Stuffy nose question

garyland · Post by **garyland** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 5:59 pm

I have written here before about my problem. And I got some good advice in the past. But my life now is pretty miserable. I have used just about everything under the sun for relief and at a loss as to what to do. Here is my life in a nutshell. I fall asleep around 10pm. I sleep 3 hours. I wake up at about 1am. I go downstairs and spray my nose with SIMPLY SALINE. I sit, I stand, I walk, and I lie on the couch and eventually my nose clears up enough for me to go back to bed. I sleep another 3 hours, 4 if I am VERY lucky. Last night I got 5.5 hours total and had to take a nap during the day and I still feel like cr_p. The odd thing is, is that during the day I am usually pretty clear. I may get a little stuffy in the evening. Steroids don't help. I have tried homeopatic sprays and tablets and they don't work. Afrin type sprays work but I don't use them any more. I hate the idea of surgery. Especially since most of the day I am fine.

DOES THIS NIGHT TIME ROUTINE SOUND LIKE ANY OF YOU, OR AM I ALONE IN THIS SITUATION?

Hawthorne · Post by **Hawthorne** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:46 pm

Do you use the Simply Saline BEFORE you go to bed at 10 PM? That's when I use it whether I am stuffed up or not.

How high is your humidifier set? For some people high humidity can cause congestion or make it worse. You should lower the humidity or don't turn any heat on the humidifier at all. Just have the distilled water in the water chamber and the air going over it might give you enough moisture.

I use a very low humidity setting on cold dry winter nights. The rest of the time I use the humidifier in passover mode as I described above. Whichever I do I always use the SInply Saline before I go to bed - 3 to 4 sprays into each nostril does it for me.

garyland · Post by **garyland** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 6:51 pm

I use the simply saline before bed and when I have to get up after 3 hours or so of sleep. I sleep with the humidity set at 2 out of 5. In the winter i can't go higher than that. Tonite I will try going without the humidifier and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Gary

plr66 · Post by **plr66** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:16 pm

garyland wrote:I use the simply saline before bed and when I have to get up after 3 hours or so of sleep. I sleep with the humidity set at 2 out of 5. In the winter i can't go higher than that. Tonite I will try going without the humidifier and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Gary

This may be what you meant, but why not first try going with the passive humidifier (water in the humidifier, but no heat turned on), rather than no humidifier at all?

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:24 pm

Gary,

I've been using (cold) passover humidity since I started therapy. I keep my distilled water in the refrigerator all year round. I do some nasal "cleansing" immediately before bedtime. The cool air keeps my nasal passages open all night. I found early on that ANY heat in the humidifier only makes things worse.
I'm also trying to avoid surgery as long as I can make this work.

Glad to hear you're finally off the Afrin.

Den

wlbecker · Post by **wlbecker** » Wed Apr 22, 2009 8:43 pm

I think you are missing a really obvious answer. Do you have allergies? Dust, mold, animals, grasses, ragweed?? Try Claratin, Allegra, or Zyrtec? Stuffy nose is probably allergies. you can be tested as to what you are allergic to.

garyland · Post by **garyland** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:56 am

All great replies. I do appreciate it. BTW last night I went without any humidity. Guess what? My nose clearity vasalated between bearly acceptable to totally clear. For me that would be a good night. I did not have to get out of bed at all. I hope and pray that it was not a fluke and that tonight I will have similar results. I sure did need last nights extra sleep. Regarding the allergy thing, I tried Zyrtec and Claritin to see if they would help. They both made me kind of loopy so after one dose I stopped taking them. So I don't know if I have an allergy or not.

BUT LET ME ASK THIS QUESTION. WITH AN ALLERGY CAN YOU HAVE STUFFINESS COME AND GO MANY TIMES DURING THE DAY AND HAVE NO MUCUS PROBLEMS, NO RUNNY NOSE, NO ITCHY EYES, AND NO SNEEZING.

Thanks,
Gary

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:10 am

slapmeawake · Post by **slapmeawake** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:33 am

The Dr. told me to take the Zyrtec at bedtime every nite to avoid the drowsiness. I also have trouble with congestion. One question, does your mask fit right? I find if I tighten my mask too tight around my nose it causes one side of my nose to close up while sleeping so I try to keep my mask as loose as possible to avoid this. Just something else to try and see if it helps.

Hawthorne · Post by **Hawthorne** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:18 am

It looks, to me, from your experience last night, that passover humidity (distilled water in the water chamber but no heat) is better for you.

Try if for a week and, hopefully, things will be like last night.

It sure works for me!

Good luck!

ozij · Post by **ozij** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:19 am

Nothing to add to what Den and Hawthorne said - I just want you to know that I too am glad you're off the Afrin.
Looks like no humidity is better for you.

O.

Lee Wood · Post by **Lee Wood** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:19 pm

Using Afrin type medicens do work but if you use over 3 to 5 days in a row it could cause damage to your nasal tissue and lead to chronic congestion. My doctor recommended Nasalchrom (two squirts in each nostril) which works great although I use a "house brand" (Cromoly sodium).

garyland · Post by **garyland** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 6:33 pm

Lee Wood wrote:Using Afrin type medicens do work but if you use over 3 to 5 days in a row it could cause damage to your nasal tissue and lead to chronic congestion. My doctor recommended Nasalchrom (two squirts in each nostril) which works great although I use a "house brand" (Cromoly sodium).

Is nasalchrom for allergies?

ziggytosh · Post by **ziggytosh** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 8:07 pm

I know individual experiences vary, but just to get mine out there ...

I had a problem with the lining of my nose getting dried out and inflamed in the middle of the night, so that it felt like I was stuffed up. A couple of hours into sleep, I would sometimes find myself unable to get more than a trickle of air, regardless of how high the pressure was set on my PAP. I got a heated hose (well, jimmy-rigged one using the reptile heater solution described elsewhere in this forum) and cranked up the humidity. That was a few months ago. Since then, I haven't had any significant upper airway problems. The warmth and moisture keeps my nares comfortable and relaxed. I wake up with a clean, clear nose.

GMAKAY · Post by **GMAKAY** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:40 pm

During the day nasal mucous is more likely to drain either out of your nose or down your throat. At night it is more likely to stuff up your nasal passages.

If you are having allergy problems, check your system to make sure you have a regular and a viral filter and that they are both clean. If the nasal saline works, why don't you try Ayr which is an ointment of saline that helps lubricate the nares.

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