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nasal spray addiction
it appears that i have been addicted to the neosyneferin nasal spray for two years now..it all began when i became ill with a siunus infection and i needed something to open my nasal passages..i started on the neosynefrin and could never get off it after that..i also suffer from time to time with what the doctor refered to as medicine nose, which is what i am going through again at the moment..my nose is continually blocked with constant discharge..i need to spray almost every half hour or so and sometimes more frequently..i'm nervous and panicky, irritable, can only sleep at one hour intervals and feel like i'm suffocating...i dread going to another specialist and being told that the only way out is going off the spray cold turkey which is unimaginable or having an operation..please tell me that in this day and age there is another possible route out of this madness..
desperate for your reply,
stephanie
desperate for your reply,
stephanie
I have been addicted to Otrivin for about 10 years now. I tried the one nostril at a time thing and didn't like it. I almost kicked it just recently using a weaning method that has been partially described above. Recently they pulled the Otrivin off the shelves here and I found myself cut off of my weaning program.. I have switched to Dristan (not nearly as good) but plan to wean off that as well.
The weaning is pretty easy. I took a empty pump and cut a small hole in it. Then with a cheap eye dropper I would mix 36 drops Otrivin with 4 drops of saline (10%). Do that twice ('bout 3-4 days), then 32 drops otrivin and 8 drops of saline.. Then 28 and 12.. finally 24 and 16.. I was down to almost 50/50 when the Otrivin vanished from shelves. It seemed to be working, i used pretty much as normal and at 24 drops Otrivin I was still getting cleared.
Straight Dristan is far less effective than the diluted Otrivin though.. It'll probably be a tougher battle now but I'm kinda glad they pulled it although it will be coming back I hear at half strength so I may be able to resume right where I left off!
Best of luck!
The weaning is pretty easy. I took a empty pump and cut a small hole in it. Then with a cheap eye dropper I would mix 36 drops Otrivin with 4 drops of saline (10%). Do that twice ('bout 3-4 days), then 32 drops otrivin and 8 drops of saline.. Then 28 and 12.. finally 24 and 16.. I was down to almost 50/50 when the Otrivin vanished from shelves. It seemed to be working, i used pretty much as normal and at 24 drops Otrivin I was still getting cleared.
Straight Dristan is far less effective than the diluted Otrivin though.. It'll probably be a tougher battle now but I'm kinda glad they pulled it although it will be coming back I hear at half strength so I may be able to resume right where I left off!
Best of luck!
I feel your pain with regards to this problem! Everytime I go through a cold I have to resort to the nasal sprays because I just cannot take being blocked up! I usually end up using the sprays for another couple of months after the cold has gone. I usually wean myself off the spray over a day or two going cold turkey. What I do is work it out so that the effect wears off in the morning or when I get out of bed. Then if I occupy myself during the entire day I find that I start to get relief after about 12 hours in one nostril. It really is a case of perserverance (sorry about my spelling lol) but if you go cold turkey this way you find you will recover. Keep a window open at night for cool air or even keep a small fan on at night if its not too cold. If you can't sleep then read or listen to music. Just try your best and stick with it. The one nostril thing works but I find it takes too long and I end up cracking! I am currently using the spray at the moment (had a cold 3 weeks ago) but Im finding that its giving me headaches now so back to cold turkey! I am relieved to know I am not the only one going through this because for a long time I thought I was weird! It's good to know that other people hate have a blocked nose too! Anyway all the best and wish me luck!
Cole. x
Cole. x
Hi, Stephanie, I am Marc and I know exactly what you are going through.
I had a nasty little coke habit about 7 years ago. I did so much coke that I get blocked so bad I could get it up my nose....I really liked that **** I guess. But I digress. One of my "snowboarding" friends told me to try Nasal Four - Fast Acting. I disregarded the typical "warning." It worked wonderfully...no more nasal passage burnout on the weekends. Well, needless to say, once I was off the coke, I found myself addicted to the Nasal Four just to breathe.
I typically go through 3 bottles a week and buy 5-6 at a time. I wake up 3-4 times a night to hit the "bottle." All day long every couple of hours. Hell I can't go anywhere without it. Sometimes I even have to stop in the middle of sex to hit the "bottle' right quick so I can breathe again and get back to business. Thankfully I have an extremely understanding and patient girlfriend. Needless to say, that began to bother me...a lot.
