Nasal Spray and Pain

Does some cheaper over the counter nasal spray work just as good as the doctor prescribed azelastine nasal spray? It's rather costly.
Also, I am using the CPap machine overnight. However, I am waking up with aches in my upper back. I am not sure if this is due to the way I am sleeping, or if the Cpap contributes to it.
One thing is for sure! I HAVE TO QUIT SMOKING!

The problem with the OTC spray, according to the doctor that prescribed Flonase (sp?) for me (expensive at the time), is that they help in the beginning and make the problem worse over time. There is NO problem using saline only nasal spray.

Are you new to cpap? Many of us, including myself, had terrific shoulder and rib pain the first couple of weeks. The general theory was that because you aren't gasping for air in your sleep, you are staying in one place in your bed at night. Should go away shortly. I do sympathize. I had to resort to one of my leftover pain pills from surgery one night. A heating pad does help.

Check goodrx.com to see if you can get it any cheaper.

Edited to add: the reason why I no longer use nasal spray is that the chronic cough I had turned out to be caused by post nasal drip, which in turn was caused by chronic acid reflux (GERD). Now, I had stopped smoking for a decade before this, but I also had the same problem when I was smoking and taking steroids for a health issue. The coughing was always blamed on the smoking. The idea that acid reflux-post nasal drip-coughing are all related is fairly new and your doctor may not know about it. You can have GERD for years before diagnosis because it doesn't always involve pain, sometimes just a lot of nausea.

SewTired wrote:The problem with the OTC spray, according to the doctor that prescribed Flonase (sp?) for me (expensive at the time), is that they help in the beginning and make the problem worse over time. There is NO problem using saline only nasal spray.

Are you new to cpap? Many of us, including myself had terrific shoulder and rib pain the first couple of weeks. The general theory was that because you aren't gasping for air in your sleep, you are staying in one place in your bed at night. Should go away shortly. I do sympathize. I had to resort to one of my leftover pain pills from surgery one night. A heating pad does help.

Check goodrx.com to see if you can get it any cheaper.

Edited to add: the reason why I no longer use nasal spray is that the chronic cough I had turned out to be caused by post nasal drip, which in turn was caused chronic acid reflux (GERD). Now, I had stopped smoking for a decade before this, but I also had the same problem when I was smoking and taking steroids for a health issue. The coughing was always blamed on the smoking. The idea that acid reflux-post nasal drip-coughing are all related is fairly new and your doctor may not know about it. You can have GERD for years before diagnosis because it doesn't always involve pain, sometimes just a lot of nausea.

I didn't know the shoulder pain was a thing! I've been using my apap about a week and a half and have the worst shoulder pain! I'm glad to hear it should go away!

As for quitting the tobacco: AWESOME! Congratulations!
The pain in your upper back is often related to less activity while sleeping.
You get stiff, but it goes away. Along with a lot of the symptoms of untreated apnea.