Nasal Spray Addiction _{Page 6 of 11}

i have gone to ent, and 2 doctors and they all say just stop. I stopped cold turkey in one side at a time so i will have to do that again once this flu bug i have is over. But i wonder if the nausea is from spray. I was so happy when I did it for 4 months and then i keep getting sick. Remember I have nerve damage and severe pain in my face so the sinus pain on top of that is brutual.

oh and i do have rhincourt and several times bought the over the counter cold/sinus and allergy meds. It helped when i quit the first time. since then it wont work! But I will keep trying as there is nothing medically them doctors can do. I think on one side i have permanent damage. When I quit for 4 months, it never went unstuffy, but it was bearable but they said it could take longer than that to open up again.

I would try going to an allergist and see about getting a cortisone shot. They keep cortisone handy for asthma patients.

Mine told me that people are right or left nostil users just like being right or left handed. My left side is my bad side and if that side is stuffy, I have a problem.

I'm not trying to tell you I'm cured. I still have problems and I was relying heavily on the sudafed until a few months ago. I don't need that as often now. It took about 18 months for the left side to get better but I was able to stop using the sprays with the help of the various medications.

Sometimes I'll take too much and dry out my sinuses and have a hard time breathing at night.

I stopped after I had the worst sinus infection I ever had and I knew the sprays weren't helping me recover.

If you are using the sprays all day long it may take a while for the stuffiness to go away. I would think the Rhinocort and sudafed should help.

I just want to give you some moral support to quit. I quit several times and went back during a cold. Keep trying until you find the combination of medicines that work but you have to keep trying.

Im surprised at how many people are addicted to nasel sprays. I myself am an addict, i carry a bottle in my purse and have on my nightstand when i go to bed at night. I wake up in the middle of the night having to use the stuff, its aweful!. I have been addicted to it for about 3 months now but this is my second time getting addicted, i used again thinking ' im only gonna use it tonight and thats it' But i should have known better and here i am addicted all over again. The first addiction with nasel spray started when i was 14 yrs old and back then i think i used it for 3 yrs before my now husband took the bottle from me and dumped it down the toilet. The rebound effect was horrible, i suffered with complete blockage for 3 nights! Im now trying to quit again but only this time not cold turkey because thats pure misery. I took the advice of another poster and deluted my nasel spray with sailine solution. I hope this works because im desperate to quit.

If you read some of my earlier posts, you will see how I was able to quit the sprays after more than 30 years.

You have to be determined to quit but it isn't as easy as some doctors think either.

Good Luck

Well its been 2 and a half days since i stopped useing the nasalspray. The stuffiness isnt too bad but i still have some sinus pressure along with the stuffiness. Im taking sudafed and useing saline salution for my nose. Also i am taking an anti inflamotory to help take the swelling down in my nose and it seems to be working. At this stage i get moments of relief meaning i can breath almost clear out of both nostrils for maybe 10 mins then it gets stuffy again but not as bad as when i first stopped the nasal spray. I feel like i can beat this aweful addiction now. I really dont want to be on that stuff for memorial day. Its terrible to have to count on that stuff for relief and to beable to breath. To all the people scared to get off it because of the rebound effect, you can do it. The first night is the worst and the 2nd too but once you get through those first 2 nights it becomes barable. I enjoyed reading everyones posts on here it gave me hope that i can quit too. I will never use nasal spray again, the rebound effects are just not worth it.

exercise will give you some temporary relief from the congestion too.

Yea, i noticed that if i keep moving my nose doesnt seem to be as stuffed but as soon as i sit the pressure starts up. Its definatly bareable right now though. I should be 100% cleared up by this weekend sometime. Im so glad i decided to stop useing this stuff, as dreadful as the first 2 days/nights were it is definitly worth it.

Well its been 3 days since i stopped useing the nasalspray. I tryed the diluting method but just breifly and realized its going to take too long to get off the nasalspray that way. So i took another route which i found to be very successful. Instead of useing the spray a few times a day and in the middle of the night in each nostril, i stopped the spray completley for 1 whole day and yes i did suffer. Then the next day i used the spray ONCE in just one nostril, this provided some relief. Because i went a full day w/out useing the nasalspray when i used it just once the next day it actually lasted the 10-12 hour period like it is suppose to. I think this is because i stopped use of it for an entire day. I have not used the spray in the 1 nostril for 3 days and that side is completly clear now! The side i did use the spray in once is a bit stuffed but not much conjestion at all! I feel great and im so glad i decided to stop useing it and im glad i read these forums.

Oh one other thing, i took an anti-inflamotory to help with the swelling too. I've never felt so free of the spray in my life! Good luck to those still trying to overcome this horrible addiction.

I have been very ill this week. I've had severe nausea going on and off the past 2 months. I cant eat,go out, sleep. I'm so out of it from the gravol that doesnt seem to work. I started the spray again a few months ago when i first got sick but I am not using it constantly like before. Maybe every few hours. I am trying to stop it but I cant take the nauesa and the sinus pain from trying to stop. Is there anyway that the spray is causing the nausea? When i used it heavily i didnt have this nausea before.

To elissa, is it possible you are taking something else besides the nasalspray that might have the side effects of nasea?

Also i would like to respond to another poster about loseing your sense of smell and taste. That is so true of nasalspray users. I cant tell you how many times i couldnt taste what i was eating or smell my laundry detergant or lysol spray, it was aweful! Not only that even thought my sinus' felt cleared up i would sound like i had a closepin on my nose! Im happy to say that its all comming back now.