I have tried to stop, but when the chemical effect wears off and you can't breathe, that **** is out the window. I have seen several doctors, got put on Flonase and have had my turbinins burned. The steroid spray worked....sorta, but I am a type 1 diabetic and it really screwed with my blood sugars, and ...since it didn't work that good anyway....I chalked it up as a fail and got more Nasal Four. Bam!!!! cleared me right up. So I kept using it.
Anyway, to get to the heart of the matter, I again saw another doctor last week and he got started on the whole Flonase thing, cold turkey, etc., but he gave it a twist. Rather than just putting me on the Flonase, he also put me on a 6 day MethylPrednisolone regimen. The idea behind the pills was to super charge my system with the Steroid and use the Flonase as needed to give additional relief.
It is screwing with my blood sugars pretty bad, but I can BREATHE!!!!! I started yesterday, Monday, September 17th and it is 2 days later and I am very, very pleased. I have been able to sleep through the night with no breathing issue. Today I needed less spray than yesterday. I was actually able to run a nettie pot rinse through both passages!!! Which was not possible prior. I am confident that I will be off the Flonase by the end of the weekend and breathing unassisted :)
So....my recommendation, see your doctor and get started on the 6 day Methylprednisolone and Flonase PRN...Stat. If you keep using the Nasal Four, you run a huge chance of developing saddle nose (nose flattens) and other good stuff like that. It seems to me you have a genuine concern and I hope this information and my own struggle help you in some way.
Good Luck!!!!!
I had a nasty little coke habit about 7 years ago. I did so much coke that I get blocked so bad I could get it up my nose....I really liked that **** I guess. But I digress. One of my "snowboarding" friends told me to try Nasal Four - Fast Acting. I disregarded the typical "warning." It worked wonderfully...no more nasal passage burnout on the weekends. Well, needless to say, once I was off the coke, I found myself addicted to the Nasal Four just to breathe.
I typically go through 3 bottles a week and buy 5-6 at a time. I wake up 3-4 times a night to hit the "bottle." All day long every couple of hours. Hell I can't go anywhere without it. Sometimes I even have to stop in the middle of sex to hit the "bottle' right quick so I can breathe again and get back to business. Thankfully I have an extremely understanding and patient girlfriend. Needless to say, that began to bother me...a lot.
I have tried to stop, but when the chemical effect wears off and you can't breathe, that **** is out the window. I have seen several doctors, got put on Flonase and have had my turbinins burned. The steroid spray worked....sorta, but I am a type 1 diabetic and it really screwed with my blood sugars, and ...since it didn't work that good anyway....I chalked it up as a fail and got more Nasal Four. Bam!!!! cleared me right up. So I kept using it.
Anyway, to get to the heart of the matter, I again saw another doctor last week and he got started on the whole Flonase thing, cold turkey, etc., but he gave it a twist. Rather than just putting me on the Flonase, he also put me on a 6 day MethylPrednisolone regimen. The idea behind the pills was to super charge my system with the Steroid and use the Flonase as needed to give additional relief.
It is screwing with my blood sugars pretty bad, but I can BREATHE!!!!! I started yesterday, Monday, September 17th and it is 2 days later and I am very, very pleased. I have been able to sleep through the night with no breathing issue. Today I needed less spray than yesterday. I was actually able to run a nettie pot rinse through both passages!!! Which was not possible prior. I am confident that I will be off the Flonase by the end of the weekend and breathing unassisted :)
So....my recommendation, see your doctor and get started on the 6 day Methylprednisolone and Flonase PRN...Stat. If you keep using the Nasal Four, you run a huge chance of developing saddle nose (nose flattens) and other good stuff like that. It seems to me you have a genuine concern and I hope this information and my own struggle help you in some way.
Good Luck!!!!!
There is strong scientific evidence that nasal decongestants can be ''addictive'' if taken for a longer duration than recommended by the manufacturer.They will actually cause you to need more and more to keep your nasal passages clear.Any M.D.worth his salt will be well aware or this,however the patient MUST INFORM the doctor,or an inaccurate diagnosis can/will occur.Then the doctor can ''wean" the patient off of the nasal spray..
There is strong scientific evidence that nasal decongestants can be ''addictive'' if taken for a longer duration than recommended by the manufacturer.They will actually cause you to need more and more to keep your nasal passages clear.Any M.D.worth his salt will be well aware or this,however the patient MUST INFORM the doctor,or an inaccurate diagnosis can/will occur.Then the doctor can ''wean" the patient off of the nasal spray..
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