that's all we do.
That's 100% of what we do, and so we better bring it,
from a results standpoint and an attitude standpoint.
And we do, and the really rewarding thing
is patients have really, really responded to that.
And there's so many people who suffer with issues
that do it needlessly.
You know, at the end of the day,
our first step is really trying to understand
what's going on, and then figure out what your options are.
And you know, like Mike.
Mike had in-office procedures,
which are as simple as you get, but effective.
Some folks might need more intense things,
some folks might need less intense things.
So it's really, you know,
stopping trying to figure out on your own,
and just reaching out.
Nowadays we can do that in a really,
really convenient manner, just virtually.
We can start the journey that way, which is really nice.
- I know that CT scans you do in your office,
as well as all those great procedures.
Mike even drove himself, I read,
to and from his appointment, which is fantastic.
Ran his fourth, I think, Iron Man,
and got his best time, which is incredible.
I'm so glad that you're feeling so much better, Mike.
Congratulations to you. - Congrats.
- Thank you.
Yeah, you know, the other thing I'd like to mention
is you don't know what you don't know,
and that's, when I look back,
that's probably the biggest message for me,
is I just didn't realize how good I could feel.
And here I am in my 50s, and I look back at all the years
that I was suffering,
and just thinking that was just the way
that I was put together,
and there really wasn't anything I could do about it.
Boy, was I wrong.
And now, to be at this point in my life,
breathing so well at night to sleep
or during my training, and again,
I know I overuse the term game changer,
but it truly has been.
For endurance athletes, it's everything.
We count on the fact that we can breathe well
when we're training or racing.
So if you cut that back or you limit that,
it's, yeah.
It's the wrong approach.
- It's a game changer for sure.
It's so wonderful, Mike, that you're feeling so much better.
Congratulations.
What a great story to share with us, Dr. Kandula.
Thank you so much. - Thanks, you guys.
- Share with people how they can make an appointment,
and as Dr. Kandula mentioned,
you can get the process started virtually,
which is fantastic.
There are offices close to you.
Tosa, Mequon, Lake Country, Pleasant Prairie, Oak Creek,
Vernon Hills, Illinois, Northbrook, Illinois,
as well as Appleton.
Call (414) 771-6780 today to schedule.
Don't suffer with chronic sinus stuff any longer.
You can email them, too, at info@adventknows.com,
or visit the website for more information
about the great in-office procedures.
adventknows.com.