How do I stop post nasal drip

[BillL]

have had post nasal drip as long as I can remember. I am a 52 yr old mail, 5'9", 195lbs. My PND gummed up the back of my throat enough in July of this year to wake me everytime I nod off. I am now on sleep medication, clonazepam, Lunesta, now but which is barely working, Atavan is better and I can sleep but sedatives cannot be taken forever and this PND doesn't seem to be going away. I am ok during the day, when my throat momentarily clogs, the phlegm bubble pops and I am fine, but at night my brain is convinced I am drowing and all sorts of things apparently happen, namely I wake up with the fight or flight sensation, when this happens 4 or 5 times over a 20 minute period sleep, anxiety takes over and sleep is over, I can go days without sleep, then back back to the doctor for mor narcotics. Nothing works for the phegm, I've tried it all, Zyrtec, Astelin, Omnaris, Mucinex, Singulair, If I can get some real sleep I will. So far the doctors only seem to be to drug away the insomnia not the pheglm.
Any suggestions, I need help.
Thanks,
Bill  

[National Jewish Health]

The worsening of symptoms in July suggests that something out of the ordinary, something new is going on in your nose and/or sinuses.  It could be infection, allergy, the development of nasal polyps or a mucus secreting tumor, benign or malignant.  You should have an examination of your nose and throat by an ENT specialist and a CT scan of your sinuses.  In the meantime, nasal irrigation, also called nasal washes with low concentration saline might provide symptomatic relief.  To learn more about this technique please read our nasal wash treatment information by copying and pasting this address

http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/treatments/alt-ther/nasal-wash.aspx

into the address window of your internet browser.  Share this information with your doctor to see if you would benefit from this daily treatment.

Good luck.

[sebastiancat]

Hi, I had this problem but it was greatly reduced when I started taking Flixonase Nasule drops.  Not sure where you're from but I'm in the UK and these are only available on  prescription.  I saw my ENT Doctor today and had a nasal endoscope and it all looks very good.  Unfortunately, you can't take this medication for more than a couple of months at a time so I'm now back on the Flixonase Nasal Spray.  (The Nasule drops are much stronger than the sprays.)  I know exactly what you mean when you say you think you're drowning - it really is the most awful sensation. I used to wake up with a feeling of not being able to breathe, as though I was choking to death.   Like you I tried several anti-histamines but they didn't have any affect on the PND. Hope this helps.