nasal spray addiction

[stephanie]

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

[cmarie26]

I have been addicted to nasal spray for about 4 years now. But my allergyst gives me a treatment that keeps me clear for 3 months!!! She gives me one shot and about 6 prednisone pills. I believe they may both be prednisone. I am not completely sure. I just know one of them is Prednisone. Although it is only temporary and after every 3 month mark, I begin to feel the nasal passages closing up. I wish the 3months lasted longer because I seriously am 100% clear for that period of time. I am currently looking into other alternatives, like suregery. The thought of goinf through this my whole life scares me! As you all know, its uncomfortable, irritating and can bring anxiety if you dont have that nsal spray bottle around at all times!  I will try some of the suggestions on here also. good luck to everyone, I am glad I came across this site!

[winnipeggirl]

its winnipeggirl again... update!

the nasonex is starting to kick in, im using less sudafed every day too.

the first day when i tried weaning both nostrils off the nasal spray was hell, so i decided to try the one nostril at a time method too! i found one called dristan fast acting, which has a different chemical than the ones i've been using so it keeps the one nostril REALLY clear so i don't go insane, since the other ones i was using were barely doing anything for me anymore.

anyway, its day 3 of only having one nostril on the spray, the other one i'm using saline only and the congestion comes and goes in it. but it's never been completely closed up, which is great.

one nostril at a time! it works! i have a deviated septum so its a bit more difficult for me to tell if the one is getting completely cleared up. so i'm just going to wait a solid week before i try to get the other one off.

[jimimiddlefinger]

Wow Hi! I'm here to kick pill addiction and I'm a newbie so no advice for anyone on that. But the nasal spray addiction, I've been through that and IT *****! I have allergies so been on the spray for years. Back in february I started using the 4 way fast acting. That was a big mistake. wound up desperate in my drs office one morning (I was actually waiting in the snow @ 8 for them to open). He gave me nasonex and a few other things it was hell waiting for that stuff to work. Not being able to breath really freaks people out. So. finally a pharmacist told me about a method and turned me on to the saline. The method is to use the spray on one nostril. Let the other heal. Then go to the other. And clean with the saline. This was a life saver. Within 2 days the one nostil with the help of only the saline was opening. Then the other took 3 days and I was done. Never touch that crap again. When my nose is stuffed now i ride it out. Just went thru the worst of hayfever season and i'm good. So many people suffer from this and don't have a clue as what to do. Hope I can help someone with this cuz it really is the worst thing ever. Can't believe I'm such a wus about alittle pill WDs...

[winnipeggirl]

I have been struggling on and off for almost 4 years with an addiction to nasal spray. because my nose broke in a car accident 2 years ago, my usage of nasal spray has been at an all time high. i've had 2 surgeries, and after the second one i was able to quit using it for 11 months, until i got elbowed in the face and my nose moved and swelled again. i went back on, and have been on ever since (about 8 months now).

yesterday was finally my last straw. it has gotten to the point where it's not even really helping with the congestion,i use upwards of 3 sprays in each nostril and it returns within 10 minutes of using it. i haven't had a good sleep in 2 weeks because of congestion.

so i went and got some sudafed and some saline nasal mist. and then i went to the doctor and he prescribed me nasonex.

i took the nasonex right away, and have been on constant sudafed. i had to use nasal spray for about 6 hours yesterday, then right before bed i used the nasonex again (its twice daily as prescribed). then i used one spray of nasal spray in each nostril, along with a spray of saline nasal mist. i slept through the night and woke up not very congested!

now don't let this fool you, i am still quite congested while i'm weaning myself off of nasal spray and on to nasonex, but it has definitely eased the process and i am not getting completely blocked up! nasonex takes up to 1-2 weeks to take its full effect, but i can definitely tell its doing something already.

during the next 2 weeks while the nasonex kicks in, i'll be adding saline to my nasal spray in higher and higher amounts.

i saw a ray of hope last night with a solid night sleep breathing through my nose.

just to let you all know that there's hope and ways out of this addiction.

[cmb416]

chrissteena,

I was addicted to sprays as well and here's what I did to break the cycle. I went to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, and he put me on a prednisone pak. By the second night, I was cleared up, and could breathe without using those lousy sprays, and now all I use is a saline spray to moisten my nasal passages. Try it. It worked for me

[abritt121222]

My dad was addicted to nasal spray about 2 years ago and once he finally quit using it he said that he wasnt at all addicted to the nose spray at all but he would just pick it up and use it not even realizing he was using it even when he didnt need it at all because he said it just became a bad habit to pick it up and use it because he was used to doing it all the time just like any other bad habit

ABritt