I have a question for the people who got off the nasalsppray. Did you have periods of being able to breath clearly and then periods of stuffiness? I have been off the nasalspray for about 3 days now except with the right nostril in which i only used 1 squirt once the entire day/night. When i went to bed lastnight i was blocked up the miniute i layed down, is this normal for just getting off the nasalspray?

it's pretty normal whether you are coming off the sprays or not, especially if you have allergies or sinus problems.

How many more nights do you think i have of being blocked up when i go to sleep? I gave in alittle lastnight and put barely 1 squirt in just one nostril and it almost cleared it immediatly but i dont want to even use it at all. I was thining of buying saline salution, does that help in way of keeping the sinus' moist and not dry? Maybe help with the breathing alittle? Tks for all the input and suggestions

I have been using nasal spray since I was 8 years old and I'm 30 already but I cant stop, I have tried but if I dont use it my nose get so bad that I cant breath, I use it a few times a day everyday now less than before but I still cant live without it

check out offafrin com . it has a
real good success rate and its non profit. If you want to quit painlessly, check it out. What do you have to lose?

Well, I've stopped using the nasal spray for over a week now & it wasn't as hard to quit as I thought it would be.
I hope everyone can quit the stuff cause I feel soooo much better now that I'm no longer dependent on that product to breath.
Thank you for your support & good luck to you all!!!!
Sincerely, Kathy

proudeskiemama,
How did you do it? Did you go cold turkey? I've been doing the dilute method for wayyy to long. I got down to a point (0.1ml spray to 8.0ml saline)and I cannot seem to drop it any lower or the packed concrete feeling comes back.

Also, anyone who's been able to kick the habit, how do you manage when you have a cold? I'm so scared I'll finally get off it and I'll get a cold and go back!

Some of my earlier posts will have more detail but I was addicted for over 30 years. I was using the sprays only at night so I could breath when sleeping.

The first thing is to get the help of a doctor an Allergist or Ear, Nose and Throat dr.

I received a shot of cortizone to help reduce the swelling in my nose. I also used 12 hr. Sudafed, Zyrtec and prescription Rhinocort, a prescription nasal spray that won't cause the rebound effect of the over the counter stuff.

The other part is mental as you described, the fear of getting a cold, not being able to sleep, etc.

I used a long weekend off from work to finally stop cold turkey. Its been two years and sometimes with my allergies, I get tempted to use them but I will never go back.

I found that cold turkey was my only option, I am using Simply Saline spray to hopefully mend my abused sinuses. If I get a cold I'll just have to blow my nose & deal, cause I'm not going back. I haven't had a cold or flu since I've been taking a multi-vitamin & 1000 mg extra vitamin C daily, I can't say that I won't ever get sick,but I refuse to let that little white bottle run my life again.
I no longer have ANY bottles in my purse or on my nightstand, I found that not having it available made it easier to quit. My sinuses plugged & for a few days it was HARD, but worth it.
You are stronger than that bottle,just make up your mind to take back your life!!!
I know that it's easier for me to say, now that I'm 'clean', but if I can do it after 30 years, so can you!
I'm rooting for you,
Sincerely, Kathy

Thats great you were able to quit but unfortunately not too
many have the will power to stick it out and quit like you did. There are millions who tried to quit for years but are unable to.
Good luck
offafrin com

Nasal Spray Sucess Story !!!

My name is Rich I am 64 yrs old and have been using 4-Way nasal spray for 37 years. I have been to over 10 ENT doctors over the last 20 yrs and all have prescribed expensive nasal sprays that did not work. I was in total misery for the past 5 years as my body was rejecting the nasal spray & i was getting colds, alergy infections & sinus infections daily. I was going into panic attacks because i could not breath & my blood pressure was always high. i have been to the emgergency room 4 times in 3 months with extreme anixity.

Well a miricle happened...I went to Deborah Hospital because I was only sleeping 2 hrs a night....they responded and said i had to see their ENT doctor before I was eligible for the sleep study.
the ENT Doctor at Deborah Hospital recomended an opperation called Turbin Septoplasty and he cautioned me that he was not sure it would help because i was on the nasal spray for such a long time. I had the surgery done on 08/18/2008 AND AFTER 3 OR 4 days of extreme discomfort I could breath, blow my nose without it getting plugged up and resume a normal life....i now sleep through the night. Getting off nasal spray changed my life....i felt like a junkie and was a miserable human being.......i want to share this with all people that suffer this situation....feel free to converse with me.

Rich,

I've heard stories about people that had some type of surgery after using nasal sprays for extended periods but I thought people were just trying to scare me into quitting.

What exactly did the surgery do? I've heard scar tissue builds up but never confirmed it.

Like i said in the letter. the surgery is called 'Turbin-Septoplasty'.....It basically make the nasal pasage larger and he romeves a thin layer of the existing membranes that are giving you the rebound-congestion...keep in mind i was on the nasal spray for 37 years and spraying every 20 minutes , sleeping if i was lucky 2hrs at a time.....so i've been there

Very few drugs relieve a symptom as speedily as an over-the-counter decongestant nasal spray clears a stuffy nose.

johnsmith261982

how do you dilute it? I use the otrivin spray you just push down and it sprays out! do I need to get the Other kind that you have to squeze?