For this high school science teacher, sinus surgery at Michigan Sinus Specialists was a game-changer

Doug Mandrick’s sinus problems stretched all the way back to childhood.

“I was missing probably one day a week in sixth grade due to allergies, severe congestion and headaches,” he said.

At several points along the way, doctors recommend sinus surgery, but to Mandrick surgery seemed too extreme at the time.

“I decided I was just going to suffer,” he said.

Allergy drops helped, but he still struggled — even as an adult — to breathe through his nose.

“I had a sore throat every day from my snoring at night,” Mandrick, who lives in Holland, Michigan, said. “I was snoring like a machine. I hadn’t been sleeping well for a year. “

At the suggestion of doctors at Michigan Sinus Specialists, he finally had sinus surgery. Doctors reduced the thickness of a part of his nasal passage called a turbinate, allowing him to breathe easier. It was an outpatient procedure performed in the office, with no hospital stay required. And for Mandrick, it was a game-changer.

He was soon breathing through his nose again and sleeping well.

“I felt like an entirely different person,” he said. “I got a good night’s sleep and felt like I was 10 years younger.”

Mandrick is a high school science teacher, and even his students have noticed the difference.

“They told me I seem to have a lot more energy, and I am a lot more fun,” he said.

His wife, Dr. Erica L. Mandrick, an audiologist at Michigan Sinus Specialists, also noticed a big difference in the snoring.

“We’ve been married 15 years, and it was a constant annoyance,” she said. “I’ve been encouraging him for a while to get the surgery. He’s not even fully where he should be yet, and I’ve already noticed the difference. It’s pretty impressive.”