I have some nasal decongestant spray stuff that says to use 2-3 sprays per nostril no more than once every 12 hours, for not more than 3 days. It says if you use it too much it can just make things worse.
Well, I don’t know if it is making things worse or if things are just bad in general, but my constantly stuffy nose makes it difficult to breath during the day, while running, and especially at night. It makes it hard to fall asleep and makes my sleep unproductive. I’m starting to think that some of the problems I’ve had for years with sleep could be at lesat tenously related to this nose thing.
So I’ve been taking one spray per nostril for far more than the last 3 days…it makes it a lot easier for me to go to sleep. I don’t know how much its helping with the actual sleeping. There is probably a better solution to this problem. One day in the near future I’ll (hopefully) have my own job and my own health insurance and I’ll be able to read the information and login to the web site and learn about the network, and then I will finally be able to visit a doctor about this, and none too soon.
Step away from the nasal spray. Immediately.
I’ve had a chronically stuffy nose for, say, the last 19 years. Suffice it to say, in that time, I’ve tried many remedies, nasal spray included. The nasal spray worked well, and I used it for about a week or two. I then went on a vacation, and left the nasal spray at home on accident.
I was miserable — and addicted.
I say try some Sudafed, and use the nasal spray *sparingly*. You may also want to try these weird nasal inhalers Vicks makes — they look like little chapstick things, but you put it in your nose and take a big hit (heh, I’d make a good druggie). It’s not magic, but it allows me to sleep when I’m really congested. YMMV.
Let me better define addicted — basically, it took a few doses of nasal spray each day to get me back to the place where I started. So in the long run, I was no better off with the spray.