I have some severe allergy problems. As a result, I suffer from chronic sinus headaches. Sometimes, I just want to drill a hole in my head to relieve the pressure.

If I catch them very early, a dose of Sudaphed® and some Tylenol® (and sometimes Mucinex®) will cure it. (As a side note, these are the main ingredients in most cold pills.) Unfortunately, that doesn't always work. Often, I miss the narrow window and it continues to hurt. Once it reaches that point, I've discovered there are really only two ways to fix it: sleep and narcotics. Last time I had a sinus infection, my doctor prescribed tramadol. It works pretty well, but I've run out of them.

During the fall, I usually end up taking a lot of Sudaphed®. Because of recent laws restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, this can be a problem. One month, a little over a year ago, I hit the legal limit and couldn't buy anymore for another week. I had to buy some of the PE version instead. The PE version contains phenylephrine instead. The marketing might want you to believe they're equivalent, but they are not. Phenylephrine is less effective. It did next to nothing for my sinus pain.

Sometimes, when I get really annoyed after going through the hassle of buying my nasal decongestant, I like to call up a friend of mine that's a former meth addict and complain. It gives me a nice chance to vent and blame someone directly.